Andy Warhol Portraits

Book Description

First Book to Feature over 300 of Warhol's Famous Faces"I think everybody is my friend." -Andy Warhol To the general public, Andy Warhol is known as a painter of legendaryicons, from Marilyn and Jackie O to his own ever-changing self-portrait. Less known are the portraits he made of socialites, art dealers,collectors, politicians, fashion designers and a variety of contemporarycult figures, mostly commissioned work that helped finance Warhol's manyother artistic activities.Never before has there been a book thatprovides a comprehensive overview of all of Warhol's famous faces. ANDY WARHOL PORTRAITS by Tony Shafrazi, is the first book to provide acomplete overview of Warhol's many celebrity portraits, from the famous tothe infamous.It features over 300 glamorous portraits including manyworks largely unknown even by avid fans.ANDY WARHOL PORTRAITS grew out of an exhibition that was organized by theTony Shafrazi Gallery, New York in 2005.Shafrazi paid homage to a seminaldisplay of Warhol's portraits that took place at the Whitney Museum ofAmerican Art in 1979-80.The Whitney exhibition presented for the firsttime a large array of the commissioned portraits that the artist began inthe early 1970s as a way to offset the cost of multiplying activities atthe Factory.Shafrazi's exhibition included many portraits from theoriginal Whitney exhibition as well as others.ANDY WARHOL PORTRAITS takesShafrazi's exhibition even further, nearly doubling the number of worksshown.On the 20th anniversary of Warhol's death in 1987, there has never been abetter time to reflect on Warhol's life and influence on pop culture today. According to a recent interview with Charlotte Abbot from PublishersWeekly, "It's a good moment for Andy Warhol.Culturally, he is still ontop."Art historians and critics have long neglected this body of Warhol's work,preferring to discuss and study the more iconic Marilyns or Campbell SoupCans of the 1960's.ANDY WARHOL PORTRAITS includes, in addition to famousportraits of Marlon Brando, Liz Taylor and Dennis Hopper, lesser-knownimages of actors Bill Murray and Meryl Streep, fellow artists Donald Juddand Cy Twombly and royal family members such as Princess Diana and PrincessCaroline.It also features a number of musicians, including Prince andDolly Parton, and fashion icons including Diane von Furstenberg and GiorgioArmani. The book begins with an introduction by Tony Shafrazi, and features essaysby established art historians/critics Carter Ratcliff and Robert Rosenblum,who lend insight into one of the least fully known but neverthelessprolific aspects of Warhol's endlessly fascinating career.The book makesthe perfect gift for any pop culture fan.

Customer Reviews:

Face-to-Face Comparisons Reveal Warhol's Perspectives.......2007-05-08

When most people think of Andy Warhol, images of Campbell's soup cans and a vividly colored Chairman Mao come to mind. For those who know Warhol better, memories also include Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, most wanted posters, and self-portraits of the artist.

What few appreciate is that portraiture was the bread-and-butter that Warhol used to finance his experimental work at the Factory. Before this book, you could not see the full range of this work. Unframed and grouped with similar and complementary works in the same time period, these 300 portraits show a considerable range of style and expression that will be a new perspective for all but collectors of Warhol portraits. I found the work to be so impressive that it totally changed my sense of who Warhol was as an artist.

In this book, the portraits do the talking. The brief essays merely describe the processes that Warhol used and that he tried to make people look good . . . and larger than life. But you knew that already, didn't you?

The range of the ways he captured the spirit of his subjects is what's most impressive in this volume. Repetition of the same image in one work with different treatments could help us see many different expressions of the person (see Natalie 1962). In other places, many images of the same person in one work express mood, movement, and a story (see Sixteen Jackies 1964). In other cases, multiple images of the same subject give us deep insight into personality (see Ethel Scull 1963). In other cases, the multiple images show the reality as well as the personality (see Merce Cunningham 1963 and Triple Rauschenberg 1963).

Exploring different use of colors and backgrounds, Warhol could totally change our emotions as viewers (Silver Liz 1963 gives us a sense of coolness and elegance while Liz 1963 shows a woman of great emotion and passion).

In Warhol's process, subjects were photographed around 100 times using a Polaroid camera. The subject then picked the images (or image) that she or he liked best. The images were turned into silk screens. Then, Warhol added the background and color to capture what the mere shape could not. The degree of focus also creates more or less power and immediacy (compare Donald Judd 1967 and Robert Rauschenberg 1967).

The portraits also create dialogues, such as when married couples had their portraits done around the same time. In the book, these images are often on facing pages. You'll be arrested to see Nelson Rockefeller 1967 and Happy Rockefeller 1968 looking off into the same spot in space . . . but not each other. The color overlap is minimal, emphasizing their differences.

These images are even more arresting when the pair are portrayed looking away from one another as with Gianni Agnelli 1972 and Marella Agnelli 1972.
In places, painterly backgrounds add remarkable depth and power to the images as with the Agnellis.

In places, the painterly treatment is sufficient to remind one of the work of Degas such as Lee Radziwell, 1972.

Portrait creators have always arranged sitters carefully to emphasize a certain point. Warhol does this in a very minimal way, often adding more than part of a hand touching the face or a bit of clothing. Because of its slight use, the impact is much stronger.

How do the subjects fare? Those with strong personalities do best. Those with complex personalities are rendered beautifully, but aren't as accessible. Subjects who want to look physically attractive often appear merely decorative, like a background model at a party.

Warhol's talent can best be seen by comparing the various ways he renders eyes. Male and female subjects alike receive slashes of color that sometimes resemble eye shadow and other times seem like tiny masks.

There isn't much that's soulful about these works. They are more about promotion than about moral uplift. It's all the more surprising when that soulfulness appears as in Farah Dibah Pahlavai (Empress of Iran) 1977.

Seeing Judy Garland 1979 and Liza Minelli 1979 made me wish that Warhol had done more mother-daughter combinations. These two stunners crawl right inside you.

Part of Warhol's art comes in knowing something about the person. Where the subject is unknown, you'll find yourself a little more baffled about what the message is. Think of each of the celebrity portraits then as being in part a reflection of the public image and our current perceptions. Warhol uses this celebrity awareness to good purpose in creating very minimal works that express the dominant impression of a person (see Martha Graham 1980).

As his career continued, the works became more daring. I was particularly drawn to the line drawings with bold bands of color such as in Paul Delvaux 1981 and Jean Cocteau 1985.

Some of these portraits will cause you to stop and rethink what you know about the people. I had that reaction to the pairing of Prince Charles 1982 (coolly displayed as a young symbol of the monarchy) with the almost flirtatious Princess Diana 1982 (appearing as a powerful force with an earthy grounding).

The portrait of John Lennon is simply stunning (1985-86).

For a good sense of Warhol's progress, you'll enjoy seeing many of his self-portraits.

Enjoy a good look!

A less familiar Warhol.......2007-04-28

This book enables the reader to discover some rarely seen paintings by Warhol, representing many personalities from the sixties, seventies and eighties, from O.J. Simpson to Pelé, from the Queen of England to the Shah of Iran, artists, art dealers, art collectors, musicians (John Lennon...), actors, fashion designers and friends of the artist's. Even though it was this kind of work that drew the harshest criticism (Robert Hughes, critic for Time Magazine, dubbed Warhol the new Van Dongen, meaning by that that he only painted superficial portraits of the rich and famous of his time), they still show the scope and depth of Warhol's creative power. The book is lavishly illustrated and the text was written by leading Warhol authorities (dealer or critic). A very complete checklist of all the portraits illustrated is given at the end of the book. A valuable addition to the albeit extensive Warhol literature.

An influence that continues down to the present.......2007-04-10

Andy Warhol is one of the best known American artists of the 1960s and renowned for his uncoventional life and art as well as is enduring influence on American pop culture. An influence that continues down to the present time several decades after his death. Famous for his iconic images of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell Soup Cans, he also made art out of the facial images of political, social, entertainment, sports, and music celebrities of his day. This particular body of his work has been compiled and edited by Tony Shafrazi, who enhances this 320-page coffee table art book with 350 color illustrations and informative essays by art critic Carter Ratcliff and art historian Robert Rosenblum. The men and women whose images were made immortal by Warhol range from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Giorgio Armani, Truman Capote, Jimmy Carter, Joan Collins, Clint Eastwood, Herman Hesse, Alfred Hitcock, Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Lenin, Robert Mapplethorpe, Liza Minnelli, Princess Diana, Yves Saint Laurent, O.J. Simpson, Elizabeth Taylor, Tennessee Williams, Natalie Wood, Mao Zedong, and hundreds of others. An important contribution to academic library 20th Century American Art History reference collections, "Andy Warhol Portraits" is a 'must' for the personal collections of Warhol's legions of admirers.

Scene Design and Stage Lighting (with InfoTrac )

Average customer rating:

An indispensable reference book for all theatre techies !
Invaluable guide for novices and professionals

Scene Design and Stage Lighting (with InfoTrac )
W. Oren Parker , R. Craig Wolf , and Dick Block
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0155061143

Book Description

SCENE DESIGN AND STAGE LIGHTING, Eighth Edition, continues its tradition of being the most detailed and comprehensive text available in the scenic and lighting design and technology fields. Much of the scenery design and technology section has been re-worked with an emphasis on modern technology. Changes in the lighting section reflect current practice and technology. The authors have placed an emphasis on collaboration in all sections of the new text. "Designers at Work" interviews with professional lighting and scenery designers are a new addition to the Eighth Edition. In addition, the entirely re-written section on sound for the theatre reflects the digital age we live and work in.

Customer Reviews:

An indispensable reference book for all theatre techies !.......2000-04-12

Working backstage? Asked by your local community theatre to pitch in doing props? Foolishly said, "Of course I can build a tree(Silly fool only God can)! Here are the helpful hints and clues that will point you in the right direction without looking like a total fool. Design, construction, lights and sound- Oren Parker has it all. This latest edition is my third copy! They just keep getting better and better. This "rumor" best explains the abilities of one of the authors. A colleague once related the story in which Oren Parker showed up in the university scene shop in a three piece suit, painted a full back drop and walked out without a drop of paint on the suit. I'd be interested in knowing how true this is but not any less impressed with how informative this book has been for me. Well worth the exorbitant price.

Invaluable guide for novices and professionals.......2000-04-06

I can't tell you how often I've found myself saying "I'm a carpenter, not a designer!" when asked to design a set. I've always muddled through, but now, with this book in hand, I've found 100% more confidence in my designs. Invaluable for the lighting designer who wants to better understand scenic design, and for the scenic designer who wants to understand lighting design. Buy it!

Average customer rating:

Excellent book for those who love Star Trek ships...
Ships of the Line (Star Trek)
Beautiful book--but know what you're getting.
Disappointed
Another Great Star Trek Photo Book

Ships of the Line (Star Trek)

Manufacturer: Star Trek
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1416532439

Book Description

They dared to risk it all in a skiff of reeds or leather, on a ship of wood or steel, knowing the only thing between them and certain death was their ship. To explore, to seek out what lay beyond the close and comfortable, every explorer had to embrace danger. And as they did so, what arose was a mystical bond, a passion for the ships that carried them. From the very first time humans dared to warp the fabric of space, escaping from the ashes of the third World War, they also created ships. These vessels have become the icons of mankind's desire to rise above the everyday, to seek out and make the unknown known. And these ships that travel the stellar seas have stirred the same passions as the ones that floated in the oceans.

While every captain has wished that their starship could be outfitted in the same manner as the sailing ship H.M.S. Beagle -- without weapons -- that proved

untenable. From the start, Starfleet realized that each vessel, due to the limited range of the early warp engines, must be able to stand alone against any

attack. Thus arose the idea, taken from the days of wooden sailing ships, that every Starfleet vessel must stand as a ship of the line. Through the actions of their captains and crews, countless starships have taken on that role. Here we remember some of those ships and their heroic crews.

In celebration of the fortieth anniversary of Star Trek, here for the very first time collected together are the spectacular images from the highly successful and acclaimed Star Trek: Ships of the Line calendars. Gloriously rendered, each of these illustrations was created exclusively for Pocket Books. With text by Michael Okuda (The Star Trek Encyclopedia), the story of each of these valiant starships comes to life.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent book for those who love Star Trek ships..........2007-09-22

I've been a fan of the "Ships of the Line" calendars for many years. This book is essentially a compilation of those stunning images, with some explanatory captions added. As such, it's a wonderful volume for any Star Trek fan who enjoys "beauty shots" of the various ships shown in the series. It should be noted, however, that these are pieces of original digital artwork. They are not screen captures of the various series or movies, but unique images created for the calendar series (and now, for this book). It was a great value and an excellent addition to my Star Trek book collection.

Ships of the Line (Star Trek) .......2007-09-21

Ships of the Line (Star Trek)was not what I was expecting. I was hoping for a more techincal review of the fleet.

With that said, the artwork was great, although I would have liked more on the ships other than that bad 'Enterprise' series!

The Romulan Warbird was the best pic, in my opinion!

Ian Johnson. Perth, Australia

Beautiful book--but know what you're getting........2007-09-19

This is a beautiful, imagination-stimulating, sometimes breathtaking book. But potential buyers should know three things: 1. This book is about half the size of the average coffee table book (FYI, in case you don't read the fine print or easily "get" measurements in the Product Description), so they are not big pictures. 2. This is an *art* book; these are "illustrations," not photographic reproductions from the Star Trek T.V. series(s) or movies. I wasn't familiar with the "Ships of the Line" calendars, so was expecting "real" photos of the Star Trek ships, not paintings. However, some of the pictures are computer-design artwork that very effectively look like photographs. I know it's a matter of taste, by I find these more enjoyable, more evocative.
3. While ships from all five of the T.V. shows are included (not the animated ST), there is of course a favored emphasis on the Enterprise in its various/successive generations. There are only 37 illustrations, so that doesn't leave room for a whole lot else. (Opposing/even-numbered pages are blank, except for a short paragraph of text by official Star Trek history guru Michael Ocuda, which offers interesting commentary, though more impressionistic thatn encyclopedic.) Also, the book's cover illustration is not repeated in the book, so if you get a torn or badly smudged copy, you're out of luck. I was also disappointed that a book called "Ships of the Line" didn't have a single schematic drawing or even a comparative illustration to scale of the various ships (like is sort of done on the cover picture).
Even given all these qualifications, there are at least 10 pictures in this book that really inspire me and excite my imagination; and any two of them, for me, are worth the price of the book.

Disappointed.......2007-09-04

Great art work, but I was expecting the entire book to give us a complete look at rarely or never before seen star fleet ships in various situations. There was a limited look, but mostly that of the series ships we're already quite familiar with. I wasn't too thrilled about the blank left pages as well. Lots of potential for a great coffee table top book. Hopefully we'll get more in a Volume 2.

Another Great Star Trek Photo Book.......2007-08-12

Margaret Clark & Doug Drexler have out done themselfs. This book is packed full of some of the best CGI graphics yet to be published. It's a must for any trekie as it will keep you spell bound just looking at page after page. The book covers all era's of trekdom with graphics of all the major ships we've come to love. It even has a few hints of things to come. The book is graphic intense with very little story, but that ok because some of the graphic will have you beliving that these ship are real. The only short side to this book is it's lack of alein ships as it's cover suggests. There are some aliens ship but none are the focal point of any of the graphics. All in all I would highly recommend this book for anyones library.

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema

Average customer rating:

One of my all time favorite books.
Great Service
A most excellent read and perfect for classes in sound design
A great book, full of examples and creativity
Great book to teach with!

Sound Design: The Expressive Power of Music, Voice and Sound Effects in Cinema
David Sonnenschein
Manufacturer: Michael Wiese Productions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0941188264

Book Description

Offers user-friendly knowledge and stimulating exercises to help compose story, develop characters and create emotion through skillful creation of the sound track.

Customer Reviews:

One of my all time favorite books........2007-06-19

"Sound Design" by David Sonnenschein is a very rewarding and fascinating read. Full of knowledge and practical examples as well as exercises to develop the reader's own awareness for sound. It's became one of my all time favorite books.
I highly recommend it to anyone interested in sound... be it for film or radio.... or music...

Great Service.......2007-03-10

It was shipped the same day and delivered a few days later. For those college students that get ripped off at their school bookstore this is a must.

A most excellent read and perfect for classes in sound design.......2007-02-12

David Sonnenschein's book is my "go-to" book for not only the quality of information that he presents but the interesting way that it is told. This book is an excellent read besides being extremely informative. I find that these are the best to assign to my students as many texts are just that: texts - dry and dull. David Sonnenschein presents the information herein in a delightful way and has many excellent tips on the overall shape of sound.

A great book, full of examples and creativity.......2007-01-30

I have to thanks deeply Mr D. Sonnenschein for this incredible book. I enjoyed it so much. This book helped me so much understanding the 'how' of sound effects and ambiences in movies. For sure a good choice and a good book.
I just can give an advice: buy it!!! I am a sound designer in Spainn and I consider this book a must.
Thanks David!

Great book to teach with!.......2006-01-26

I use this book in my Sound Design class at the University of Saint Francis. It is a great foundation upon which you can build confidence in your inexperienced students just by having them read the book! Also it helps make sense out of the confusion of directors dealing with sound and audio crew. This book has made my teaching job a lot easier and the students of my class a lot more saavy in sound design.
This book also would be excellent for anyone interested in the sound of movies and TV. AND it is essential reading for any Director (any GOOD Director, that is) Thanks David Sonnenschein for writing it!

I Am Plastic: The Designer Toy Explosion

Average customer rating:

Great book
A Guide to the Beginnings of a New Art Form
Best Vinyl Toys Book ~
inspiring
great book for toy collectors and enthusiasts

I Am Plastic: The Designer Toy Explosion
Paul Budnitz
Manufacturer: "Harry N. Abrams, Inc."
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0810958465

Book Description

In barely a decade, the designer toy craze, which originated in Hong Kong, has taken the world by storm. Children and adults, celebrities and design aficionados now line up to pay anywhere from five dollars to thousands of dollars for these highly inventive designer creations.

I Am Plastic provides a colorful visual history of the phenomenon, which has energized not only the toy world but the global art community as well. Fashion designers, comic book artists, underground illustrators, graffiti and fine artists now lend their creativity to the task of coming up with innovative and striking new toy designs. Artists and toys featured in this stunning overview include Frank Kozik, Dalek, Gary Baseman, Bounty Hunter, Junko Mizuno, Jason Siu, Devilrobots, and Pete Fowler.

Customer Reviews:

Great book.......2007-08-23

I got this book for my husband, and he loves it. He is very much into these type of toys. Thank you Amazon!

A Guide to the Beginnings of a New Art Form.......2007-05-11

It wasn't enough to have regular dolls like Barbie or G.I. Joe. Some people had to go messing around with the dolls instead of leaving them as they were. They melted and remolded the limbs, or they substituted a speaker or a model of a radio for a head, or they gave G.I. Joe an orange afro. This was only about ten years ago, and the dolls were coming in from Asia. "It was as if artists were taking toys that I remembered from my childhood and imposing an adult aesthetic on them," writes Paul Budnitz, "They were cute, scary, hip, violent, scarce, expensive, and beautiful." Budnitz, a film-maker with a fine arts degree from Yale, was so taken by the strange dolls that he went to Hong Kong and started a toy company to manufacture more. In _I Am Plastic: The Designer Toy Explosion_ (Abrams), Budnitz has provided three hundred lovely color pages devoted to his obsession, both the designs made by his firm Kidrobot and by many others who are participating in a lively new art form. And if the prices for these items on e-Bay, for instance, is any indicator, there are lots of enthusiasts just as obsessed.

Budnitz asserts that these are true works of art, but that they have an unusual canvas, usually bright, smooth plastic assembled in parts. They come in limited editions, like prints, and many buyers are interested in collecting sets. Because there are so few made, the artists are free to take risks and make something very strange and otherwise commercially infeasible. The artists wind up putting their own money up for production, and spending their own time to sell their sculptures, when of course they'd be happier just being artists. It's a risk, and they want their customers to take a risk on buying, too, and buying just because the offered toy is "really, really weird." Weird they certainly are, and often laugh-out-loud funny; these are generally cartoonish creatures, although some are scary. Often they are beautiful, and the lovely pictures in this book will make anyone want to see the real objects. A set from Devilrobots inexplicably titled "Maffy Kubrick" looks like gumdrops of different colors with smiley faces. Devilrobots also manufactures cubes that come in mock tofu boxes, but the cubes of tofu have faces (usually unsmiling) and are driving around in little bumper cars. Lots look like they would fit into Japanese monster movies, for instance. There are bunnies here, too, mostly in the form of "Smorkin' Labbit", a puffy rabbit figurine whose cuteness clashes with the cigarette in its mouth. The labbit in each of its incarnations is physically identical, except for its paint job, which might be garish, pastel, plaid, or bondage-themed.

There is page after page of whimsical figures, full of color, with molding revealing fine detail. The people who produce these objects obviously love their work. The people who collect them, and pay premium prices, obviously love them, too. I certainly would be more interested in viewing a collection of these pieces than I would a host of items from the Franklin Mint. I didn't know a thing about designer toys before I opened this handsome book, but it is clear that this is a trend that will continue. Perhaps _I Am Plastic_ will be a foundation document for an established art movement in the future, to show the movement's Golden Age, but it stands on its own as a fine introduction into a very odd artistic and commercial endeavor.

Best Vinyl Toys Book ~.......2007-04-23

Vinyl Toys Maniac, this is the best complete book for you. Cool stuff & you'll want to read this book over and over again without gettin bore ~ 2 Thumbs up ^^

inspiring.......2007-03-14

inspiring, amazing , aesthetic value now change .
this book represent new aesthetic approach of toys

great book for toy collectors and enthusiasts.......2007-03-01

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys urban toys. Almost every page has very nice, large photographs of different single works and series. The book displays each toy very well; it includes different views of most of the works and some close-ups. It features artists from all over the world and contains some interviews as well.

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort

Average customer rating:

"Apron Heaven"
Delightful read
The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort
The Apron Book: Making, Wearing and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort
Well photographed book with cute APRON STORIES

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort
EllynAnne Geisel
Manufacturer: Andrews McMeel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0740761811

Book Description

Vintage aprons and modern designs are turning up in movies, magazine spreads, upscale shops, and hip retail venues like Anthropologie, whose trendy line of aprons is selling as fast as they can stock them. The Apron Book is an infectiously enthusiastic guide to aprons, old and new, that are suddenly everywhere.

Aprons take us back to our favorite place¿hearth and home. Vintage aprons help us remember home and family the way they used to be, while bright and sassy contemporary aprons confirm that nesting is all the rage. Actress and trendsetter Julia Roberts has a closetful of vintage aprons. Celebrity custom-made apron auctions have become an annual event for several popular charities in the past few years.

The Apron Book provides full-color photos of new and vintage aprons from the author's collection, patterns for four basic apron styles and myriad variations, recipes, tips on collecting and preserving vintage aprons, and heart-tugging stories from the author's traveling apron exhibit. The book also explores the heyday of aprons and looks at the various roles aprons still play when worn in the kitchen, around the house, by the backyard grill, on the job, and for special occasions.

Warm and inviting¿but like an apron quite practical!¿this book is a celebration of a great American icon and reminds us of what we loved about the people who wore them.

Customer Reviews:

"Apron Heaven".......2007-09-30

Wow! What a delightful book! Not only rich in history and memory, but you are given the instructions to make them come alive in the "now!" This is in the "fave" section of my studio!

Delightful read.......2007-08-31

I found "The Apron Book" book to be absolutely charming and fully engaging. Old enough to remember aprons similar to those represented being worn by family and friends, as well as being an inveterate collector of fabric, this work prompts pleasant memories as it nudges me toward my machine.

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing, and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort.......2007-08-23

This book is a good gift, coffee table book, or reference book. It has lots of pictures of authentic vintage patterns, vintage looking aprons, and ideas for color and cloth. The vintage patterns she displays are very usefull and can easily be reinvented with modern commercial patterns.
The patterns she offers are alittle disappointing, especially for children. I was looking for a Mom and kid combo with a bib type pattern. The childs pattern has no bib and was not gathered/sewn to the waiste band but like curtins, gathering as it falls.
There is a "no frills" commercial type pattern for Mom on the back cover and the book gives good details for the patterns she describes in the book.
To me the strenght of her book is in her pictures for ideas, and you can pick up patterns that are exactly like what is pictured in her books commercially. Personally I liked her book, I like idea books with vintage styles. This book can sit on your self until the time you need "inspiration" or a quick apron idea for a gift you want to make.

The Apron Book: Making, Wearing and Sharing a Bit of Cloth and Comfort.......2007-08-17

Great find!! Such pretty illustrations and wonderful personal 'apron' stories. I loved it from cover to cover. Bought it for a gift but cannot bear to give it away now.

Well photographed book with cute APRON STORIES.......2007-08-13

This is a cute book about aprons. The photos are just marvelous---very bright and colorful!

Each sub-category, in each chapter, comes with a funny or sweet story about the various "special" aprons photographed.

I am giving it a 4-star rather than a 5-star because with over 500+ collectible aprons that the author owns, I wish she had photographed even a small array or "collage-photo", showing more of her pretty aprons. Maybe she could have added a few additional pages to her book, with a combo-photo of more of her aprons.

The author mentions so many interesting aprons that she owns in her collection (but did not show), and so I wanted to see a few more aprons she mentioned throughout the book... (for example: maybe even a photograph or two of a "collage" of just 40 more aprons would have been great).

However, maybe once the author sees how well her first book on aprons is selling right now, she will write a volume #II next time---which I will buy.

Sheila Hicks: Weaving as Metaphor (Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture)

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Sheila Hicks: Weaving as Metaphor (Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture)

Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0300116853

Book Description

This intriguing book examines the small woven and wrought works artist Sheila Hicks has produced for the past fifty years. With their distinctive colors, thoughtful compositions, and narrative, these miniature creations reveal the emergence and continuity of the artist’s approach to her work. Internationally recognized for her mastery of a textile vocabulary of extremely different scales—sculpture, tapestry, site specific commissions for public spaces, environments of recuperated clothing and uniforms, and more—Hicks has thoughtfully crafted miniatures throughout her nomadic career. The palm-sized works present a record of her remarkable and personal journeys.
Focusing on some one hundred miniatures from public and private collections, the book demonstrates the breadth of Hicks's concerns: her persistent inquiry into the mysteries of color, her playful yet reverential subversions of weaving traditions, her surprising range of materials, and her exploration of new technology. From initial experiments based on pre-Columbian weaving structures to a 2005 sculptural project using ninety colors of synthetic filaments, these small works offer a unique opportunity to access and examine the artist's conceptual and technical forays. The volume includes informative essays by Arthur C. Danto, Joan Simon, and Nina Stritzler-Levine as well as illustrations of the artist’s working tools, related drawings, photographs, and chronology.

On Chinese Body Thinking: A Cultural Hermeneutic (Philosophy of History and Culture)

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On Chinese Body Thinking: A Cultural Hermeneutic (Philosophy of History and Culture)
Kuang-Ming Wu
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9004101500

Book Description

This book uses Western philosophical tradition to make a case for a form of thinking properly associated with ancient China. The book's thesis is that Chinese thinking is concrete rather than formal and abstract, and this is gathered in a variety of ways under the symbol "body thinking". The root of the metaphor is that the human body has a kind of intelligence in its most basic functions. When hungry the body gets food and eats, when tired it sleeps, when amused it laughs. In free people these things happen instinctively but not automatically. The metaphor of body thinking is extended far beyond bodily functions in the ordinary sense to personal and communal life, to social functions and to cultivation of the arts of civilization. As the metaphor is extended, the way to stay concrete in thinking with subtlety becomes a kind of ironic play, a natural adeptness at saying things with silences. Play and indirection are the roads around formalism and abstraction. Western formal thinking, it is argued, can be sharpened by Chinese body thinking to exhibit spontaneity and to produce healthy human thought in a community of cultural variety.

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Spectacular insight from the Spectacle
This book is AMAZING.

Spectacle
David Rockwell , and Bruce Mau
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0714845744

Book Description

In Spectacle, the architect David Rockwell, in collaborationwith designer Bruce Mau, explores the allure of larger-than-life eventsthat take place around the globe. From the running of the bulls in Pamplonato the Holi Festival in India to deafening - and dangerous - NASCAR races,Spectacle considers what it is about these "shared, live experiences" thattransforms not only the way we see the world, but also how we connect witheach other.Illustrated with over 200 color photographs, the dynamic visual essayhighlights the power of real-time, real-space events in today's highlymediated world. The book features a collection of photographs andinterviews with award-winning authors, producers, directors, andperformers. These contributors have documented, participated in, orproduced large events and bring a fascinating behind-the-scenes and infront-of-the footlights perspective on "spectacles" today. Interviewsinclude: Muhammad Ali, champion boxer; Kurt Anderson, novelist andessayist; Simon Doonan, author and creative director;Dave Hickey, artcritic; Quincy Jones, legendary music and event producer; Guy Lalibert+,founder of Cirque du Soleil; Julie Taymor, film and theater director;Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown, architects; John Waters, filmmaker;and Steve Wynn, Las Vegas mega-developer, with a concluding essay by criticHerbert Muschamp.The book offers readers an unprecedented tour of over 60 far-flung andfleeting, beautiful and bizaare manmade events around the world.Anin-depth selection of "spectacles" are presented thematically in sixchapters that focus on various characteristics and unique culturalattributes that connect or distinguish each of the events.Spectacle offers statistics and sidebars on the history of featured events,providing layers of information that add depth and context.Further, areference section called "Getting There" contains a monthly calendarlisting more global spectacles throughout the year, maps and insider tipsyou should know before you go."An empty stadium, an open field or a busy urban thoroughfare, each--whentransformed by spectacle--undergoes an alchemic process," says DavidRockwell. "A group of strangers fuses into an instant community. As anarchitect I strive to make environments where people connect. This isrooted in vivid recollections of my childhood--from amateur theater on theJersey shore to the open air markets of Guadalajara Mexico--that have mademe deeply aware of the power of shared experience. By physically attendingan event, you declare yourself; you become something greater than you."From the glitzy appeal of Las Vegas to the historical reenactment of theCalcio Storico in Florence, Spectacle presents an extraodordinarycollection of images and text that convey the palpable buzz, sheer beautyand unusual fascination of public performance around the globe.If you arean armchair traveler or spontanieous jetsetter, David Rockwell and BruceMau offer a mesmerizing, thought-provoking journey into the world ofspectacle that is bound to encourage not only conversation but alsoparticipation.

Customer Reviews:

Spectacular insight from the Spectacle.......2007-02-01

An enlighting experiences into the most miraculous community or urban places bringing places and ideas together. And it is particularly overwhelming to review this issue from the lens of an architect. A must Buy!!!

This book is AMAZING........2006-10-31

I didn't know what to expect when I opened up this book - but it's fair to say the whole world exploded (in a good way) before my eyes as I literally flew through the pages. Spectacle takes a look at the reasons why people gather together - sometimes in the most unwelcoming circumstances - to celebrate, to mourn, to affect change, to create.

There's a beauty here that goes way beyond the amazing photographs - it's the study of the whys and hows behind the events and how the connective energies are the same regardless of ones attending a NASCAR race or the running of the bulls.

I was tremendously moved by SPECTACLE.

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We might be Fruits too.
Nice!
This is a great photo book.
A Birthday Gift
Colorful World

Fruits
Shoichi Aoki
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0714840831

Amazon.com's Best of 2001

If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki's book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A best-of collection from the fanzine of the same name, and published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favorite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Garçons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men's silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL (elegant gothic Lolita), and a swathe of tartans, pinks, and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.

One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy's delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll and is currently preoccupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their "point of fashion" and "current obsession." The scope for sociopsychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilization, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks, and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl. --David Vincent

Book Description

If you ever wondered where the catwalk got its claws, then the portraits gathered in photographer Shoichi Aoki's book Fruits, from the streets of Harajuku in Tokyo, point the way to an extraordinarily imaginative and invariably stunning glut of mongrel fashion heists. A best-of collection from the fanzine of the same name, and published for the first time outside Japan, Fruits keeps its style clean: front-on, razor-sharp images, ranging from the deadpan to the manic, of the sharpest collages of sartorial influence that, usually, little money can buy. From off the peg to off the wall, kitsch to bitch, each person bears a combination and philosophy as distinctive as DNA. All shades of aesthetic are raided, with exquisite, scrupulous attention to detail. Punk is a favorite, as is, appropriately, Vivienne Westwood, alongside Milk and Jean-Paul Gaultier, and the occasional Comme des Gar+ons. Many of the outfits, though, are second-hand or self-assembly, such as a skirt drooping petals of men's silk ties, Wa-mono, when tradition Japanese clothes are topped with, say, an authentic bowler hat, EGL (elegant gothic Lolita), and a swathe of tartans, pinks, and turquoises. The most malleable feature, unsurprisingly, is hair, with dreadlocks, mohicans, back-combing, and crops dyed an irradiated spectrum. While the eye is drawn, obediently, to the mannequins, the background is often worth a look, either for the vending machines against which a number are shot, or the ubiquitous Gap store and bags, a constant reminder of the global mass market.One enterprising man wears a genuine British paperboy's delivery bag, and, to pick but one profile, Princess, 18, is trying to be a doll and is currently preoccupied with body organs. Mmm. All the subjects are asked the source of their clothes, as well as their "point of fashion" and "current obsession." The scope for sociopsychological discussion is vast, particularly with the preponderance of infantilization, through dolls, bonnets, pop socks, and Barbie, but this is a joyous documentation of the innovative, celebrating the inspirational polytheism of street fashion, captured with provocative, political zeal. Best let the street cats prowl. --David Vincent

Customer Reviews:

We might be Fruits too........2007-09-26

My high school art class, Costume Design, LOVE this book. It's fun to see teenagers in another culture taking western fashion and personalizing it. Every time I pick up the book I see something new. We've only had the book a couple of weeks and it is already dog-eared.

Nice!.......2007-03-27

Great book, made my girlfriend quite happy. She is very into Japanese street fashion and this book just captivated her, she looked through it about 20 times the day i gave it to her.

This is a great photo book........2007-02-04

Even if you aren't particularly interested in Japanese youth culture, this book is just a great example of fashion or humanity and the expansion of western culture into the eastern. The photographs are all high quality and just about every page also has a little questionaire filled out by each subject so you get to know a little more about them then their outrageous fashion sense.

A Birthday Gift.......2007-01-10

I got this for my 14 year old son who is into Asian pop culture.
He enjoyed the book but thought it had too much FASION aspect.

Colorful World.......2006-09-30

I had the good fortune to run into this book on vacation. As soon as I got home I ordered both Fruits and it's companion. As a self motivated student of fashion and all of it's off-shoots, I immensely enjoy this book. It is a plethora of individuals, and not a duplicate picture in the book. It features mostly youth (teenagers) but that is to be expected. But it doesn't limit itself to just the very young. There are a few family photos and "older" individuals. It is a monument to anyone who creatively clothed themselves. It gives brief details: name, age, point of fashion, fashion brands and makers. A lot of the "point of fashion" remarks seem like nonsense at first. After reflection, I think they are just 'smart allec come-backs', much like what you'd get from someone in the American Gothic culture if you asked one of them why they wear black all the time. Even with brief details you can start to see patterns in clothing styles seperating themselves out from one another. By age particularly, and by preference to designers within a group of friends. The only problem I had was reading some of the bubble gum colored print that it was done in.

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