WACK!: Art and the Feminist Revolution
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    WACK!: Art and the Feminist Revolution

    Manufacturer: The MIT Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Vinyl Bound

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    ASIN: 0914357999

    Book Description

    There had never been art like the art produced by women artists in the 1970s--and there has never been a book with the ambition and scope of this one about that groundbreaking era. WACK! documents and illustrates the impact of the feminist revolution on art made between 1965 and 1980, featuring pioneering and influential works by artists who came of age during that period--Chantal Akerman, Lynda Benglis, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Valie Export, Mary Heilmann, Sanja Ivekovič, Ana Mendieta, Annette Messager, and others--as well as important works made in those years by artists whose whose careers were already well established, including Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Sheila Levrant de Bretteville, Lucy Lippard, Alice Neel, and Yoko Ono.

    The art surveyed in WACK! includes work by more than 120 artists, in all media--from painting and sculpture to photography, film, installation, and video--arranged not by chronology but by theme: Abstraction, "Autophotography," Body as Medium, Family Stories, Gender Performance, Knowledge as Power, Making Art History, and others. WACK!, which accompanies the first international museum exhibition to showcase feminist art from this revolutionary era, contains more than 400 color images. Highlights include the figurative paintings of Joan Semmel; the performance and film collaborations of Sally Potter and Rose English; the untitled film stills of Cindy Sherman; and the large-scale, craft-based sculptures of Magdalena Abakanowicz.

    Written entries on each artist offer key biographical and descriptive information and accompanying essays by leading critics, art historians, and scholars offer new perspectives on feminist art practice. The topics--including the relationship between American and European feminism, feminism and New York abstraction, and mapping a global feminism--provide a broad social context for the artworks themselves. WACK! is both a definitive visual record and a long-awaited history of one of the most important artistic movements of the twentieth century.

    Essays by:
    Cornelia Butler, Judith Russi Kirshner, Catherine Lord, Marsha Meskimmon, Richard Meyer, Helen Molesworth, Peggy Phelan, Nelly Richard, Valerie Smith, Abigail Solomon-Godeau, Jenni Sorkin

    Artists include:
    Marina Abramovič, Chantal Akerman, Lynda Benglis, Dara Birnbaum, Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Lygia Clark, Jay DeFeo, Mary Beth Edelson, Valie Export, Barbara Hammer, Susan Hiller, Joan Jonas, Mary Kelly, Maria Lassnig, Linda Montano, Alice Neel, Senga Nengudi, Lorraine O’Grady, Pauline Oliveros, Yoko Ono, Orlan, Howardena Pindell, Yvonne Rainer, Faith Ringgold, Ketty La Rocca, Ulrike Rosenbach, Martha Rosler, Betye Saar, Miriam Schapiro, Carolee Schneemann, Cindy Sherman, and Hannah Wilke.
    Andy Warhol: Giant Size
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Very Impressive. Great coffee table book!
    • Good for Killing Alot of Space
    • very very Important
    • Awesome pictorial of Warhol
    • awsome purchase
    Andy Warhol: Giant Size
    Editors of Phaidon Press , and Dave Hickey
    Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 071484540X

    Book Description

    ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is a spectacular visual biography of the life and career of Andy Warhol.Weighing in at 15 pounds, this enormous book is packed with 2,000 images and documents, many rare or previously unpublished.Taking its inspiration from Warhol's over-the-top nature, ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE depicts the major events, people, works and moments in the artist's life told in chronological order by subject.As Warhol almost never threw anything away (from restaurant receipts to postcards), the featured material in the book has been painstakingly compiled.As the publisher of The Andy Warhol Catalogue Raisonn+, Phaidon was granted unprecedented access to an array of public and private image and memorabilia archives and collections, including the Andy Warhol Foundation in New York and the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh as well as the holdings of many Warhol collaborators, friends, and photographers of the period.The large-format of ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE enables the reader to explore in detail hundreds of fascinating photographs, letters, personal correspondence, art works, film stills, tickets, receipts, celebrity head shots, notes, press clippings and ephemera all featured in this one of a kind publication. The book also features illuminating texts by insiders Bruno Bischofberger, Ronnie Cutrone, David Dalton, Kenneth Goldsmith, Ivan Karp and Peggy Phelan.What is unique about ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is that it provides fascinating insight into the public and private life of Warhol and in many cases also reveals the stories behind his art works.The book provides amazing comparisons between his work and his life that have never been demonstrated visually in such a way before.For example, it not only features Warhol's famous "Mao" series, but also includes ephemera from a 1982 trip to China (his passport, boarding pass, a souvenir from his hotel, etc.) alongside a photo of Warhol standing in front of the Forbidden City in Beijing with an official Mao portrait in the background. This important new publication includes a staggering quantity and array of colorful material including: Warhol's birth certificate, citing Andrew Warhola' was born on 8/6/28 in Pittsburgh; childhood photographs of his family; the magazine tear sheet showing the first article he illustrated for Glamour when he arrived in New York in 1949;numerous photos of Warhol with his mother; artworks for gold shoes he created in the 1950s; a letter from the MOMA dated 1959 in which the Director of the Museum's Collections rejects a work of art Warhol offered them as a gift; photographs of Warhol posing with Edie Sedgwick in a New York fashion shoot; personal letters from Mick Jagger and Liz Taylor; pictures of Warhol in the office working on Interview; pictures of Warhol private views; a series of shots of Warhol in drag; the program from his Memorial Mass on 4/1/87 and his gravestone.ANDY WARHOL "GIANT" SIZE is the only publication available that features Warhol's entire life, work and words in one book.The visual biography offers a behind-the-scenes look at the New York art scene of the 1950s to the 1980s, and provides a new perspective on an artist who continues to be endlessly fascinating to those inside and outside of the art world.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Very Impressive. Great coffee table book!.......2007-07-03

    While I admit I have not read this book cover to cover yet, it is a great book to own if you are a fan of pop culture, POP art, or any of the characters from the Factory. There is a lot of biographical text, but far more pictures and insight into the art, so it is really quite fascinating. I am a huge fan of pop culture during the sixties and of Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick. My husband is not. He loves this book, too, though as it quite nice for the coffee table, and a conversation piece. It provides exposure to the world of Andy Warhol and the Factory without the overt homoerotic tone that some of the other books have. I would definitely recommend this book.

    3 out of 5 stars Good for Killing Alot of Space.......2007-06-26

    The main attraction of "Giant Size" is just that it is physically giant sized. I have the book set on one of my display cases and is just way to cumbersome to read. It's chronological layout of Warhol's life and work seem very accurate even though I have not been able to read this book rather a good skimming. Interesting documents of his life are displayed throughout including photos of his childhood.

    I recommend this book for anyone who needs an enormous coffee table book, or is a fan of Modern Art or just loves Andrew Warhola.

    5 out of 5 stars very very Important.......2007-03-09

    Wahol.......
    This book is the whole of him

    5 out of 5 stars Awesome pictorial of Warhol.......2007-03-06

    In a word Awesome.
    Its a huge, heavy and visually spectacular overview of Andy Warhols career. The perfect Coffee Table book. First rate photographs and reproductions of Andy's work. One of the best available.

    5 out of 5 stars awsome purchase.......2007-02-23

    This book is worth every penny, the photography is incredible, It's perfect!!!!!!!!!!
    Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Something everyone would find interesting
    • SPECTACULAR VISUAL DELIGHT
    • my new coffee table book
    • Fascinating imagery
    • Wonderful family book
    Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion
    Al Seckel
    Manufacturer: Sterling
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1402705778

    Book Description

    Astonishing creations by masters of the art, such as Escher, Dali, and Archimbolo; amazing visual trickery; and an illuminating foreword by the Pulitzer Prize--winning author Douglas R. Hofstadter make this 320-page, breathtaking collection the definitive book of optical illusions.

    Rings of seahorses that seem to rotate on the page. Butterflies that transform right before your eyes into two warriors with their horses. A mosaic portrait of oceanographer Jacques Cousteau made from seashells. These dazzling and often playful artistic creations manipulate perspective so cleverly that they simply outwit our brains: we can’t just take a quick glance and turn away. They compel us to look once, twice, and over and over again, as we try to figure out exactly how the delightful trickery manages to fool our perceptions so completely. Of course, first and foremost, every piece is beautiful on the surface, but each one offers us so much more. Some, including Sandro del Prete’s charming “Window Gazing,” construct illusionary worlds where normal conceptions of up, down, forward, and back simply have no meaning anymore. Others, such as Jos De Mey’s sly “Ceci n’est pas un Magritte,” create visual puns on earlier work. From Escher’s famous and elaborate “Waterfall” to Shigeo Fukuda’s “Mary Poppins,” where a heap of bottles, glasses, shakers, and openers somehow turn into the image of a Belle Epoque woman when the spotlight hits them, these works of genius will provide endless enjoyment and food for thought.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Something everyone would find interesting.......2007-08-06

    I teach high school freshmen, and I keep this book on my shelf for students to look through on their own time. It is easily one of the most popular books, and after only three years the wear is beginning to prove this. I don't know how many times I have dropped it off at a student's table because they were bored, and dared them to not find something interesting in the book. Without fail, a students will be engrossed in the book within minutes.

    One of the best features about this book compared to other books of its kind is that it contains dozens of examples of dozens of various types of art. Beyond the typical optical illusions, it features trompe d'loeil murals, artwork created with hair or chocolate syrup, artwork that can only be viewed with a reflective cylinder, and much more. As I mentioned before, nearly everyone will find something fascinating in this book.

    5 out of 5 stars SPECTACULAR VISUAL DELIGHT.......2007-06-08

    For anyone with eyes, I recommend this book. I purchased for my girlfriend and she loved it. Dali and Echer are particular noteworthy in this collection of illusioins. It will renew your sense of wonder about how your brain works.

    5 out of 5 stars my new coffee table book.......2007-01-30

    Wow - I chose this based on the chorus of 5 star reviews, submitted by others who seem much more knowledgeable in this field than I, and I am NOT disappointed! This is a great looking book - big, hardcover, suitable for your coffee table. As stated in other reviews, the book has a nice sampling of well known artists, plus an array of fun illusions, and EXPLANATIONS, which is something I had not seen in other books of illusions. This is just a very nice book, meeting the hype, and worthy of your coffee table or anybody else's for that matter .. definitely gift-worthy.

    3 out of 5 stars Fascinating imagery.......2007-01-19

    Overall this is a fascinating book, interesting to read and fun to look through the pictures. My only complaint is with a few of the images which are too small to appreciate. 2 x 4 inches is not sufficient to enjoy Escher's detailed graphics, and I found myself using a magnifying glass at times. Thankfully this is the exception, and many images are almost full-page size. Even if you know nothing about art, this is an enjoyable book, because you will find yourself amazed by the clever images.

    5 out of 5 stars Wonderful family book.......2007-01-16

    I purchased this book for my teenage son for Christmas. It was a big hit with everyone in the family, and with our friends who stopped by that day. And even after the holidays, I saw my son (an avid video gamer who refuses to read books) pick it up several times, and even share it with a friend.
    The information about the different artists is fascinating, and the artwork is fun, inspiring and amazing.
    Cy Twombly: A Monograph
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • The best book on Twombly
    • Fifty plus years of an extraordinary artist's output
    • About the only major Twombly book in print
    Cy Twombly: A Monograph
    Richard Leeman
    Manufacturer: Flammarion
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 2080304836
    Release Date: 2005-06-28

    Book Description

    The pictorial creations by American artist Cy Twombly have represented, for more than 50 years, a sort of enigma that reinforces the mythic status of the artist. This book, takes into consideration Twombly’s immense and complex body of work from the 1950s up through his current works, offers a thematic and chronological interpretation of his paintings, drawings, sculptures, and collages. Richard Leeman’s study elucidates the symbols found in Twombly’s paintings―pictograms, numbers, words, colors―that, at first glance, constitute diverse and unique entities, but then assemble to form a veritable language, where their often primitive forms mix on the canvas with allusive fragments of a vast culture. From scribbles and drawings to words, Twombly’s work profoundly articulates a language and memory of desire where painting, drawing, and writing meld into a single art form.
    This exquisitely produced volume, complete with six gatefolds, is an important addition to the existing bibliography of works on one of America’s preeminent contemporary artists.
    Exhibition Schedule
    “Cy Twombly: Fifty Years of Works on Paper”
    Whitney Museum of Art: January 27—May 8, 2005
    Menil Collection, Houston, TX: May 27—September 4, 2005

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars The best book on Twombly.......2007-04-04

    Cy Twombly is the typical "my-kid-could-do-that" artist...and yet being face to face with one of his best paintings is always a mysterious, entrancing, exhilarating experience. This book, through its many high-quality reproductions (close-ups even succeed in rendering the thick brushstrokes, a trademark of the artist), manages to convey some of this experience to the reader. It is a very well written work which deciphers Twombly's art better than any other publication on the artist as far as I know.
    I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the work of this great artist.

    5 out of 5 stars Fifty plus years of an extraordinary artist's output.......2005-12-31

    Cy Twombly is an artist who remains on the playing field, creating much the same type work over the years, yet still inspiring artists and audience alike. There is something gloriously spontaneous and innocent about his seemingly random 'scribblings' on canvas or paper. Perhaps he connects with the nascent artist in each of us: 'if this man can do this, I could, too!'

    Perusing this well constructed monograph quickly suspends delusions of being able to recreate Twombly's art. In generous foldout pages and richly reproduced examples of works from 1950 to the present we find hints of symbols, fragments of words that hold as much mystery as cave paintings or hieroglyphics, just variations on themes that serve to nurture excitement for the idiosyncratic work of this fine artist.

    The visuals are what make this book. The essay contributions by Richard Leeman who wrote his doctoral dissertation on Twombly are a bit on the dry side but as secure information as one is likely to find on this fascinating artist. Highly Recommended for all who have fallen under the spell of Twombly. Grady Harp, December 05

    4 out of 5 stars About the only major Twombly book in print.......2005-11-13

    Basically, works on Twombly seem to come and go out of print, and become rather pricey collectors items quickly. This book contains an excellent selection of reproductions, including foldouts, of all phases of his career. The only thing that prevents this from being a five star book is the rather pedestrian (although well researched) text, in the usual obfuscating artspeak that passes for deep insight today. The out of print Varnadoe book from the major restropective of the 90's has a far more lucid outline of the works in question...but, really, you're probably buying the book for the reproductions anyway, and there are plenty of them, including some nice full page close up details of the often massive works. Not an inexpensive book, but well worth it for anyone interested in this "painter's painter" works.
    John Currin
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • The Fantastic Awkward Nature of Existence
    • It is 5 stars to the book, but does the artist deserve such a book?
    • surprisingly disappointed
    • It'll be worth something some day
    • Weird & wonderful
    John Currin
    Alison M. Gingeras , Dave Eggers , and John Currin
    Manufacturer: Rizzoli
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0847828654
    Release Date: 2006-12-05

    Book Description

    One of the leading figurative painters of his generation, Currin's influences range from Italian and Northern Renaissance paintings to popular illustrations from the mid-20th century. Whether portraits of older women, buxom girls, nudes with elongated bodies, or group scenes of domestic life, his works are characterized by baroque gestures, loose brushstrokes, unorthodox palettes, and detailed backgrounds that startle the viewer into a reconsideration of the tradition of painting. His "old master" techniques and individual style have earned him accolades from critics and collectors worldwide.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars The Fantastic Awkward Nature of Existence.......2007-06-07

    The first time I saw some paintings by John Currin they appealed to me right away. I did not need a second look or to hear some long winded explination like from art school about why I should appreciate them. The simple fact is they connected to me and I picked up my first book on him.

    He is an excellent painter but that is just incidental to his work. There are a lot of excellent painters in this world but skill alone does nothing for art. An artist has to have something to communicate, something to show beyond his talent as a painter or draftsman. John Currin definitely has something to show. He paints mostly women but that too I feel is mostly incidental. Men as a rule of thumb love to paint women. It's a tremendous lure to paint that which we find so beautiful.

    To me, I love his work because with no more than a simple pose, or a well painted women with a heavily modeled pasty face, he is able to communicate the awkward nature of day to day life. Figures with uncomfortable inner thoughts and feelings show overly affected smiles or looks. Stamford After Brunch, Park City Girl, The Activists, and Brown Lady all have this feel to them. Something is lurking in the inner psyches of these people. Women they may be, but people they surly are and something is a bit off below the surface of their lives. The masks that we all put on are communicated with the actual heavily modeled pasty made up faces of some of the women.

    There is also a restless longing in many of his paintings. Paintings such as: Lovers 1993, Lovers in the Country 1993, Portrait 1993, and The Never Ending Story. These paintings seem to show that something is missing from the lives of the men. In a few of them a woman is present but she seems to be there for her man, perhaps to help aid him in what ever way she can. The man in each case appears like some kind of bizarre perversion of Abe Lincoln meets Uncle Sam meets Colonel Sanders with some Mr. Rogers thrown in. These paintings, to me, have a very distinct American feel to them. All 4 paintings have clouds and appear to be set in large open spaces where the man is gazing far and wide while he thinks about what it is exactly that is missing from his life or his country. The men and women in the paintings may in fact be metaphors for America itself, looking lost like some odd flustered older man but with all the help and appreciation of a young mistress by his side.

    Currin is most definitely pointing out what he likes and does not like about this world often in the same painting. Things are not clear cut black and white, good or bad, it's messier than that and more complicated.

    Day to day life as a human is complicated. We all have these powerful brains and they ceaselessly function and generate thoughts and communicate ideas, impulses and urges almost all the time. I personally find life to often be quite awkward for people in general. Adulthood is mostly a veiled childhood where we think way too much about what others are doing, thinking, and how they are acting. many facades go up and come down. People see others and desire what they have, the spouce someone has, or their house, possessions, situation and the like. All the while we are bizarre animals with all sorts of odd functions that also function ceaselessly beyond our control. All the while we have the urge to sleep, eat, fornicate, and all this while we try and do better for ourselves and appear as normal as possible within the confines of what ever community we find ourselves in. For me John Currin's paintings show this day to day struggle we all have with the awkward nature of existence and the strains that having a large brain in a complex world put on a person with urges, and longings that often happen in direct contradiction to what is expected of one in this world, country, town, street, or home. Also there is the deeper thoughts that we mostly as a society tend to uncomfortably ignore. Where did we come from? Where did the universe come from? Why does anything exist at all? These thoughts are ones that as animals we are privileged to have. Still they have boggled man for ever and humans at home who are not great thinkers can contemplate this too. We all carry these unanswered questions around with us all the time. We may not know it but we carry a bit of fear with us as a result of these unanswered questions about existence and the universe every day. They are deep in the back of our minds. I sense this in some of Currin's paintings.

    All this just scratches the surface of what I get from his paintings. Some of them are just beautiful portraits in their own rights and need not be viewed as more than that.

    He is definitely one of the few great contemporary American painters alive today and he has his brush on the pulse of the odd facade that is exhibited with the awkward doppelgänger that is writhing just below the phony surface of this country.

    5 out of 5 stars It is 5 stars to the book, but does the artist deserve such a book?.......2007-04-09

    A great art book, undoubtedly. It actually is a catalogue raisonné, with all the information needed on the provenance, the size and the medium. Now isn't it a bit early in Currin's career? At only 45 years old, he has yet to prove that he can stand the test of time. If you try to set aside all the hype that has been surrounding the artist (the "very dear" of the the art world, in every sense of the word "dear"), I am not sure that you will find his works worth the weight and the price of this beautiful monography...

    1 out of 5 stars surprisingly disappointed.......2007-02-23

    I was so excited when the big package containing this book had arrived at my door, Currin has been one of my favourite artists and during recent years I had the pleasure of starring at many of his masterpieces from up close.
    This may explain my disappointment with the selection of works & reproductions (yes, I do understand it is impossible to come close to the originals with 4 color printing, but the images in the book at least could have been larger, i dont need all this white space, and I guess theres a reason amazon didnt have a "look inside the book" for this one).

    5 out of 5 stars It'll be worth something some day.......2007-01-29

    I love saying that. But seriously, I bought this book for a loved one keeping in mind it'll be a collector's item some day. The loved one is the type that handles books with white cotton gloves, since he doesn't want fingerprints or hand oils to transfer to the pages...yeah, it's like that.

    This is a pricey item, but definitely worth the purchase since it was done in a limited run. The prints are gorgeous, and it follows Currin's rise to surprisingly quick fame along with what his current collections look like. He is technically brilliant (although I know a lot of art nerds would totally interject here) and his topics are always fun. How can you not stare at an oddly shaped nude woman wearing huge shades? Besides, he's the only alum that Yale can really brag about.

    If you collect books or know and/or appreciate who John Currin is...go on and spend the money. You won't regret it.

    5 out of 5 stars Weird & wonderful.......2006-12-31

    John Currin's work occupies a very odd space. I love it all.
    History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Calculations are only as good as your numbers
    • Pants on fire?
    • Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
    • Very Interesting
    • History as Science Fiction
    History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
    Anatoly Fomenko
    Manufacturer: Mithec
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    5. They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

    ASIN: 2913621058

    Book Description

    Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

    Customer Reviews:

    3 out of 5 stars Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

    Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

    5 out of 5 stars Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

    Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

    5 out of 5 stars Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

    There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

    For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

    5 out of 5 stars Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

    It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

    4 out of 5 stars History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

    Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

    I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

    Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

    Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
    Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

    I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

    This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.
    Jeff Wall
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Excellent Companion to the Exhibit
    • The ultimate publication in contamporary art and culture
    Jeff Wall
    James Rondeau
    Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York/San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0870707078
    Release Date: 2007-02-01

    Book Description

    Over the past three decades, Vancouver artist Jeff Wall's large color transparencies have won international acclaim. Wall has created a unique, seductive and complex pictorial universe by drawing upon philosophy, literature, nineteenth-century painting, Neo-Realist cinema and the traditions of both Conceptual art and documentary photography. Organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Wall's 2007 American traveling retrospective will include all of the artist's major works to date. In addition to color plates and illuminating details, the exhibition catalogue includes an essay by Peter Galassi that explores the full range of Wall's artistic and intellectual interests and offers fresh perspectives on one of the most adventurous creative achievements of our time. The essay is followed by an interview with the artist by James Rondeau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, where the exhibition will be on view during the Summer of 2007. Also available from The Museum of Modern Art, New York: Jeff Wall: Selected Essays and Interviews.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Excellent Companion to the Exhibit.......2007-07-09

    If you are interested in Jeff Wall's work this is an essential accompaniment to the 2007 retrospective exhibit being shown in NY, Chicago, and SF. It has a great deal of interesting background information that attendees will not otherwise receive.

    So if you're a Jeff Wall fan see the exhibit if at all possible. No book can replicate the experience of seeing these enormous transparencies. But even if you can't see the exhibit get this accompanying catalog.

    5 out of 5 stars The ultimate publication in contamporary art and culture.......1999-01-19

    A great book about a great artist, in a great series of "Phaidon" dedicated to contemporary art. Not easy to read, but worth it. The debate about Jeff Wall's art (in which wall himself is an importent participent) encompasses many fundamental questions and notions regarding new art history, post-modernism and society at the end of this century. A must for contemporary art lovers.
    Global Feminisms: New Directions in Contemporary Art
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • tremendous diversity and scope
    • A celebration of modern feminist perspectives and works
    Global Feminisms: New Directions in Contemporary Art

    Manufacturer: Merrell
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    Feminist TheoryFeminist Theory | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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    5. Collectivism after Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945 Collectivism after Modernism: The Art of Social Imagination after 1945

    ASIN: 1858943906

    Book Description

    Global Feminisms is a celebration of contemporary feminist art that brings together works by over eighty women artists from around the world. Contributions by a multinational team of authors focus particular attention on socio-cultural, racial and gender identities. By offering new perspectives on feminist artistic expression since 1990, this ground-breaking book moves the discourse of feminism away from its traditional linear history and towards a global inclusiveness that acknowledges the cultural differences in women's lives and the ever-changing perceptions of feminism.

    Features the work of more than eighty contemporary women artists from over fifty countries, among them Catherine Opie, Miwa Yanagi, Pilar Albarracín, Shahzia Sikander and Yin Xiuzhen
    Includes essays offering new perspectives by internationally known contributors

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars tremendous diversity and scope.......2007-07-30

    Global Feminisms is a beautifully compiled collection of feminist art from all over the world, literally. Instead of focusing on works from the past, however, the earliest of the pieces in this book date from the year 1990 and looks forward to the future of feminism and art. The countless paintings, sculptures, pieces of installation art, photographs, portraits, etc. come from fifty countries and all continents (excluding Antarctica), and challenges the notion that feminism is Western-centric and male defined. It is comprehensive and easy to read, without being dry or inaccessible.

    This book manages to cover such a broad arena so smoothly. Its chapters are focused: "Gender Mobility: The Lens of Five Women Artists in India," "Post-Totalitarian Art: Eastern and Central Europe" and "What is Contemporary About Asian-American Women's Art?" are just a few of the many chapters. The intersections of race, class and sex are presented, and many of the pieces deal with cultural, political, economic, gender and sexual identities. The artists share their experiences as women in their particular culture and have created profound works that inspire dialogue, critiques or, simply, wonder.

    The art in this book is outstanding on its own with its tremendous diversity and scope - either in presentation, media and look; however, they all unite beautifully to present a successful global presentation of feminist art. And though the art can speak for itself, the writing accompanying it I fantastic and educational. A true enjoyment to read!

    5 out of 5 stars A celebration of modern feminist perspectives and works.......2007-06-17

    Over 80 women artists from over 50 countries are profiled in the fine catalog Global Feminisms: New Directions in Contemporary Art, which captures feminist art since 1990. Struggles for women's equality are reflected in works by women who strive to portray alternative perspectives. GLOBAL FEMINISMS accompanies an exhibit which coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the first major feminist art show to explore women in Western Art, but it stands well alone as a celebration of modern feminist perspectives and works and is an acquisition any college-level art or women's issues collection needs, pairing in-depth history and essays with full-page color photos.

    Diane C. Donovan
    California Bookwatch
    Clown Girl: A Novel
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Awesome
    • Fantastic!
    • i AM clown girl
    • A very good debut
    • Make Me Smile
    Clown Girl: A Novel
    Monica Drake
    Manufacturer: Hawthorne Books
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

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    ASIN: 0976631156

    Book Description

    Clown Girl lives in Baloneytown, a seedy neighborhood where drugs, balloon animals, and even rubber chickens contribute to the local currency. Against a backdrop of petty crime, she struggles to live her dreams, calling on cultural masters Charlie Chaplin, Kafka, and da Vinci for inspiration. In an effort to support herself and her layabout performance-artist boyfriend, Clown Girl finds herself unwittingly transformed into a "corporate clown," trapping herself in a cycle of meaningless, high-paid gigs that veer dangerously close to prostitution. Monica Drake has created a novel that riffs on the high comedy of early film stars — most notably Chaplin and W. C. Fields — to raise questions of class, gender, economics, and prejudice. Resisting easy classification, this debut novel blends the bizarre, the humorous, and the gritty with stunning skill.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Awesome .......2007-10-05

    i have been in and out of the hospital alot this past year. And the moments where the main characater is thinking about what to say and not say to the drs. is brillant. I was laughing out loud at the coffee shop. This book is a must read.

    5 out of 5 stars Fantastic!.......2007-09-23

    I can't do this book any justice by writing a review. The reviews on the back of the book didn't tell me what I was going to get out of it, it was extremely personal. Monica Drake was able to combine issues such as: unintentional and intentional creative whoring in business, the sickness of life, love defined in a Buddhist fashion and a sensational struggle resolved in a finale defining the category of a classic. The character development is such that I have already imagined who I would cast for the film. I have already passed the book along to a friend as a MUST READ, and if they don't I will doubt we ever had anything in common at all. Or they're just too busy or too lazy. My favorite book... that's what this is.

    5 out of 5 stars i AM clown girl.......2007-08-29

    i loved this book. Monica Drake is such an amazingly descriptive writer i felt like i was living in Nita's world. it was heart wrenching and darkly funny. i related so much to Nita, all her ups and "pratfalls". i didn't want the book to end.

    4 out of 5 stars A very good debut.......2007-08-12

    I, like most people, probably checked this out because of Chuck Palahniuk's name on the cover. This was a very good novel, and it definatly kept my interest throughout, but lacked in shocking moments that seem to occur in Chuck's books. Also it was a very short read, but definatly worth checking out.

    5 out of 5 stars Make Me Smile.......2007-07-18

    As I understand it,a book focused on a clown should make you laugh(with tears mixed in).I did and so will you.I compare it to A Confederacy of Dunces.Monica's debut stands on it's own,w/out Chuck Palahniuk's endorsement.Bada Boom!
    The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition
    Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    • Really nice book
    • Good for drawing "live"
    • Thank God for an excellent figurative painter!
    • Excellent, but...
    • Figure Drawing
    The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing: A Contemporary Perspective on the Classical Tradition
    Anthony Ryder
    Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Paperback

    Study & TeachingStudy & Teaching | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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    ASIN: 0823003035

    Customer Reviews:

    4 out of 5 stars Really nice book.......2007-07-31

    I got this book for my life drawing class and I really like this book. It does not teach anatomy or proportion. It shows the classical way of doing figure drawing and how to do finish rendering. It's more traditional approach and really helpful. I have learned a lot from it.

    5 out of 5 stars Good for drawing "live".......2006-07-17

    Very usefull, very pleasant to read. I was expecting more explanations about the relationship between anatomy and the human pose, but it's more about how to look at the model to draw it well.

    4 out of 5 stars Thank God for an excellent figurative painter!.......2006-03-04

    Ryder's book is a delight to leaf through, looking at the excellent life drawings in red earth, done with the same accuracy and passion as the masters of the past.
    He gives a very clear account of how to tackle the drawing in phases, until it is finished.
    I would have rated the book a solid 5, were it not that in my opinion Ryder spends too little time giving advice on how to measure proportions, which are the basis of a successful life drawing or portrait. He is undoubtedly a masterful draftsman, but the less experienced artist reading his book would expect to be led step by step on such an important aspect of drawing from life.

    4 out of 5 stars Excellent, but..........2005-11-05

    The general consensus of the reviews I've read is that this is a fine book, but not for beginners. My take is somewhat different.

    First of all, I think this is a fine book for a beginner if she or he is not (unlike most beginners it seems) indignant at the idea of having to have exercise patience and concentration.

    Anthony Ryder is a fine draftsman and, to judge from this book, a fine teacher as well. He explains his method quite admirably. How others can think otherwise is a mystery to me. As far as I'm concerned, he does an excellent job of combining instruction in mechanical technique with broader insights into the process of drawing. While I have never met him, I find he comes across in this book as quite a likeable person.

    I do, however, have a reservation. The author seems to have little understanding of, or at least does not convey, the limitations of the method he teaches.

    For accurately conveying the appearance of still subjects in controlled lighting, I think this method is without better.

    Many subjects, however, cannot be portrayed accurately using this method. You simply cannot make a good drawing of a living deer or chickadee, for instance, using this framework. Nor can you portray human subjects that are impractical for studio sessions, for instance a battle scene with many people (try paying just one model for 8 hours of posing) and in positions that no model can hold for very long or at all. All the work of A.R. that I have seen is either of inanimate objects or of human models in relatively leisurely poses, and his method reflects that.

    Nonetheless, learning to draw accurately from still life is an essential skill for those who want to do realistic work, and this book is an excellent foundation. However, if you want to work with subjects other than lounging models and objects on table tops, you will need to go beyond it.

    5 out of 5 stars Figure Drawing.......2005-08-12

    Mr. Ryder has compiled wonderful book for the figure drawing beginer that includes many types of drawings and drawing media, from pencil to charcoal to pastels. It is extremely well ilustrated with many great tips for the beginers. This is a book that I highly recomend for those just starting to those are already on their way.

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