Customer Reviews:
Insightful Look Beyond the Aura of FLW.......2007-02-09
If you have the gusto to wrangle through this slightly pedantic work, the true Frank comes out in its pages. Wright was a prolific letter writer, and Gill prudently includes much of the correspondence between architect and client, father and son, and husband and wife/ex-wife/future wife. These excerpts along with snippets of telegrams really brought FLW alive for me.
However, this book could have been much improved if Gills theme: "The many masks of Frank Lloyd Wright", had been present throughout the meat of the book. He only approaches his pet-thesis during the opening pages and in his conclusion.
In all, Gill is an adept writer that marches the reader into the tumultuous backstage of some of the greatest spaces ever created. If your looking for these backstories, this could be just the read for you!
Pick another biographer, this one is TERRIBLE!.......2006-05-08
First, Brendan Gil is noted for 'good work' but this one is the pits. I am not touching the subject matter nor areas of trash this author deems necessary to descend to. (Suffice it to say, I am not an FLW idealist and actually care little about his work).
This was a toughh book to read, editted poorly, chronologically all over the map. Probably more disjointed than my simple review with long wordly (boring) digressions that vaguely related to FLW or some area of his life.
I can understand why there are so many of these editions 'for sale'. This edition is just as big a 'train wreck' as that of the person whom it tries to cover.
Colorful, Chatty and Informative..........2005-12-18
Brendan Gill's writing is always sophisticated and utterly charming. Nowhere is that more evident than in this treasure of a biography of the man who - not without good reason - styled himself as America's greatest architect.
It is an unquestionable fact that Wright was a genius in the aesthetic realm; it is also unquestionable that he was a bit of a mountebank in all realms; even so, one cannot help but enjoy the outrageous, larger-than-life swath he cut across the better part of the 20th Century in his Cherokee red luxury cars, pork-pie hat and theatrical cape. If he hadn't been such a good architect, all of this would have been considered laughable, but anyone who has stood in his sublime interiors knows that the man knew his craft thoroughly.
Gill conveys all of this and more. His narrative is like a good long conversation by the fire with someone who not only knew the man but also had an appreciation of him that did not miss the quirks and foibles. Asides, such as the pulling of all the teeth, make this book a constant surprise. Wright, of course, had more than one mid-life crisis, and the various loves of his life brought every conceivable high and low. No wonder Mr. Wright's saga has been turned into a grand opera! But Brendan Gill makes it more like the family stories of an eccentric uncle.
This is my favorite biography of Wright but it sits right next to Meryle Secrest's -- one really needs both of them to have enough perspective on the man and his accomplishments.
After all the anecdotes have been recounted, there are still some stories left to be told, by Wright clients who remember and students who are now getting on in years. One hopes that they, too, will put to paper their reminiscences, before it is too late.
WHAT'S RIGHT WITH WRIGHT..........2004-11-15
The Story of Frank Lloyd Wright has been told many times. Aside from his many biographers he is also the inspiration of a well known book and hilarious (unintentionally, though) movie, The Fountainhead. Other than Michaelangelo, I do not know of another architecte who has rated such a treatment.
Wright's life was heroic and this book is useful in seeing how that came to be. Gill is suited to the task, he not only knew Wright, but wrote the building column in the New Yorker for many years.
This book is a common sense take on Wright's life. Gill explores many of the myths that Wright constructed around his life and finds that Wright's creative powers were not always expended in the direction of his buildings. Wright was a genius who did not feel the slightest need to conceal this fact from the world. He was also a visionary who took the Eurpean architecture of its day and transformed it into the American vernacular. This feat he conttrasts strongly with Beaux Arts school which merely transplanted these European fads. Wright was a real original
The book is lavishly illustrated since all of Gills writing does not give the same feel for Wright's genious as a hangful of these images provide. I think that were it possible color photographs might have provided a clearer view.
As Gill demonstrates, Wright at times could be a rascal, but he was also a genius even when when all of the artifice of his life is stripped away. This book is a welcomed addition to Wright biographical scholarship.
Good alternate view of FLW for a reader who is already famil.......1999-06-29
If you do not know much about FLW's life, this isn't the book for you. It assumes that you are familar with his life-story as it jumps back and forth and drops names of people out of sequence to his chronological life story. For the neophyte reader there may be too much verbal description of floor plans. Despite these "flaws" (which forced me to do some background research in his other bios) the book is insightful and revealling as it peels off the layers of masks (most built by FLW himself). The book has many, many, black & white photos of his buildings and furniture - most of which I have not seen in other books. This would be a good companion book for someone who has read FLW's autobiography or other bios. It is amazing he survived, professionally, in spite of his apparent self-destructive habits. I found myself comparing his life to Picasso's - perhaps genius cannot be contained in an conventional life .
Customer Reviews:
Not for the young, but important for the Pros.......2004-11-01
Well, I've reviewed this book since I got it recently, and I do have to criticize it a little. Overall, the layout of the book is decent, but it unfortunately assumes the the reader is already acquainted with art in general, and manga in specific. To be precise, the author starts out strong, but dumps the reader into the artwork with little to no explanation of the female body beyond some generalizations. He does cover structure of the female body, and the rear of the book covers guidelines as well.
The artwork inside is above average, but looks hurried. In particular, some of the pieces of art look slightly out of proportion to the rest of the body. The author seems to take a point of view on drawing sexy gals from a sexual standpoint. People, this book is NOT for those under 13. And I'd have some trouble suggesting it to anyone not mature enought to realize this is an ART book, not a HOW TO DRAW SEX book.
Otherwise, this is a laudable effort. It covers odd or hard to draw poses not ususally covered in other books, and it also has a section on drawing couples. Women are drawn in an unrealistic, but commonly drawn, style. A large number of more adult manga and anime are drawn using similar style, so this is a good introduction to the genre of Ecchi or Hentai artwork. It also has application in other genres as well, so don't take it as a cheaply made book about how to make forgettable storylines or how to draw over-developed scantily-clad women.
Finally, a word of caution. As I mentioned before, this book deals with sex and sexual themes. Definitely not for minors. For anyone who is looking to expand their range of poses, brush up on new ways of drawing women (and some men), or even those simply hoping to broaden the range of their potential, this book will do nicely.
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The Passionate Camera: Photography and Bodies of Desire
Deborah Bright
Manufacturer: Routledge
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Other Objects of Desire: Collectors and Collecting Queerly (Art History Special Issues)
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Pop Out: Queer Warhol (Series Q)
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History of Photography: From 1839 to the Present
ASIN: 0415145813 |
Book Description
More than any other medium, photography creates and reinforces our ideals of gender and sexuality. From advertising and journalism to fashion and fine art, photographs show how "good bodies" and "bad bodies" look and behave.
The Passionate Camera assembles over fifty artists, scholars and critics to examine the relationship between photography and sexuality. The contributors consider many issues including the importance of reinterpreting historical works by known homosexual photographers, contemporary photography and sexual diversity, and the use and abuse of photographs of sexual subjects in current political campaigns and direct activism. The Passionate Camera features color and black and white illustrations of works by artists such as Ajamu, Catherine Opie, Lyle Ashton Harris, Yasumasa Morimura, John O'Reilly and Sunil Gupta. For the first time, these works have been gathered together in a fresh and accessible critical context, making The Passionate Camera the preeminent sourceon queer and sex-radical photography at the end of twentieth century.
Contributors: Deborah Bright, Kaucyila Brooke, Michael Anton Budd, David Deitcher, Linda Dittmar, Mark Alice Durant, Paul B. Franklin, Lyle Ashton Harris, Thomas Allen Harris, Carol Jacobsen, David Joselit, Liz Kotz, Catherine Lord, Richard Meyer, Jose Munoz, Mary Patten, Erica Rand, Mark A. Reid, Mysoon Rizk, James Small, Alisa Solomon, Elizabeth Stephens, and Thomas Waugh.
Customer Reviews:
Fabulous!.......1999-10-11
This is the perfect introduction to recent 'queer' photography - great essays, images, and more. So much I'd been looking for, all in one place. Smart, up-to-the moment, and diverse. So many great artists, some well-known and some not.
a wierd mix.......1999-09-26
There's some great stuff in this book, especially writing, so it's a pity that so much of the art is so studenty, weak, embarrassing. Self-indulgent to the max. There's a wierd conflict between a more academic, didactic photo/text program, and a more arty thing that leaks out the edges.
Good reads include R Meyer on Mapplethorpe, L Kotz on Nan Goldin, D Joselit on Mark Morrisroe, Thomas Waugh on physique photo, K Brooke on Berenice Abbott, and more. I wish there was more historical work: Florence Henri anyone?? And I wish the guys didn't get so into the sensational "d&a" stuff -- it's embarrassing, especially when the art is so clunky, clunky, clunky.
A wierd thought: many of the guys are academically-trained art historians, and almost none (?) of the women are. What does that say?
A lot of fat could have been trimmed, leaving a leaner, tighter, and cheaper book. Nonetheless, it's about the onlything out there, and I'm glad to see that Routledge is still alive and kicking.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine, published by Parachute Contemporary Art on July 1, 1999. The length of the article is 323 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Passionate camera: photography and bodies of desire.
Publication:
Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 1999
Publisher: Parachute Contemporary Art
Issue: 99
Page: 62
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
This digital document is an article from Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine, published by Parachute Contemporary Art on July 1, 2000. The length of the article is 323 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.
Citation Details
Title: Passionate camera: photography and bodies of desire.
Publication:
Parachute: Contemporary Art Magazine (Magazine/Journal)
Date: July 1, 2000
Publisher: Parachute Contemporary Art
Issue: 99
Page: 62
Article Type: Book Review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Customer Reviews:
Rick Veitch; this ain't your kiddie super hero comics!.......2006-06-30
I'm pretty much positive with just about anything Mr. Veitch does so when I see his name on a mainstream title like Aquaman, I know I'm in for something different or getting in way over my head! In any case, he's pushed the boundaries of the fantasy & super hero mythology with characters like Swamp Thing, the Ninja Turtles, & his gn's Brat Pack, The One, & The Maximortal just to name a few. If you like the Vertigo imprint & other darker works like Wanted or The Crow, look into this guy. He's that good.
Enjoyable.......2005-09-23
Being new to Aquaman, this book gave me a good idea on the changes that Aquaman is going through. The new hand is certainly not as brutal as his trident hand but maybe time with the series will prove other wise. Great art work, beautiful coloring.
What might have been...........2005-01-12
Aquaman is one of those minor but enduring characters that DC Comics just isn't sure what to do with. He never accomplishes much in JLA, and his own series are only received luke-warmly. On the other hand, there are still those who fondly remember his adventures and appreciate the complexity of his personality: the imperious, temperamental king of Atlantis who nevertheless has a heart of gold. Even having a child die, losing a hand, and now being exiled (for rather dopey reasons, but nevermind) haven't diminished his desire to do good in the world.
"Aquaman: The Waterbearer" is an attempt to restart the character yet again, and while it's an earnest attempt, it doesn't amount to much. Main problem is after 118 pages, quite little was accomplished. Yes, Aquaman was exiled from his homeland and left to die. Yes, he receives a second chance at life and a new heroic purpose to fulfill. Yes, he fights a bad guy and a giant mutant lamprey and prevents an oil tanker from running aground. For a comic book superhero, all of that can take place in a single issue, and taking any more than two would be to stretch things out pretty thin. This book compiles a total of six issues.
As for the new heroic purpose, what exactly this entails isn't really answered either. Given this fantastic new ability and the responsibility to use it selflessly, Aquaman is more or less left to figure out what it's really for on his own. The opportunity to kickstart things with a quest full of drama and adversity is squandered.
On the bright side, it's refreshing to see Aquaman as something other than an officious jerk, and the artwork isn't bad at all. (Although, as another poster noted, it's a little disappointing to see the Arthurian Lady of the Lake depicted as a mystical lingerie model.)
All in all, this is a disappointing work. If you can find it for an inexpensive price, then you might consider it. Otherwise, give it a pass.
Average customer rating:
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You Can't Be Serious: Writing and Living American Humor
Ralph Schoenstein
Manufacturer: St Martins Pr
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0312051905 |
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Ilona's New York Odyssey
Vincent Calaman
Manufacturer: Athena Press Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1931456828 |
Book Description
This is a story of Ilona - a young girl, from an immigrant Hungarian family - and her trials and tribulations as she grows from a child to a young woman. But, unusually, this is a true story, one told in Ilona's own words, culled from her memories, and told to and written down by her husband. It is a story that is at once very ordinary and quite remarkable.
Book Description
Raising Kids with Character shows parents, clinicians, and policy-makers how the love relationship between parents and children is the workshop of the child's maturing personality, connecting everyday moments in family life to the growth of the child's sense of values and meaning. The book explains how children develop into fine, morally strong adults through their identification with loving parents, and combines practical wisdom about ordinary family experiences with an in-depth discussion of emotional development from birth through adulthood.
Book Description
The Politics of Religion in Napoleonic Italy explores the intense cultural conflict created by French rule in Italy at the start of the nineteenth century. Napoleon's desire for cultural conformity struck at the heart of Italian religious life. Yet the reforms imposed by French rule created resentment and resistance across Italy, finally leading to Napoleon's famous quarrel with Pope Pious VII.
In this fascinating study, Mike Broers traces the events leading up to the ex-communication of Napoleon and the Pope's arrest and exile from Rome. Using previously neglected French and Italian archival sources, this book reveals how the alliance between Church and people grew in the face of alien, imperial rule. It exposes the vital role this union played in preventing Italy from being totally assimilated into the French empire.
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Progress in Partial Differential Equations: The Metz Surveys 3 (Research Notes in Mathematics Series)
Michel Chipot ,
J Saint Jean Paulin , and
I Shafrir
Manufacturer: CRC
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Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0582253802 |
Book Description
Presents some recent advances in various important domains of partial differential equations and applied mathematics including harmonic maps, Ginzburg - Landau energy, liquid crystals, superconductivity, homogenization and oscillations, dynamical systems and inertial manifolds. These topics are now part of various areas of science and have experienced tremendous development during the last decades.
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