Francis Bacon's Studio

Customer Reviews:

The first in-depth survey of Bacon's 7,000+ piece studio.......2006-03-18

His London studio, portrayed on the cover of FRANCIS BACON'S STUDIO, may look like a mess, but Francis Bacon was one of the most significant post-war painters and his studio, both home and workplace, was key to producing his art. His studio housed thousands of items central to his works and has been untouched since his death in 1992: it was donated in 1998 to the Dublin City Gallery and today curators have made it into a showpiece and work of art itself. The studio's deconstruction revealed over 7,500 objects from photos to illustrated publications, slashed canvases and his final unfinished work: FRANCIS BACON'S STUDIO provides the first in-depth survey of the studio and is essential for art library holdings and any student of Bacon's works.

An Even More In-Depth Coverage of Bacon's Infamous Studio.......2006-03-05

Though there have been several excellent books written about the contents of Francis Bacon's 7 Reece Mews studio in London, the birthplace of his masterpiece paintings that still haunt the public and the historian minds, this hefty volume by Margarita Cappock offers more. Originally conceived as the book to document the 1998 move of Bacon's studio form Kensington, London to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where it remains an historic site, Cappock sorts and sifts through the bits of treasure and trash that influenced Bacon's inspiration for his future paintings.

Cappock betters the other books on this subject by illuminating the chards and tatters that most significantly influenced Bacon's thought development and because the book is so extensively illustrated, she is able to place side by side the instigating artifacts with the complete works. This book is by far the most intensive and exhaustive study of the influence of Bacon's studio and its detritus on the evolution of Bacon's paintings and as such belongs in the library of all Bacon scholars and enthusiasts. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

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'Finding Order in Chaos': The Creative Space of Francis Bacon
Essential coda

7 Reece Mews: Francis Bacon's Studio

Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0500510342

Book Description

One of the most powerful painters of our age, Francis Bacon lived and worked for the last thirty years of his life in a modest building in London's South Kensington. After he died in 1992, access was granted to award-winning photographer Perry Ogden to work undisturbed for days on end to produce this riveting record of the house and its contents. In the studio itself, thirty years of inspired artistic endeavor had accumulated unchecked: the slashed and discarded canvases scattered across the floor; the brushes, rags, and tins encrusted with paint; the doors and walls used as impromptu palettes; the piles of photographs of friends and models; the crumpled and torn pages of magazines and books that served as a stimulus for Bacon's work; the notes, sketches, and ideas for paintings jotted down and then cast aside; the last unfinished self-portrait on the easel. For some of those close to Bacon, the studio was a heroic statement, a work of art in its own right, secretly constructed over many years to distill and give form to his aesthetic intentions. Now in this astonishing book we are invited to take a privileged look around this private space, to become intimate witnesses to the amazing conditions in which Bacon lived and worked, to gain unrivaled insights into how, why, and what he painted. 60 color photographs.

Customer Reviews:

'Finding Order in Chaos': The Creative Space of Francis Bacon.......2006-01-25

Views of the studio at 7 Reece Mews in South Kensington, London, where Francis Bacon spent the last thirty years of his life from 1961 - 1992, inform us of many aspects of Bacon's life and art. The studio is notorious among artists' studios in that it is nearly non-navigable, so strew are the walls and floors and easels with the memorabilia and photos, drawings and articles that ultimately resulted in some of the most exciting art created in the 20th Century.

This very fine book represents a catalogue of the project to move Bacon's studio intact to Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where the curators have seized on documenting every tube, brush, tossed away sketch, collaged photos, small reproductions of famous artists' works (such as the Velasquez popes), bits of cloth and canvas, and photos of his models, his lovers, and his associates - a daunting task but one so important that it takes this book to define.

Richly photographed by Perry Ogden who manages to capture the atmosphere of claustrophobia that pervades the studio, this book is indispensable to the scholars who find Bacon's visual influences as important as his paintings. The writing that accompanies this photographic essay is highly informative and immensely readable: Gallery Director Barbara Dawson offers a probing insightful examination of Bacon's personal and artistic history in 'Francis Bacon's Studio: A Stimulating Solitude' and the Curator of the Francis Bacon Collection essays 'Finding order in chaos: Francis Bacon's Studio contents'.

Though the book is small (61 pages) it is of utmost importance to those fascinated with the expressionist art of Bacon. An added bonus is a brief but thorough Timeline of Bacon's life. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06

Essential coda.......2002-02-10

An unusual, beautiful little book for the shelves of Francis Bacon fans. The photographs are beautiful, exhaustively document this legendary, but little known space, and have a haunting quality that complements other Bacon monographs. One senses the vibrancy of the artist's life, and only then the realization that, but for the fact he is deceased, the reader would not be holding this book and having this "privileged" view. Very strange!

Customer Reviews:

Excellent choice for young artist. Boys love the monsters.......1999-05-13

My 8 year old son choose this book at a school book fair. He has been drawing ever since. As an artist myself I was impressed to see the book demonstrate different technical aspects of drawing such as texturing, tracing, shadowing and attention to detail. The comic book like illustrations make it a fun read for the school age child. Very simple instructions help the reader see how the drawing comes together. Many secret tricks on how to acheive various effects such as transparent people make it a especially interesting! A big hit with elementary school boys. My son is enjoying it so much I'm ordering one for my Nephew.

How to Draw Ghosts, Vampires and Haunted Houses (How to Draw)

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How to Draw Ghosts, Vampires and Haunted Houses (How to Draw)

Manufacturer: Usborne/Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0590921894

Product Description

This book shows children ways to draw all kinds of things from the world of the supernatural, from see-through ghosts and haunted rooms to sinister vampires. It is a practical introduction to how to draw pictures that look professional. Along with simple, step-by-step examples to follow, there are lots of experts' tips and hints to explain different techniques and materials used.

HOW TO DRAW GHOSTS, VAMPIRES & HAUNTED HOUSES (USBORNE)

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HOW TO DRAW GHOSTS, VAMPIRES & HAUNTED HOUSES (USBORNE)
EMMA FISCHEL
Manufacturer: Scholastic
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000QFMZ84

Book Description

Deepen your journey into the unforgettable film, The Passion of The Christ. In this authorized, behind-the-scenes look at the movie, Fr. John Bartunek, L.C., provides biblical, historical, and theological insights gleaned from hours spent on the set and interviews with the director, actors, and filmmaking crew. Inside the Passion is the most complete and thorough commentary on the movie you will read.

Customer Reviews:

Compelling analysis of event and film.......2006-04-12

I saw Fr. John Bartunek (the author) give a presentation on The Passion of Christ (event and film) last night to a surprisingly packed (who knew so many people would show up on a Tuesday night to discuss a two-year old film?) university campus church auditorium of over 500 people (students and community members). His presentation, like his book, gives a fascinating and compelling account of the theology and symbolism that went into the making of Mel Gibson's film. The presentation was electrifying; the book is no less moving and thought-provoking. For example, there's a very short scene in the film when, in the midst of the horrific flogging of Christ, the camera turns to what appears to be a shot of a young mother with her infant child in the crowd. As the camera moves in on them, however, we find that the woman is not beautiful, but very odd and sinister, and the baby almost inhuman, as we see when it turns its head to give the viewer an evil smile. The symbolism: The woman represents the devil and the child his handiwork. Gibson takes an iconoclastic image of Beauty (Madonna and Child) and turns it into Evil (devil and inhuman offspring). The point:
Evil is not immediately identifiable as starkly evil; rather, evil is simply beauty that has become distorted and false. It tempts us into thinking it is one thing, when in fact it is quite something else. The significance, twofold: to illustrate the devil's role in the suffering and death of Christ and, perhaps more importantly, to show that when Christ is at his weakest (including in modern society), the devil gains a foothold. Interesting tidbit: Gibson used a beautiful actress as the devil, had her head and eyebrows shaved, and used makeup to turn her into something very un-beautiful. And this was only one 20-second scene! The examples go on and on. As a liberal-minded Catholic unhappy with the "culture wars" surrounding so many issues today, I was pleased to see that this film had no agenda other than to relate the Gospel story with the major theme being Christ's love for all humanity, including not only us simple sinners but also those who beat, mock, and kill him, in various ways. It's an invigorating story and makes the book well worth reading.

Get this one.......2005-10-16

Inside the Passion is a behind the scenes peek at how the movie was made. It explains why certain things were shown and is surprisingly useful as a meditation tool.

A lot of folks flipped out because they thought the scourging and crucifixion scenes were too strong. The book explains why Mel Gibson and his team decided that they were not going to sanitize the Passion the way other movies had in the past.

Some folks nitpicked becuase Gibson and the team decided to have Jesus speak Latin to Pilate but the book shows that they made this decision for pretty sensible reasons: 1. The Romans had been in Palestine for 40 years. In Gallilee, which was heavily gentile by that time, a smart person must have been roughly familiar with Latin if for no other reason than that it was important to know how high to jump when a Roman soldier demanded that you do so. 2. Jesus was God. He could've spoken in any language He chose when He decided to speak to Pilate's ignorance.

Finally, the great strength of this book is that it so closely follows the movie step by step that even if you never saw the film after reading the book you will understand it. This is an excellent work and I plan to buy more copies as gifts.

Explanation of the Passion for everyone .......2005-09-06

This book is written so clearly that almost anyone should have no trouble understanding the way Father John Bartunek, a Legionary of Christ (Roman Catholic Religious Order), clarifies the different aspects of Christ's Passion as is portrayed by Mel Gibson in his movie. Father John spent time on the set, watching as Mel filmed this great epic and has not only interesting insights into the filming of the movie, but also clarifies the main points, as well as details of the entire Passion of Our Lord, Jesus Christ. The movie is well worth rewatching ... as you read Inside the Passion and you will see it in a new light every time. Our Lord's Passion speaks to each of us individually, touching our hearts anew and calling us to a real Love, that comes from Christ Himself. This is a great book and a great gift for anyone at any stage in their faith.

A Great Book!.......2005-07-20

This book is actual written by John Bartunek. He is a priest with wonderful insites. He speant a great deal of time on the set when it was being filmed and during the editing. This is a great companion to the movie.
I Loved this book so much I bought a copy for my mother and myself as well- and I will probably being buying them for a few people I know this year (just before) Easter.
I Hope that he writes more books in the future.

Intimate with Christ and Mel.......2005-07-11

I bought this book for my Dad, but opened it up last night and couldn't put it down. The book is only 186 pages, but it's not a quick read. It makes you think. It brings up insights I never thought about, Mel Gibson's 12 years of meditating on Christ's Passion have born a lot of fruits. Read it for yourself.

Book Description

Writers of the 1920s, such as Hemingway and Fitzerald, have been heralded as The Lost Generation, and an earlier generation formed The American Renaissance. Far less critical attention has been paid to mid-20th-century literature and how a super-charged body of writing changed our perceptions of the world.

Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit considers the books of our lives, which shaped our times whether we realize it or not. Where did the youth culture come from? Why do people argue over pop and high culture? How do race and ethnicity play a significant part in an artist's work?

By examining a carefully selected range of books and authors, Castronovo helps us understand the true significance of the remarkable literary explosion that took place between the late 1940s and the JFK years.

Here are Saul Bellow, Ralph Ellison, Bernard Malamud, and Flannery O'Connor "breaking through." "Youth Reinvented" includes Salinger, Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg. What is called "Angst, Inc.," includes Patricia Highsmith, Cornell Woolrich, and Jim Thompson. Nelson Algren and Norman Mailer are the "Rough Customers." There are "The New Observers" and "Eggheads": Vladimir Nabokov, Randell Jarrell, Dawn Powell, Lionel Trilling, and others. Visionary observers of Ethnic America as we recognize it today are Cheever, Baldwin, Philip Roth, and J. F. Powers. Richard Yates and John Updike are re-inventors of the Naturalistic strain.

Nineteen-fifties literary America is an era of unprecedented influence that is possibly never to be duplicated. This breakthrough book shows the how and the why.

Customer Reviews:

A great summary of postwar pop lit.......2006-05-23

It's so nice when a scholar who can write well surveys an area of popular culture that hasn't already been analyzed to death. What David Castronovo does here is give postwar American literature the same sort of critical analysis that we are more used to seeing in books about film or drama. His casts his net wide and brings in a wide and disparate bunch, and sifts them for common themes and anxieties. You get the big familiar leviathans from Hemingway and Salinger, Nabokov and Flannery O'Connor, along with the second-tier "serious" writers of the 1950s; and you also get pop names and bestellers from the era (such as the one refered to in the title). But most remarkable is a central chapter called "Angst, Inc." This covers the period's most emblematic type of fiction--that dark, pulpy stuff (Jim Thompson, Cornell Woolrich, Patricia Highsmith) which all seemed so ephemeral at the time but which later got enshrined as "noir"-ish classics. And with good reason. As Castronovo shows, this low-cult fiction, with their themes of obsessive fear and temptation, was just a purer, franker form of the same thing that the high-cult writers of the time were doing. Thus, Lolita (which Castronovo considers shortly afterwards) was basically just a glossier, more professorial version of Jim Thompson.

The book is deceptively small. It's concentrated and rich, like an exceptionally good book-review periodical. I couldn't wait to get through it, so I could go reread (or explore for the first time) the books under discussion.

The best years of our lives: when did critics start yearning to return to the life of the 1950s?(Books & Arts)(Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit: Books from ... An article from: The Weekly Standard

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The best years of our lives: when did critics start yearning to return to the life of the 1950s?(Books & Arts)(Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit: Books from ... An article from: The Weekly Standard
Brian Murray
Manufacturer: News America Incorporated
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital
ASIN: B00096TIK8
Release Date: 2006-07-14

Book Description

This digital document is an article from The Weekly Standard, published by News America Incorporated on February 7, 2005. The length of the article is 1979 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: The best years of our lives: when did critics start yearning to return to the life of the 1950s?(Books & Arts)(Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit: Books from the 1950s that Made American Culture)(Book Review)
Author: Brian Murray
Publication: The Weekly Standard (Magazine/Journal)
Date: February 7, 2005
Publisher: News America Incorporated
Volume: 10 Issue: 20 Page: 33(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Customer Reviews:

The 'Dad's Army' Review.......2002-02-05

I think the book 'Dad's Army The making of a television Legend' by Bill Pertwee is a really good book and would reccomend it to anyone intrested in 'Dad's Army'. It tells me everything i need to know about Dads Army like all the episodes and all the people that were in it and how many episodes they appeared in.

$DAD\'D ARMY: THE MAKING OF A TELEVISION LEGEND$
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DAD\'D ARMY: THE MAKING OF A TELEVISION LEGEND
BILL PERTWEE
Manufacturer: DAVID CHARLES
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000S8CP4S

DAD'S ARMY: THE MAKING OF A TELEVISION LEGEND.

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DAD'S ARMY: THE MAKING OF A TELEVISION LEGEND.
Bill. Pertwee
Manufacturer: PRC
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: 1856485579

Book Description

The legendary Dutch 'Red' Lancers – the 2nd Light Horse Lancers of Napoleon's Imperial Guard – were formed in 1810 after the emperor annexed Holland and its army to France. The former hussars of the Dutch Royal Guard got a handsome new uniform, a new weapon, and a hard-driving new colonel in Baron Edouard Colbert. His lancers distinguished themselves in Russia in 1812, at huge cost; in Germany in 1813, and in the Low Countries in 1814. When Napoleon returned from exile in 1815 the Red Lancers were with him until night fell over Waterloo. Ronald Pawly is the world's leading expert on the archival and pictorial record left by this regiment; his detailed text is illustrated with rare portraits and photographs, and eight glowing colour plates of a surprisingly wide variety of uniforms.

Customer Reviews:

Buy this book for a good summary of unit history and art.......2004-07-14

This is the whole essence of Osprey MAA books. The text and art captures perfectly an excellent summary of an illustrous unit. There are two errors (in plates B and D respectively) in the depiction of the czapska being worn square on the head with the plume in front, whereas the usual and corect depiction is that the czapska was worn at an angle with the plume over the left eyebrow.
Nevertheless, any collaboration between Ronald Pawly and Patrice Courcelle on the Napoleonic era is worth buying.

Book Description

Revised and updated, this is the most practical, most detailed handbook ever published on the techniques and approaches you need to run a successful campaign for any local office.

Customer Reviews:

An essential book for all would-be candidates.......2007-05-26

There are three books that I think all would-be candidates should buy: 1) How to Run for Local Office by Robert J. Thomas; 2) The Campaign Manager by Catherine Shaw; and 3) This one. When I ran for Congress in 2004, I relied on all three, whereas the other books I bought (five in all) offered little additional insight. Sadly, I "lent" this book to another candidate three years ago and never received it back, and since I don't plan on running for office again, I haven't had a need to repurchase it - this is why my review is scant on details. But I do remember that this book was excellent and if I ever did decide to run again, I would immediately add it to my Amazon cart.

Great Book for First Time Candidates and Campaigners.......2005-10-09

I have used this book and its predecessor for numerous local campaigns. It is not written at a theoretical level but is a nuts-and-bolts primer for small campaigns. I have other books on the subject, but this is the one I recommend most highly.

I find that many people who want to run for political office at the local level really have no idea about the mechanics of a campaign. By the time they realize that it is no easy task, they are too far gone or too dejected to turn their campaigns around. This book is an excellent guide for them to read before they start. I like the fact that Judge Grey demands a basic analysis of what it will take to win before a candidate commits himself.

I also think the judge's willingness to make recommendations (i.e. don't run as an independent, his insistence that no campaign is too small for a campaign manager) sets his book apart from others. The title of this book is "How to WIN a Local Election", not how to run one. In fact, he capitalizes the word "WIN" himself. Often times these books are written by political science professors who lose sight of the objective of a political campaign-- to "WIN" !

In short, this is an excellent primer for small local campaigns. Good enough that I buy copies to give to potential candidates before they throw their hat in the ring.

A citizen's primer on your civic duty. .......2005-08-15

This book is full of great practical ideas for planning and running a local campaign. If you know you want to run for office but you've never done it before, and you don't know where to start, this is the book for you. The author breaks it down into pieces and helps you figure out where to target your limited resources. It helps that he's won a few elections. So get going...remember, just voting only gets you a D, to get an A, you've got to run for office yourself.

Concise & informative guide to the basics for success.......2005-07-17

Grey produced a concise, informative and well-written guide to winning a local election. Local elections are won on actions that put the campaign in touch with the voters. This short, easy to read book provides the essentials quickly (I read it in a day) freeing the campaign to get out and work efficiently and effectively.

The criticism that the book is too basic by other reviewers misses the point. With experience as a senior project leader for a major national political polling firm, I still forgot what it takes to manage an entire campaign. The book is not naive in its simplicity, but eloquent at making decisions about what is relevant to convey to get a campaign up quickly and in the right direction.

Was a good overview for its day... dated.......2005-05-10

This is the best of the four books I've recently compared to run a local campaign. Three others, "Winning Local and State Elections" by Beaudry/Schaeffer, "Winning Polical Campaigns," by Bike, and "How to Win an Election," by Huseby are much more dated and significantly flawed. Of these books, this is by far the best, providing a good overview of the things one needs to do in order to run a successful campaign. Others have provided an overview of what you'll find inside and you can sneak a peak online, so I won't provide redundant info here. This book is unique in highlighting areas that may not apply to your particular election and highlighting potential "gotchas" for which you need to be alert, for instance financial reporting requirements for your state.

This book, like the others, falls short in its coverage of technology (online presence for the candidate, email communication, effective use of databases, automated polling maps), and in some cases is bent towards larger elections which have political party affiliation.

All-in-all a decent primer with helpful hints for getting started, but you'll also likely want to invest in something with a bit more depth around areas of particular interest/need for you: targetting, polling, messaging/communication, or advertising.

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