Learning To Look At Paintings

Book Description

A critique of works of art dating from the early fifteenth century through to modern installations, Learning to Look at Paintings is an accessible guide to the study and appraisal of paintings, drawings and prints. Mary Acton shows how one can learn to look at and understand an image by analyzing how it works, what its pictoral elements are and how they relate to each other. She describes the ingredients of composition, space, form, tone and color which make up a painting, and discusses the importance of subject, function and setting in appreciating its visual meanings. Acton also suggests a series of questions to ask when looking at a painting in order to help develop a critical understanding of art.

Acton discusses work by a wide range of Western European and American artists, from the fifteenth century to the present. Learning to Look at Paintings is illustrated with over ninety images by artists ranging from Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Botticelli to Picasso, Matisse and Rothko. Also included is a glossary of critical and technical terms used in art history.

Customer Reviews:

Easy to read.......2007-07-09

This book is written in a plain, clear style---it is a good reference book to look up anything about art. The chapters are short.

Informative.......2001-08-24

I enjoyed this book on the principles and elements of design. I think she selected exemplary pictures to illustrate her point. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "subject matter". The only drawback of this book was having to flip back and forth from the reading to the painting. Also, she talked about some of the paintings color combinations that were printed in black and white. In the paperback version some of the details of the paintings were lost because they were reproduced on a small scale. Overall, though I would recommend this book to anyone interested in learning about design elements.

Fine introduction.......1997-11-10

Composition, space, form, tone, color, subject-matter, and other pictorial elements of the plastic arts are considered and their interrelationships explained in this handy introduction, with over ninety well-chosen illustrations, some in color.
The author, an experienced art teacher, has also included illuminating essays on drawing and its purposes, looking at prints, a handy glossary of art terms, and references for further reading.
Highly recommended as eminently suitable for an Introduction to Art course, and for anyone else interested in learning to see more in paintings.

(The "score" rating is an unfortunately ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

Customer Reviews:

The Artist's Handbook is the winner.......2000-10-21

I agree with another reviewer that the Artist's Handbook is fabulous! It maintains a treasured space on my mantel for constant review. I imagine that it could easily beat the Mixed Media Pocket Palette - hands down.

I am sorry, but What a rip off!.......1998-09-04

I was expecting a book to arrive. What I got was the same size as "The Little Engine that Could". I later found all these examples and much much much much more in The Artists Handbook by Ray Smith -which is excellant.

Average customer rating:
CMP GD HOME VIDEO (Pocket Nonfiction)
Tracy Porter
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0671639226

Book Description

Red is missing! Professor Oak and the gang set off in search of him. Plus, a new trainer arrives, the mysterious Yellow. What does he have to do with Red's disappearance?

Customer Reviews:

Review by Ashley Cimino California, San Diego.......2001-07-27

I rate this book 4 stars because, in the end they cut the exiting bit short so you have to get the next comic, which I rate 5 stars. well first Red gets an invatation of challenge from BRUNO ( member of the Elite 4) and doesn't come back.Then 1 month later at Professor Oaks Lab Pika, (Red's Pikachu) comes back Very very very hurt and cut and bruised( I'm suprised he didn't faint) and then Yellow, comes on his Doduo, and barges in Professor Oaks Lab, and then they battle....WhatI find strange about this comic is that Yellow has some power of healing Pokemon and Mind Reading them. I hope you found this helpfull!!!!

Book Description

A companion volume to "one of the most original works of recent American Cinema"*

Donnie Darko was the surprise cult hit of 2001. Appearing nationwide on critic's year-end top-ten lists, the quirky independent film's effortless blending of science fiction, horror, adolescent angst, and social satire defied description while simultaneously providing "an unexpectedly poignant catharsis for Sept. 11 blues" (Jan Stuart, Newsday). Its Möbius strip-like narrative about Donnie, a troubled teenager who can see into the future, continues to inspire fans to obsessive heights. The Donnie Darko Book includes the film's screenplay, an in-depth interview with writer-director Richard Kelly, facsimile pages from The Philosophy of Time Travel book that Donnie uses to go back in time, as well as photos and drawings from the film and the artwork it inspired.

Customer Reviews:

If you liked the movie!.......2007-09-18

If you are a fan of this great flick, this book goes right along with it. It has an interview with the director/writer and also Jake G. (cannot spell his name).

It also contains numerous pictures from and inspired by the movie.

My favorite part is that it has the actual pages from Roberta Sparrows book, so if you're interested, this is a killer movie memoribilia to own!

Donnie Darko Fans Must Buy This Book.......2006-08-29

A very good book that gives excellent insight into the mysteries of the movie. Includes interesting art work drawn by Richard Kelly that you can also find in the movie. Overall I found this book to be highly entertaining.

More than just a screenplay.......2005-03-23

I like how popular films can cause a demand in which the screenplay is released in book form for all those inspiring actors and screenwriters out there to read, act and learn from. Most of them are just the screenplay and nothing else, so its a pleasant surprise to see one like this, which includes a lengthy interview with the writer/director, some drawings, and a peek at the prop Time travel book by Roberta Sparrow. Some overzealous fans mistakenly thought it was a real book and on the Director's Cut dvd, you see a special documentary by one such fan who demanded of the director the rest of this fictional book. Give Director Richard Kelly a break...the book was nothing more than a prop for the film's characters.

This book is worth having for any Donnie Darko fan. For me, the best part of the book is the interview, as it is nice to hear the thoughts and ideas of Richard Kelly about his famous first movie. What he says embodies a lot of our generation in terms of cultural influences and how we grew up...a world perhaps vastly different to the current generation growing up in the hip-hop drenched, corporate universe. This book will be a keepsake for that distant future, when Richard Kelly will be known as our generation's Steven Spielberg, with a library of unique films. Don't expect to find this book then, because it'll probably be out of print and hard to find. Get it now when its still available! Donnie Darko is probably the film that will still be remembered 25 years from now.

Could have been better.......2004-01-31

I thought the film was OK, although it kinda freaked me out a bit, plus I don't think I quite understood it. I thought maybe getting the book (which is actually the script and not a novel, which I would have preferred) would help me understand it better. Plus, I love reading the books of movies, or vice versa. This made me want to watch the film again! It offered no insight into the film whatsoever, which was unfortunate. You do have a (short) introduction by Jake Gyllenhaal and a (long) interview with Richard Kelly. Which had its points. What you don't hear is all about his destructive childhood and all his failures with women which influenced this movie blah-de-blah-de-blah. (OK, I made that bit up) The bits about the movie were good, although nothing you haven't heard before. There was a lack of photos to this, mainly cos they all appeared at the end. They were quite interesting, despite being all in black and white (why not colour?) Some of them looked quite funky in black & white, particularly the ones of (oh God, I'm going to have to go back, and copy and paste his name all over again!) Jake Gyllenhaal. There are also some drawings of Frank, which are pretty basic.

To make this better: have the novel of it. There's so much cut out from a script, and you tend to skip bits, or not know which person is talking, as you haven't seen the film in so long (I was getting the teachers muddled up - couldn't remember which one was Drew Barrymore). Great for fans, and maybe it'll be worth re-reading if I ever re-watch the movie!

Solid read for fans of the movie.......2003-12-25

This book doesnt provide a whole lot of new material, but does offer much insight into the movie based on the actors and director commentary. If you're a fan of the movie, it's definitely worth the purchase - by the way, has anyone seen the producer of the film Sean McKittrick? What a hottie!

Average customer rating:

Donnie Darko
Geoff King
Manufacturer: Wallflower Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Performing Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 1905674511

Book Description

With its gothic tale of a troubled teen haunted by visions of a figure in a Halloween rabbit suit, Donnie Darko was among the first cult movie phenomena of the twenty-first century, making debut director Richard Kelly Hollywood hot property before he reached his thirtieth birthday. This study narrates the film's journey from box-office bemusement through word of mouth success to the recent director's cut of the film, and also discusses fans' reactions to the film's enigmatic conclusion, explaining how Donnie Darko gripped the imagination of Generation X teenagers across the world.

Average customer rating:

Donnie Darko Book
Richard Kelly
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000K1Z9Q4

Average customer rating:
The Ultimate Keyboard Chord Chart

Manufacturer: Hal Leonard Corp
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0634000500

Book Description

This convenient reference features 120 of the most commonly used chords, easy diagrams, and information on chord theory.

Book Description

Ever present in the work of contemporary Barbadian novelist George Lamming, author of In the Castle of My Skin, Natives of My Person, The Emigrants, and The Pleasures of Exile, are the subjects of history and revolution. In Caliban's Curse, Supriya M. Nair traces these themes and situates Lamming's work within the ongoing discourses of nationalism and identity. Retracing the history of colonial intervention in the anglophone Caribbean and seeking connections among Africa, the Caribbean, and England, Caliban's Curse moves beyond the popular perception of the archipelago as an ahistorical tourist paradise and presents the islands as a space populated by the tragic and triumphant cultures of the black diaspora.

Caliban's Curse draws upon a range of theories--postcolonial, Marxist, and feminist--to contextualize the black diaspora of the modern Caribbean through one of its primary anglophone novelists. Putting George Lamming in conversation with such contemporaries as C.L.R. James, Derek Walcott, and Wilson Harris, Nair argues that Lamming's works expand the protest of Shakespeare's Caliban to articulate a reinvention of Caribbean cultures. Both cursed by and cursing the weight of colonial history, Lamming works against the paralysis induced by such an encounter; his work serves to rewrite canonical icons and to reimagine popular cultures.

"Supriya Nair writes about the problems of history and social revolution with passion and clarity and an amazing range of critical and cultural reference. . . . She brings to existing studies of Lamming a wide and sustained knowledge of the forces that have shaped the West Indian novel, and the wider postcolonial debates in which these novels are read and discussed." --Simon Gikandi, University of Michigan

Supriya Nair is Associate Professor of English, Tulane University.

Customer Reviews:

...and they all lived goofily ever after........2004-05-03

Hello, my name is Tom Arden,
And I'm a big goofball.
I'm not harmin' like Kate Orman,
No, I am mad like Mad Magrs is.

NIGHTDREAMERS is what you'd get if you went back in time and handed William Shakespeare an elementary Physics textbook, a kiddie version of the Grimm's Fairy Tales, and a crack-pipe. This book is as goofy as all get out. I liked it, but it's possible that you would have to be in the mood to read something as wacky as this. It's a very fine line between outrageous fun and tedious illogic, and I can definitely see how others could hate this. Personally, this was just what I was in the mood for, so it worked for me. Every time I turned a page, I'd think, "Well, the story can't possible get any goofier" only to be proved wrong yet again. Maybe if I read it a second time in a different frame of mind, I wouldn't have the same reaction. But at least I would know what I was in for.

The story has a very fairy tale feel to it. It's about royal families and magical demons. The prose has a childlike quality. Yet, despite these characteristics, it doesn't quite succeed at being a fairy tale, as there simply isn't enough death, destruction and random violence. Traditional fairy tales are much darker, much more grisly than this. This is like a Disney-extreme version, resulting in something that lacks the edge of its basis. It seems to be written at a young child's level, but I'm not sure that kids wouldn't feel they were being talked down to. I imagine this is an attempt at being a nostalgia version of a fairy tale -- the pleasant, happy stuff, from an adult point of view where all the darker elements have been forgotten.

Still, if the book isn't a successful fairy-tale, I did find it hugely entertaining. Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but I was laughing like someone who needs locking up. The third Doctor is, of course, the perfect foil to the bizarre unnatural behavior going on around him. Monsters are roaming the woods, princesses need rescuing, and the Doctor is wandering around mumbling about his sonic screwdrivers and his physics. It's a hoot! This sort of thing would be unbelievably awful if expanded out to novel length, but it's much easier to keep up this spoof insanity for the mere one hundred and five pages that this story lasts.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed NIGHTDREAMERS as a celebration of style over substance. In other words, it's got a lot of goofy style, but absolutely no substance at all. I laughed a lot, though to be perfectly honest, I don't know whether I was laughing with it or at it. Was I was meant to be amused by some of the action adventure clichés or was I somehow expected to take this nonsense seriously? There's absolutely nothing original about anything here, the only question is whether these particular stock pieces have been ripped off exactly this sort of way before. I can't fathom what the author was attempting, but the result just entertained me. Judging by Katy Manning's foreword (where she talks about losing her house keys, visiting her mother, being evicted from her apartment, and, oh yes, says a few words at the end about the book), she didn't quite know what to make of it either. And, paradoxically, despite the fact that I can't think of a single story like this one, this is probably the most faithful print recreation of the Third Doctor era that I can think of. Go figure.

Average customer rating:

A book with a lot of mood and expression

Unlike any other.

It feels like a dream, creative writting

He speaks the spiritual truth

This is what's really good

NightDreamer
Johan Palacio , Diego Mina , and Mark Brown
Manufacturer: 1st Books Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0759632324

Customer Reviews:

A book with a lot of mood and expression.......2004-05-06

The artwork featured in this book adds a lot of mood to the book. The artwork says a lot about the writer. It expresses his sadness even more and adds even more feelings to his poems. I would like to recommend this book to someone that has gone through a depressing stage in their life.

Unlike any other........2004-04-30

NightDreamer is a book that expresses feelings through words and pictures. It shows how much pain, sorrow, and happiness can be put into simple words and pictures, drawing or painting. In many ways, so many different types of feelings have been stated in this book. For example: sorrow, pain, confusion, and happiness. This book also shows more then just these feelings alone, but creates an imaginary world for pure imagination. Something so unreal, yet so real to ones thoughts. When I read this book, it was quite new experience I had never seen so many pictures and poems of such expression and many emotions. Out of this book, I'd say I like the poem Illusion on page 59. It shows many different types of emotions, being sent towards someone. But from what I can see, it's liking or love. I would in fact enjoy to use this as a header for my website. The best artwork I found in this book would be Mute on page 40. It shows some kind of confusion and silence. The feeling I get is of loneliness. There was probably no one to talk to. But maybe the book should have been published in color. It would have enhanced the expressive mood of the book. This book has also inspired me to think a few ideas of my own to make in the near future. I just hope well enough I will be able to do it.

It feels like a dream, creative writting.......2004-04-09

the artthe artist writes and paints things of his past. The book made me feel like I'm not the only one in the world who has problems so deep and bad.He must have gone through so much that he can write a lot and show that he has had all kinds of bad experiences with things in his life. I like the creativity he has with writing. It was very dark because of the words he uses. But, this book is really good and he expresses a lot. I really think many young people should read this book. I liked everything about this book. EXCELLENT!!!

He speaks the spiritual truth.......2004-04-09

I thought this book was very dark. In this book I saw a lot of negative pictures that made me feel very uncomfortable because the pictures are scary .My own personal critical judgment about this book is that it is a good book for people that need help dealing with problems. I would recommend this book to a friend. I give this book 4 star's.

This is what's really good.......2004-04-09

This book was a very interesting book based on some of the readings. You would be able to find a connection between the poems and my life. "NightDreamer" is a book that can relate to teens and adults of all ages. Not only are the poems good, but there are drawings and paintings that correspond with the poems. Those pictures help bring the poems to life by giving it an image that you can think about while you read the poem.

Book Description

Using eyewitness accounts and official sources, this is a new and frightening insight into the atrocities committed at sea.

Customer Reviews:

An Eye-Opening Book About Japanese Atrocities.......2004-02-19

This book describes the inhumane and sometimes macabre treatment of Allied prisoners of war by their Japanese captors. The first part of the book describes the feared "Hell Ships". These were massively overcrowded freighters that the Japanese used to transport POWs. Most of the time, the POWs were packed in so tightly that they were unable to lay down. Very little food or water was given to them, and their latrine amounted to a trough hanging over the side of the ship. Aside from facing the constant beatings from the Japanese, these men also lived in fear of Allied submarine attack. Indeed, many of the POWs died as a result of an Allied torpedo striking their Hell Ship. The Japanese did very little to assist the prisoners in case the ship needed to be abandoned. Most of the time, they were locked in their holds to drown as the ship sank.

Japanese submarines and commerce raiders also played a role in the high seas atrocities. Many Japanese submarine captains would surface their sub after sinking an enemy vessel and machine gun the survivors in the water.

The chapters dealing with biological warfare and "comfort women" are particularly disturbing. The Japanese would use Allied POWs as human "guinea pigs" for "medical" experiments. As noted in the book, the Japanese would allow the POWs very little clothing and as they proceeded into colder cilmates, they would see how the POWs bodies would react. Many of them died from exposure to the cold. Others were thrown into the sea for "survival tests", while others were subjected to various vaccine tests.

The "comfort women" were mostly young Korean women, about 12 to 20 years old, who were subjected to forced prostitution. These women were lured in by false promises from the Japanese commander, placed aboard a ship, and sent to the front lines for the Japanese sailors and soldiers. Many went mad, most contacted various diseases, and many died.

The fact that amazes me is how to this day the Japanese can still deny so much of these atrocities. Much of the history from this time period is not mentioned at all by the Japanese. Hopefully one day they will realize their earlier wrongdoings and apologize for them.

I felt this was a good, albeit short, analysis of some of the atrocities committed by the Japanese. I found the reading hard at some points due to all of the Japanese terms that the author chose to use, but overall, the book gives a good introduction to some of the crimes committed by the Japanese.

Average customer rating:

Fascinating and informative

Islam is cancer

Lifting up the veil and removal of the burqa!

Surprised True Adherrants Of Mohammed Don't Proclaim "Jihad" Against These Extremists!

The Significance of Women's Insignificance

Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World, Newly updated
Jan Goodwin
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Marriage & Family | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
Social Groups | Sociology | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
General | Islam | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0452283779

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating and informative.......2007-07-23

I appreciate Ms. Goodwin's meticulous research, risking her own safety in order to present a picture of what is really going on in these countries, and it does help explain the alarming growth of Islamic extremism.
This book opens a window onto lives that people in the United States have always wondered about. Ms. Goodwin did an excellent job of interviewing men and women from all facets of society; poor, middle-class, and wealthy. It was a fascinating and informative read, and an essential book if one wishes to understand the daily life of women surviving under the iron fist of Islamic extremism.

Islam is cancer.......2007-06-27

Islam - like all religions - is cancer. It brings nothing to the world but bestiality, ignorance and cruelty. It feeds on Western values and economics while at the same time destroying it. And that is exactly what cancer does - killing what makes it live. God, if you are almighty, why don't you destroy yourself and leave people alone.

Lifting up the veil and removal of the burqa!.......2007-06-15

After reading this book, I am hopeful that the degradation and oppression and forced marriages of young muslim women in the middle east and over the world will be removed. Honor killings, stoning and the rise of fundamentalism which somehow translates into even more restiction on the lives of women must be address at the musallah, masjids/mosques all over the world. Until there is an earnest dialogue regarding the issue of women's rights, and the issues of all of the above, Islam will be still considered in the wake of what is happening in Iraq, Iran, Sudan, Nigeria and all over the world as not a religion of peace .. but a religion of suffering, oppression and death. And I am a Muslimah.

Surprised True Adherrants Of Mohammed Don't Proclaim "Jihad" Against These Extremists!.......2006-06-08

I am reading this book now,and was amazed how informative it is. Very scary stuff about how our government is selling America to the arabs!I was not surprised about the way these countries treat their females,as I have read several other books on the subject. Females,from pre-teen on up,are imprisoned and treated as "BREEDERS",slaves and sex objects for the male's gratification. What really surprised me was all the info about what Muhammed really taught and how these hypocrites even corrupt their own prophet's and holy book's teachings,so these over-sex-crazed,perverts can have their way! Too bad God hasn't seen fit to strike them all with impotency! Maybe with time,AIDS will do the job. I am surprised that true belivers and followers of Muhammed and the Quran haven't declared a "Jihad" against all these infidel's! Now that WOULD be a "Holy" war.

We Americans should be doing everything in our power to make sure our governement stops allowing Islamic Cults in our colleges! PLEASE start writing all our government officials today! Unless you want to see these fanatics take over America!

The Significance of Women's Insignificance.......2006-04-09

This book is written well but what is descibed is sometimes very distressing and hard to take in. The focus today is very much on Islam and certainly, as far as Islamic fundamentalism is concerned, rightly so (not forgetting how the US helped the Taliban to power nor the dangers of Christian or other fundamentalisms).

We should not forget amidst all this that abhorrent attitudes towards and treatment of females extends to many countries throughout the world and was socially acceptable in all countries at some time in the past. What is so disturbing here is that in many of these countries women had been starting to enjoy greater self-determination but then everything went into reverse. It certainly shows how we should not take anything for granted.

No doubt many women in these countries are horrified by stories they will hear about treatment of women in the West - the sex industry, sexual violence, family breakdown etc. - and we should avoid allowing any of our leaders to use the ill treatment of women to gain our support for their own political ends. The lack of human rights for women has never been of real concern in international politics.

But these countries do seem particularly extremely masculine with women up against a very powerful and almost exclusively male presence outside of the home. It is hard not to see many women as subject to a real fear of men and of necessity submitting to whatever 'protection' obedience brings. The fact that sexual violence, exploitation etc is still rampant shows that women cannot win even when they do obey their men.

Of course, the real meaning of 'honor' here is male self-interest. The root of all types of control of females is sex/reproduction and this is what is blatant here. A daughter has only 'temporary guest membership' in her own family for her value is in the work and breeding she will do for her future in-laws. (In China and India this very same fact means death for many tens of millions of female fetuses and infants. In Africa the need for females to be obedient and marriageable has led to genital mutilation for many millions of females. There are countless examples of ways in which different cultures manage the exchange between male kin groups of females whose value lies in their breeding potential for 'others'.)

'Lack of hijab means lack of a man's manhood' states a poster in Iran, blatantly stating how it is all about how the man feels about himself. The weaker the woman the stronger he can appear.

This is a powerful book but once you have recovered from the emotions it throws up it would be prudent to put it in context of womens experiences in many countries and in womens history. At least it should make everyone think more warily about words such as 'honor' and 'protection' which can be so easily and disgracefully misused. We also should not forget that there are women in even the most dire circumstances who are incredibly courageous in making changes.

Most of all it is a reminder of a tribal past/mentality that is still very much alive and well and, as much as we may complain about our own lives, I certainly have experienced an overwhelming thankfulness that I was born in the time and place that I was.

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