Art Architecture Photography Books

For more than thirty years Sam Abell traveled the world on assignment for National Geographic. In Seeing Gardens he has assembled 125 of his most exotic, beautiful, dazzling photographs of gardens ranging from the symmetrical, formal English garden to the haphazard, naturally harmonious rock pools, to a field of spring blossoms, to the floral design of a head scarf. Highly recommended for students of photography, gardening enthusiasts, and anyone who appreciates viewing the world through an artist's lens, Seeing Gardens is a vivid, personally intense, inspiring, visual celebration of the variety, spectrum and beauty of gardens.

This book has some very nice pictures in it, but it is lacking a lot. Its really disorganized into a art deco mismash. The art deco movement was so huge, its hard to place into an entire book, but there are somethings I would have liked to see in here. Some of the buildings in Los Angeles which has some amazing art deco architecture. The author completely skips over designers like Russell Wright and Walter Von Nessen. There there are things that plain just don't fit in here, there are many Moderne buildings, which is close, but not exactly deco, there is a random page on 1930's fashion and a whole section of 1980's art deco reproductions. I don't want to see reproductions, I want to see the real thing! I wish more would have been put in about buildings in America, but I understand this book was published in the UK.

"In the Deco Style" was first published by Rizzoli Publishing in 1987. In the nearly twenty years since it was published, a technological revolution has taken place in art book publishing. Today's art books are bigger and brighter and of a much higher print quality. There are many nice color photos in this book but on the printed page, they come across as comparatively dull and muted. If you want to see the difference that twenty years can make take a look at "Art Deco 1910-1939". In that book, the colors are warm and the photographs almost jump off the printed page.

This book was written 15-20 years after the Art Deco revival of the late 1960's. For its time, the book does a very good job of describing the Art Deco movement with all its many different schools. However, an additional two decades of scholarship has taken place and we now have a much more nuanced understanding of the time.

If you are an seriously interested in Art Deco, this book is very fine purchase. It is reasonably priced and there are many interesting photographs. However, if you are new to the subject, purchase "Art Deco 1910-1939", the single best coffee table style of book on the subject.

The name Stieglitz conjures up many images that helped define modern photography. With his publications of Camera Notes and Camera Work, numerous awards, and a tenacious drive to promote photography as a serious art, Alfred Stieglitz shaped our awareness of photography like no other. Although earlier photographs such as The Steerage, The Hand of Man, Spring Showers, The Terminal and others are indelibly linked to Stieglitz, it is his later work that is just as important to this oeuvre. With the publication of "Stieglitz at Lake George" we see a man content with his craft, to the point where some of the images have a snapshot quality, like vacation pictures taken by a master seer. The images show Stieglitz relaxed yet still in control, as he records the surroundings at Lake George. Both formal and informal, the portraits taken of O'Keeffe are some of Stieglitz's strongest depictions of the artist. Ellen Koeniger and Rebecca Strand elicit both playful and erotic poses for the camera, while others are photographed chatting, playing, or simply wandering around the grounds of Lake George. Many will see the photographs in direct contrast to Stieglitz's urban images. Although this is apparent in most of the photographs, the images of poplar trees stand out like the skyscrapers Stieglitz photographed later in his career. Even the elegant automobile found on the last page is clearly an urban image - a reminder that eventually one must leave Lake George and its quiet calm, for the city further down the road.

Samantha Baskind's Raphael Soyer and the Search for Modern Jewish Art describes the life and work of Raphael Soyer, a Russian immigrant who arrived in America in 1912 at the age of thirteen. The oldest of six children, Soyer, his twin brother Moses, and their younger brother Isaac became artists. All three of these talented siblings sit on the periphery of American art, and in this well-researched book Baskind shows why Soyer deserves more attention than he has previously received. Along with describing how Soyer's art was influenced by his Jewish identity, Baskind also critically examines "the assumptions and methodologies scholars employ when discussing Jewish art" (4). Her lucid prose, even when dealing with challenging thinkers (Freud, Simmel, and Jonathan and Daniel Boyarin, among others), makes Soyer and his Jewishness accessible.

Baskind begins her book by stating that Soyer "did not want to be known as a Jewish artist" (1), and then proceeds in the following five chapters to look closely at a single work or a group of related works by Soyer. She explains how Soyer was never a parochial painter - she does not connect his work to the religious elements of Judaism - but that the religiocultural dimensions of Judaism influenced his art. The first chapter, for example, examines a self-portrait from 1927. She tenaciously digs at the meanings in this portrait, and her attention to details, both visual and socio-political, is impressive as she shows how Soyer negotiated the challenges of being Jewish in the first decades of the twentieth century.

Baskind's discussion of past analyses of Soyer's well-known painting Dancing Lesson illustrates her accomplishment. This painting has been previously understood as Jewish, but, as Baskind explains, a close look at the work's iconography has never been performed. Baskind does this with panache and insight. Baskind carefully examines the painting, pulling out the "Jewish signs" (64) in Dancing Lesson, finally providing a paradigm for why this painting has fascinated so many as an example of Jewish art.

This book may be the impetus for others to take Soyer more seriously as an artist. Importantly, Baskind never attempts to claim Soyer. She only offers possible meanings - she mindfully phrases her interpretations with words like "seems," "may," and "perhaps," and states in her conclusion that "If this discussion of Soyer's professional self-definition opens up new perspectives on Soyer's art and incites scholars to reevaluate Soyer, then I have done my job" (196). She wants others to write and comment on Soyer; she does not pretend to be all-knowing and understands the limits of scholarship. Baskind also acknowledges that "Soyer cannot be understood adequately as [solely] a Jewish artist or an American artist" (196), thus opening up a hopefully new field of Soyer studies to interpretations from various perspectives.

The book culminates with Baskind's discussion of Soyer's book illustrations for Isaac Bashevis Singer. Her attention to Soyer's artistic precedents, especially the illustrations' uncanny resemblances to Marc Chagall's art and that of Jacob Epstein, is art history as it should be done. Beautifully written with an astonishing depth of understanding of twentieth-century American art and culture, Baskind's exceptional scholarship has enriched our understanding of Soyer and Jewish art.

I agree with the first reviewer that Soyer deserves more attention than he has received, but, unfortunately, this book is not the kind of attention he deserves.

Baskind tries to fit all of Soyer's work into her narrow interpretative frame. I did not find her arguments convincing. Her focus seems to be on "outing" Soyer as a Jew (not really necessary, since this is a well-known aspect of his identity, and nothing he ever tried to hide), rather than telling us anything new about his work or its historical context. In fact, I found myself not trusting the biographical information she does report because it all seems to be twisted around to support her predetermined arguments.

If you are interested in the question of "What is Jewish art?" you might enjoy this book, but if you are an admirer of Raphael Soyer, you probably won't.

This book was recommended to me by a professor who felt that the text would clarify my questions about what Jewish art is. The book did that and more. The book carefully goes through the many possiblities of what Jewish art is, how it has been understood in the past, and what the author thinks. Before this book I felt that Jewish art could really only be defined as religious, but now I understand much more about the ethnic dimensions of Judaism. According to the author, the "cultural" aspects of Jewish art are just as worthy as the religious ones. She expains all this with examples and by testing her ideas on the art of Raphael Soyer. R. Soyer's art is really great, as is this book. I recommend it to anyone interested in American art, Jewish art, or Soyer.

What captivated me moreso than just the history of this artist was the style in which the author arranged and wrote this wonderful book. The points and details were laid out in a way that made the read enjoyable, almost like a novel, (It was upsetting whenever I had to put the book down), and I never felt talked down to even though the subject matter was new to me. I totally devoured this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in art, art history, immigration, diaspora or jewish studies, not to mention biographies. I would also recommend it to someone just searching for a good read! I look forward to other such works by Dr. Baskind.

I found this book fascinating, and I'm just as fascinated by the reactions to it, especially the angry diatribe.

The value of this book is that Soyer has been known as a Jewish artist, but no one has talked about him as such in real depth. I recommend this book for its:
1. Attention to biography. The author quotes and analyzes Soyer's 4 autobiographies, his personal papers, and oral interviews. She's probed these sources and found interesting material there.
2. Multidimensional use of history. One reviewer states that the author doesn't tell us anything about the historical context of Soyer's art. I disagree. She tells us much, it's just that it's not the same old American stuff wrapped around him. She provides an alternate historical perspective: the Jewish one alongside the national and artistic ones. I especially like her use of literary works, such as Elias Tobenkin and Abraham Cahan, to help explain the mindset of the time.
3. Attention to visual details. Her interpretations of the art, especially Soyer's illustrations discussed in the last chapter, is impressive.

The author uses the evidence the artist has left behind, both verbal and visual, to construct an interesting portrait of Soyer. I think those uncomfortable with that portrait are those who have been, for whatever reason, perpetuating a static view of Soyer (gender, race and religion matter!), or have ignored him altogether.

This new look at Soyer is just what's needed - and not just for art history, but religious studies, gender studies, and all those interested in difference.

Critical Praise for INVISIBLE IMAGES: THE SILENT LANGUAGE OF ARCHITECTURE "This extraordinary, original book delves into the mysteries of visual creativity. It can be explored on a variety of levels in linear and non-linear ways, but on all levels, from layout to theory, it awakens the artist within." SUZANNAH LESSARD, Author, The Architect of Desire; Contributing Author, New Yorker Magazine "Willis presents a remarkable range of images, using them in a perceptive and original way as she explores the nature of the creative process. Invisible Images undertakes a daunting task; but, through skillful graphics and a compelling thesis, it urges the reader to consider anew the language of art". ARCHITECT HUGH HARDY "Anthropologists tell us that there has never been a culture anywhere on earth that was able to get along without what we call art. This is to say that our gift for play, for making things, for looking inward as well as outward, must possess a certain Darwinian advantage. What can that advantage be? Taking evident pleasure in the formal contradiction of the title of her book Invisible Images architect-artist-writer Beverly Willis speculates on this and other questions from a scary position in the tent of intellect, on a trapeze that scorns the need of a net below. I read it with admiration." CRITIC BRENDAN GIL