Cosmatesque Ornament: Flat Polychrome Geometric Patterns in Architecture

Book Description

A richly illustrated study of architectural ornament in the late Middle Ages. This unique study of the distinctive colorful geometric mosaics created in hundreds of late medieval buildings in Rome and environs (and such far-flung locations as Westminster Abbey) by a group of artisans called the Cosmati is a treasure trove of information and pattern for art and architectural historians and designers in every medium. 600 color and black-and-white illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Poor quality photos.......2004-11-19

A thorough and focused academic treatise on Cosmati tiling. Living in Rome I was interested in the designs, so I bought this book when it was newly published because it's the only one on the subject. Unfortunately, many of the color photos (taken by the author while a student) have a yellow cast are so dark you can hardly see the details; a few are even out of focus. Such a shame after so much effort of research and expense of printing, that a professional photographer/photo editor was not used. For my purposes I found it disappointing, especially at the list price.

Customer Reviews:

The Art of Life.......2000-03-25

"Gracious Gifts: Japan's Sacred Offerings" is a lush book of beautifully composed color photographs by Gorazd Vilhar and knowledgeable, well written interpretive text by Charlotte Anderson. The authors have lived in Japan for 15 years, and their reverent, yet dramatic presentation of more than 100 sacred offerings left at Buddhist and Shinto sites gives the Western eye a rare glimpse into the Japanese custom of leaving small gifts in daily rituals honoring their gods, ancestors and lost loved ones. Even with little knowledge of Japan or its customs, readers of this book will be thrilled with the simple elegance of Japanese form, as well as the intense color and remarkable variety of the offerings. From daikon radishes carved into genitalia, offered to encourage fertility, to the 1000 handfolded origami cranes in every color, offered up for learning, the offerings shown in this book provide the reader with a feast for the mind and the spirit. Vilhar's photographs respect and preserve the sacred nature of the offerings. In fact, his careful attention to the form, color and precise arrangement of each offering provide one with a sense of awe that was surely felt by the bearer of the gift, but which might not be as immediate if one were to encounter these simple offerings in person. In the interpretive text, Anderson carefully and reverently provides enough background to enhance one's appreciation of the images, without presuming to explain the religion or its role in modern Japan. She accepts and describes what is. This beautiful book teaches one how to pay attention with a higher level of awareness.

The Art of Life.......2000-03-25

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Trains : A Photographer's Journey

Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0810929457

Product Description

The powerful red electric engines of the Glacier Express easily climb the snow-covered Swiss Alps. Ancient steam engines of the Guayaquil & Quito Railway labor up the slopes of the Andes in Ecuador. Luxurious passenger carriages from another era amble across the great western desert of China at dusk. On the other side of the globe, the engineer of a sleek Amtrak engine waves a casual good-bye out the window of his massive machine as it leaves the station. TRAINS is a photographic journey to the world of railroads. For five years, photographer Graeme Outerbridge traveled the globe by rail photographing everything that caught his eye-hulking engines, stations both lonely and bustling, dark tunnels, high-speed expresses, railroad workers, signs, signals, and the landscapes that the trains traversed. His images reveal the universal language of forms and colors that trains have created, and are as evocative as a lonesome whistle in the night. 225 photographs in full color, 10 1/4 x 9 3/4" GRAEME OUTERBRIDGE is one of Bermuda's most distinguished photographers and a three-time winner of the Gold Award of the Bermuda Lily Design Awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and past chairman of the National Liberal Party of Bermuda, and his work has been widely exhibited. He has published two previous books, including Abrams' Bridges.

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Trains A Photographer's Journey
Graeme Outerbridge
Manufacturer: Harry Abram's Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000TQJSCQ

Product Description

A Photographer's journey in the world of trains

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Trains: A Photographer's Journey
Graeme Outerbridge
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Collections, Catalogues & Exhibitions | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Photography | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

TRAINS is a photographic journey to the world of railroads. For five years, photographer Graeme Outerbridge traveled the globe by rail photographing everything that caught his eye-hulking engines, stations both lonely and bustling, dark tunnels, high-speed expresses, railroad workers, signs, signals, and the landscapes that the trains traversed. His images reveal the universal language of forms and colors that trains have created, and are as evocative as a lonesome whistle in the night.

225 photographs in full color, 10 1/4 x 9 3/4"

GRAEME OUTERBRIDGE is one of Bermuda's most distinguished photographers and a three-time winner of the Gold Award of the Bermuda Lily Design Awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and past chairman of the National Liberal Party of Bermuda, and his work has been widely exhibited. He has published two previous books, including Abrams' Bridges. End

Book Description

Offering expert advice for every phase of museum store management, this volume is essential reading for anyone planning to open or manage a museum store. Theobald takes the guesswork out of planning and managing the museum store, informing the manager on all relevant topics such as sales tables, profits, licensing, training, product promotion, publications, inventory, merchandise, and trademarks, just to name a few. The Second Edition contains an additional chapter on merchandising, updated statistics, POS information, more illustrations and examples, additional advice on Related/Unrelated products ("Tax Status and the IRS"), and Internet information on vendors and other resources.

Shops und kommerzielle Warenangebote: Publikumsorientierte Instrumente zur Steigerung der Museumsattraktivitat (Publikationen der Abteilung Museumsberatung)

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Shops und kommerzielle Warenangebote: Publikumsorientierte Instrumente zur Steigerung der Museumsattraktivitat (Publikationen der Abteilung Museumsberatung)

Manufacturer: Transcript Verlag
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Perfect Paperback

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

German | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Nonfiction | German | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 3933127556

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Canvassing the market. (Lahaina Gallery) (company profile): An article from: Hawaii Business
Lucy Jokiel
Manufacturer: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Hawaii Business, published by Hawaii Business Publishing Co. on May 1, 1988. The length of the article is 1659 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: Canvassing the market. (Lahaina Gallery) (company profile)
Author: Lucy Jokiel
Publication: Hawaii Business (Magazine/Journal)
Date: May 1, 1988
Publisher: Hawaii Business Publishing Co.
Volume: v33 Issue: n11 Page: p58(4)

Article Type: company profile

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Gloria Jean's: retail franchiser grows nationally and internationally. (includes "Gloria Jean's opens coffee museum"): An article from: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Gloria Jean's: retail franchiser grows nationally and internationally. (includes "Gloria Jean's opens coffee museum"): An article from: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
Santiago Fittapaldi
Manufacturer: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, published by Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc. on January 1, 1993. The length of the article is 1493 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: Gloria Jean's: retail franchiser grows nationally and internationally. (includes "Gloria Jean's opens coffee museum")
Author: Santiago Fittapaldi
Publication: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: January 1, 1993
Publisher: Lockwood Trade Journal Co., Inc.
Volume: v165 Issue: n1 Page: p60(4)

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Le tournant commercial des musees en France et a l'etranger (Collection du Departement des etudes et de la prospectivedu Ministere de la culture et de la francophonie)

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Le tournant commercial des musees en France et a l'etranger (Collection du Departement des etudes et de la prospectivedu Ministere de la culture et de la francophonie)
Denis Bayart
Manufacturer: Documentation francaise
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

French | Foreign Language Nonfiction | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Nonfiction | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books

All French Books | French | Foreign Language Books | Specialty Stores | Books
ASIN: 2110030062

Managers Guide: Basic Guidelines for the New Store Manager

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Managers Guide: Basic Guidelines for the New Store Manager
Museum Store Association
Manufacturer: Museum Store Association
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Retailing | Industries & Professions | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Management | Management & Leadership | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0961610425

The museum store: Organization and sales techniques (Technical leaflet - American Association for State and Local History)

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The museum store: Organization and sales techniques (Technical leaflet - American Association for State and Local History)
Kathleen K Newcomb
Manufacturer: American Association for State and Local History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007F15NY

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Museum stores
Susan Unverferth
Manufacturer: University of Colorado at Denver, Colorado Center for Community Development
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B00072MO8C

Book Description

In this revolutionary indictment of capitalism, Joel Kovel criticizes its unrelenting pressure to expand, and its destructiveness toward ecology. Kovel also criticizes existing ecological politics for their evasion of capital, and advances a vision of ecological production as the successor to capitalist production.

Customer Reviews:

full of "use value".......2007-06-02

Joel is driven my his heart but he has the power to convince through his logical argumentation. He is on point and will make you laugh, cry, riot,de-materialize and rethink capitalism every step of the way. If you need a pressing reminder as to why Marx's critique of capital is so critical this book is it.

Great passion and conviction -- terribly written.......2004-06-14

I completely agree with the political agenda of this book. I am glad it was written. Kovel is RIGHT ON TARGET.
But the book was dreadful to plow/bore through. Talk about OBTUSE VERBIAGE. There is still this awful tradition out there that if you wor dsomething so that it "sounds" brilliant -- it must be. I hate that tradition. We need plain language and simple articulation. This book is just the opposite. Here are but a couple of random examples to give you some idea: "Capital's invasion takes place across an ecosystemic manifold encompassing both culture and nature, with points of commodity formation arising everywhere" (p.55) -- got that? or "If 'entropy' is a logarithmic measure of the probabilistic disorder of a given physical system, the Second Law states that for such a system, whether it be the air in a room, a living body, or the earth as a whole, so long as neither energy nor matter is added to said system -- that is, so long as the system is 'closed' -- then its entropy will rise with time" (p.93) -- got that?
Look, there were many times in this book where I wrote "right on!" in the margins. There were also many times whene I wrote "blah blah blah"...I was going to assign this to my students of social theory -- I teach at a small liberal arts college. No way. Very few people can plow through this dense stuff.

Makes a powerful case.......2004-03-28

Anyone who considers themselves an environmentalist should read this book. Kovel makes the case the environmental destruction is inherent to the capitalist system and for the most part, reforms are little more than band-aids for a system that is, by its very nature, out of control.

Kovel focuses less on the environmental problems we face today (which you can find in any other book); and focuses more of the book lies in describing how the nuts and bolts of the capitalist economy works (which is what sets this book apart from all others).

He makes the case that actions like voluntarism, isolated cooperatives, bioregionalism, and so forth will eventually get rolled over by the immense power that capital has and are not long-term solutions.

My only problem with the book is that, while Kovel accurately describes the underlying environmental problem as having its root in capitalism itself, he doesn't present a coherent solution except an extremely vague "eco-socialism" (that's why I gave it 4 stars instead of 5). You can tell by this last chapter that he is groping for some sort of answer - going off in many directions.

If you want a cutting analysis of the problem human beings face today, get this book! If you want a revolutionary solution, this book is only a start.

Some background to a flawed but brilliant book.......2003-06-08

For Joel Kovel the revolution is only a matter of time. Marx was right: Capitalism cannot help but prepare the stew in which it will roast. But Old Whiskers got one thing wrong. The crucial antagonist of capital is not labor but nature. If Marx made a fetish of capital's propensity to generate too much wealth to be profitably re-invested, Kovel does the same in regard to planetary ecosystem crackup. Instead of periodic economic downturn catapulting the proletariat into History, it's the shattering of life-essential natural processes that's destined to set off socialist (make that ecosocialist) revolution.

Professor Kovel, who ran to the left of Ralph Nader for the Green Party nod in 2000, wastes no time making the case that capitalism, by its very nature, cannot help but destroy the integrity and well-being of what we call "nature." No need for yet another inventory of disturbances in the environment, our bodies, and our psychic balance (though Kovel does provide a lot of data in this regard). The enemy of nature is not oil or pesticides or factories or bulldozers but capital, "that ubiquitous, all-powerful and greatly misunderstood dynamo that drives our society."

While traditionally the marketplace is a means of exchanging goods for money so as to purchase other goods, under capitalism it becomes a way for those who already have money to accumulate more. Reversing the natural order, the merchant starts off with money and buys the product of someone else's labor, then turns around and sells it at a markup. As long as the laborer is poor and the buyer rich, the trader makes a profit.

What gives a commodity its value is not what we do with it, like using bricks to build houses or shoes to walk home in, but the price it commands in trade. In contrast to "use value"-- a quality that belongs to any given item intrinsically-- "exchange value" is an abstraction that must be expressed quantitatively. When you buy a pair of shoes (or better yet a thousand pairs) only to sell them for profit, their entire value is a number.

As the basis of economics becomes the trade itself and not the tangible thing exchanged, money is transformed into an all-consuming monster. No longer bound up with the limitations of actual land, people, and resources, it springs to life, an abstraction with a will of its own. "Pure quantity," says Kovel, "can swell infinitely without reference to the external world."

There lies the source of our ecological crisis.

Despite its reputation as the very acme of rational economic exchange, capitalism follows its own imperatives, quite apart from the needs of humans and ecosystems. In its compulsion to grow and multiply, capital "constantly tries to violate" whatever limit is set before it. Success means only one thing: surpassing yesterday's mark. No matter how big the beast gets, to cease growing further is to die. Yet the one thing we know for sure is that it can't grow forever. Sooner or later abstraction runs up against reality.

Does that mean capitalism is setting the stage for ecosocialist uprising? "If the argument that capital is incorrigibly ecodestructive and expansive proves to be true, then it is only a question of time before the issues raised here achieve explosive urgency." True enough, but that doesn't mean the Revolution is just over the horizon. What Kovel overlooks is the likelihood that worsening environmental conditions will exacerbate the scarcity that already pits us against each other. While the rich compete to survive as rich people, the poor compete to survive, period. If it's the money-driven struggle of all-against-all that's pushing us, inexorably, to the edge of the cliff, shouldn't we expect rising insecurity and the resulting intensification of this struggle to push us right over the edge? Precisely when, between now and doomsday, do the masses finally revolt?

As Kovel himself points out, capitalists are perfectly willing to perpetuate eco-destabilization as long as they can insulate themselves and perhaps even profit from the meltdown all around them. He cites an article in London's Guardian Weekly purporting to show a shift in elite opinion since the early 70s, when the Club of Rome called for "limits to growth." These days, digging our own grave is simply the ultimate business opportunity.

Taking Kovel to task in the September, 2002 issue of Monthly Review, John Bellamy Foster noted, "We should not underestimate capitalism's capacity to accumulate in the midst of the most blatant ecological destruction, to profit from environmental degradation... and to continue to destroy the earth to the point of no return-- both for human society and for most of the world's living species."

Times are tough? How about a liquidation sale? Like Marx before him, Kovel finds a silver lining where none exists. There's just no pulling the socialist rabbit out of the capitalist hat.

An Ecosocialist Manifesto.......2002-09-26

Joel Kovel's "The Enemy of Nature" offers a powerful and unflinching eco-Marxist critique of the capitalist system. Concluding that the path of accumulation must inevitably lead to a world wide ecological crisis, the author theorizes about the type of "ecosocialist" system that must supplant capitalism in order to ensure humanity's survival.

Kovel is part of a growing "Red/Green" movement that also includes the outstanding Marxist scholar James O'Connor. Kovel's arguments seem to build upon and indeed are closely aligned with many of the ideas in O'Connor's excellent book "Natural Causes," but I personally find Kovel's writing to be a bit more accessible than O'Connor's. Perhaps this pragmatism can be attributed to Kovel's political sensibilities, as he was a candidate for the Green Party Presidential nomination in 2000.

Kovel believes that various forms of so-called "Green economics" are doomed to failure because they do not address what he sees as the root problem driving the ecological crisis: namely, capital's need to continuously expand. He points out that whatever gains might be realized from the introduction of environmentally-friendly technology will be quickly outweighed by the expansion of the economy. For example, fuel cells might be less harmful than internal combustion engines, but if the technology merely enables the manufacture of hundreds of millions of new automobiles, the planet will ultimately be much worse off.

But Kovel acknowledges that the current Green movement is in fact helping to lay the groundwork for what is yet to come. The Green's emphasis on local democratic control of the means of production will help free labor from its bondage with capital, which is essential for socialism to succeed.

Of course, Kovel devotes a section to readers who may need to be reminded that really existing socialism as practiced in the Soviet Union and elsewhere was NOT what Marx intended. Kovel shows that these countries actually substituted the state for the market, in the end merely proving that markets were superior to centralized planning. The ruined environments left behind by the Communist states were testaments to a failed attempt at accumulation, in much the same way that the West is currently degrading the air, land and sea in its ongoing frenzy of accumulation.

Kovel speculates on how collapse might occur in the capitalist nations. He understands that a breakdown of the financial system could easily lead to fascism, or possibly "ecofascism", as capital seeks to hold on to power. But Kovel thinks it may be plausible that the pockets of production growing outside the bounds of capital may be strong enough to resist the counter-revolution. Indeed, Kovel points out that up to 20 percent of the world economy already exists in the "informal" sector, although most of this is comprised of criminal activity and much less of the positive kind (such as the Bruderhof communities of the U.S.).

This latter part of Kovel's analysis bears similarity to Nick Dyer-Witheford's "Cyber-Marx", although Kovel does not appear to be aware of this book nor is it referenced in his bibliography. In short, Dyer-Witheford theorizes that technophiles will appropriate the means of production in order to empower a society that eventually achieves autonomy by existing outside the bounds of capitalist control. Like Kovel, Dyer-Witheford envisions that the post-capitalist society will choose to apply its surplus value to the cause of freeing labor and restoring its ravaged social, physical and natural environments. In my view, the convergence of these two authors' thoughts -- albeit arrived at from different angles, but perhaps more compelling because of this -- bolsters both of their arguments and suggests that the possibility of radical change may not be as elusive as one might suppose.

Book Description

Capitalism and its by-products -- imperialism, war, neoliberal globalization, racism, poverty and the destruction of community -- are all playing a part in the destruction of our ecosystem. Only now are we beginning to realize the depth of the crisis and the kind of transformation which will have to occur to ensure our survival. This second, thoroughly updated, edition of The Enemy of Nature speaks to this new environmental awareness. Joel Kovel argues against claims that we can achieve a better environment through the current Western "way of being". By suggesting a radical new way forward, an integration of "red" and "green" politics, Joel Kovel offers real hope and vision for a more sustainable future.

The enemy of nature: the end of capitalism or the end of the world [A book review from: Futures]

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The enemy of nature: the end of capitalism or the end of the world [A book review from: Futures]
K.H. von Kaufmann
Manufacturer: Elsevier
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

Elsevier | By Publisher | e-Docs | Formats | Books
ASIN: B000RR09RK

Book Description

This digital document is a journal article from Futures, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:

The Enemy of Nature The End of Capitalism or the End of the World

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The Enemy of Nature The End of Capitalism or the End of the World
Joel Kovel
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000N7KFYG

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