Book Description
In recent years, visual culture has emerged as a growing and important interdisciplinary field of study. Visual culture regards images as central to the representation of meaning in the world. It encompasses "high" art without an assumption of its higher status. But despite the current proliferation of studies and programs in visual culture, there seems to be no consensus within the field itself as to its scope and objectives, definitions, and methods. In Visual Culture, Margaret Dikovitskaya offers an overview of this new area of study in order to reconcile its diverse theoretical positions and understand its potential for further research. Her aim is to show how visual culture can avoid what she defines as the Scylla and Charybdis that threaten it: the lack of a specific object of study (given its departure from the traditional hierarchies of art history) and the expansion of the field to the point of incoherence as it seems to subsume everything related to the cultural and the visual.
Dikovitskaya gives us an archaeology of visual culture, examining the "cultural turn" away from art history and the emergence of visual studies. Drawing on responses to questionnaires, oral histories, and interviews with the field's leading scholars, she discusses first the field's history, theoretical frameworks, and methods, and then examines four programs and courses in visual culture -- those at the University of Rochester, the University of Chicago, the University of California at Irvine, and the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Bringing together considerations of theory and practice, Dikovitskaya charts the future of visual culture programs in the twenty-first century.
Customer Reviews:
issues and challenges in defining and teaching visual studies.......2005-07-06
Everyone recognizes that this is a time of visual culture, extraordinarily and in many ways excessively so. The phrase is routinely, and casually, used by many in the media, arts, and even academia. However, there is little comprehension, understanding, or agreement on what this visual culture really is either in terms of a concept or an experience. Dikovitsky steps back from this common use of the term visual culture to try to define and comprehend it by exploring "the history, theoretical frameworks, methodology, and pedagogy of visual culture in the United States." She does this mostly by interviews with college professors in fields ranging from art, film studies, and cultural studies to literature which in one way or another take into account the pronounced and often dominating or suppressive nature of the visual in modern culture. The word "study" in the subtitle connotes not so much Dikovitskaya's study of visual culture--although this is inevitably inherent--as it does the author's chosen task to report how visual culture is being studied mostly in the universities; and along with this answer the question of how it is to be studied so it is understood properly. Without a proper understanding of visual culture, contemporary society cannot be understood properly; contemporary society is a mystery. While not defining visual culture definitively, if this can ever be done, Dikovitskaya's exploration, framing of issues, and probing interviews bring the sprawling, elusive, omnipresent presence and idea of visual culture into clearer focus. Dikovitskaya is a research fellow at the Library of Congress.
A solid guide to current trends.......2005-05-09
Dikovitskaya does a dutiful job describing the merger of art history and culture studies into the field of visual culture theory. Her first two chapters provide a wonderful survey of current trends in visual culture, and the emerging pedagogy of the field. Her appendices are what really make the book worthwhile, however. Interviews with the best known scholars in the field, such as Douglas Crimp and Nicholas Mirzoeff, make this book stand out as a valuable primer to any student of culture theory and/or art history.
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The persistence of classicism
Patricia Mainardi
Manufacturer: Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
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ASIN: 0931102367 |
Customer Reviews:
Brings Australia's Great Barrier Reef to life for young readers ages 6 to 11.......2005-07-06
Superbly pictured in marvelous and colorful detail by Robin Brickman's cut-paper illustrations, One Night In The Coral Sea by science writer Sneed B. Collard III brings Australia's Great Barrier Reef to life for young readers ages 6 to 11. It is a night in the late spring just after the full moon and something is occurring that only happens once a year. Dozens of coral species simultaneously release thousands, millions, trillions of eggs and sperm into the sea. These then form new coral polyps that will settle onto the coral reef and form new colonies, extending the reach of the reef along the Australian coast. Enthusiastically recommended for both school and community library collections, One Night In The Coral Sea is an entertaining as it is informative.
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The Coral Reef at Night
Joseph S. Levine
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Lakes & Ponds
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Ichthyology
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ASIN: 0810931907 |
Average customer rating:
- Great book about what goes on at night around a coral reef
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Night Reef: Dusk to Dawn on a Coral Reef
William Sargent
Manufacturer: Franklin Watts
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Coral Reefs
| Oceans & Seas
| Nature & Ecology
| Science
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| Zoology
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| Ages 9-12
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ASIN: 0531152197 |
Customer Reviews:
Great book about what goes on at night around a coral reef.......2003-09-24
The focus of this book is on photos and text explaining nightlife on a coral reef. The author did an excellent job blending in information about daytime as well, such as explaining that a certain fish was out during the day but is now going into his cave structure to hide at night, so we get a full picture of what each creature is doing 24 hours a day.
The photographs are excellent quality and are beautiful. There are long captions for each photo so if your child is younger and won't sit to hear the longer text read aloud, you could just read the long captions and still get a good amount of information.
The front and back pages show a map of the world with all the coral reefs and which areas are under threat
I found this book interesting as most books on the life of animals on and around a coral reef focus on daytime only. We used this book as part of learning about coral reefs in general, about the Great Barrier Reef, and Australia. The book focuses on coral reefs in general, this is not about just the Great Barrier Reef.
Book Description
In the world of 2277, a girl named Simone is caught between her rich entitlement culture friends in the upper city and the gangs of moped riders who roam and patrol the lower city. She must decide in which world she wants to truly live and survive.
Customer Reviews:
Solid Debut.......2006-11-19
This crisp debut takes the classic tale of rich, mean high school jocks vs. poor, likable nerds, and sets it in a megacity 270 years in the future. The first third of the story introduces Simone, a beautiful, wealthy black girl who dates Chester, the big man on high-school campus. Now a senior, she's increasingly ambivalent about her relationship with the abusive and drug-addicted Chester, but it isn't until she gets dragged along for a night of mayhem in the "Rust City" ghetto that her eyes are truly opened to what a nasty piece of work she's with.
The second third of the story shows how her guilt over that incident leads her to explore Rust City, and eventually meet up with the Moped Army. This is a group of countercultural nerd/tribalist types who have created a kind of commune based around old mopeds (which are different than scooters). Most of the Moped Army welcome her as a newcomer and make her feel at home, so much so that she eventually ditches her high school clique and joins them. This enrages Chester, and the final third of the story builds to a showdown between his bio-enhanced thug-jock pals and the Moped Army.
The entire story is one we've seen in plenty of films and books before, and other than the setting there's nothing particularly fresh about it here. The rich jocks are all universally neanderthalish and the Moped Army are all nice offbeat folks (although the one girl who remains frosty toward Simone has good reason, and this is handled well). The book is a nice celebration of an communal ideal, and one that taps into the current vibe of wikis and self-created communities. However, the denouement to the story felt somewhat implausible and while the bad guys retreat, it's not at all clear why they wouldn't just regroup and attack again a week later (perhaps round two will come in a subsequent volume).
A number of reviewers applaud the "class warfare" aspect of the storyline, but it's not exactly subtle or penetrating. And despite the inclusiveness of the Moped Army, there a tinge of "oh-cooler-than-thouness" in their myriad of tattoos, vintage clothing, sideburns, and hipster t-shirts (such as Cibo Matto). Still, the book is ultimately worthwhile and entertaining. Simone is a well-depicted heroine, with all the self-doubts of a real teenager, and a budding sense of responsibility. The artwork is mostly pleasing (as long as you don't mind your women characters to be universally curvaceous), and the bonus conceptual sketches are interesting and worthwhile.
Note: The inspiration for this book is the real-life Moped Army, whose mission says that they are: "the organizational end result of an outcropping of moped enthusiasts throughout the nation. Seeing it as more than just an easy and inexpensive way to get around town, members uphold the moped as a way of life. Although the advantages as a mode of transportation are many, a similar mind set is what brings us together."
Customer Reviews:
Useful Case Studies of Individual Films and How They Depict American History.......2006-07-06
Historians are uniformly condemnatory of most feature films that seeking to depict history events. Almost never are they accurate in any serious manner, even if they costume the cast appropriately for the time and place. "Gods and Generals," "Titanic," and "The Patriot" suggest that even when attention to detail prevails it often yields a false impression of the past. This is particularly unnerving to most historians because of the power of the medium to shape popular conceptions of historical events. In "History by Hollywood" Robert Brent Toplin offers a detailed analysis of how film makers "tell the story of real people and actual events from American history" (p. 1). While allowing that film makers should be allowed "dramatic license," Toplin insists that they do so in a responsible manner that seeks to understand rather than reinvent the past.
Toplin uses eight case studies to demonstrate how film makers have dealt with American history since the 1940s. In terms of release, the earliest film Toplin discusses is "Sergeant York," made in 1941 and it receives his plaudits for historical accuracy while also drawing important lessons for the present. Likewise, "Patton" (1970) draws powerful lessons from the World War II experience of the charismatic and eccentric Army officer applicable to the Vietnam experience of the 1960s and early 1970s. Toplin finds that "All the President's Men" (1976) and "Norma Rae" (1979) also exhibit a high commitment to historical accuracy, despite some liberties taken, and serve well as means of educating the present about threats to democratic institutions or worker rights.
The remaining four films raise other issues. "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Missing" (1982) both take important liberties with the historical record to make points about the present and to indict the U.S. government for crimes real and imagined. At the same time Toplin finds those films useful entrée points for those engaged in historical investigation of weighty issues. Finally, Toplin analyzes "Mississippi Burning" (1988) and "JFK" (1991) and finds both fatally flawed as history. Both raised important points about the events they depict but left a false impression of them in the minds of viewers.
Robert Brent Toplin is more magnanimous in assessing these films than I would be. With the exception of "Patton" and "Norma Rae" I am less kind in my assessments of these eight films. In some instances, such as "All the President's Men" and "JFK," the films create an utterly false impression of what took place. In the case of "All the President's Men" only the two Washington Post writers, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, are seen as battling the forces of the administration, although several others such as Tip O'Neill and Judge John Sirica played key roles. "JFK," of course, promulgated a massive conspiracy of the military-industrial complex in the assassination of the president in 1963 when evidence is lacking supporting such an assertion.
This is an interesting and useful book in understanding the nature of Hollywood's depictions of American history. Enjoy!
fun facts are only novel for the first few essays........2001-06-16
this book shows a great deal of attention to the flubbs in hollywood, but in some cases, the information is too much. for instance, it is great to know where Patton was shot and where all of the equipment came from, but the essay lacks a clear thesis. for an academic text, i am disappointed.
Excellent synthesis of history and film criticism........1998-03-07
How does Hollywood distort history?
Toplin, a history professor at the University of North Carolina, describes four of Hollywood's principal methods of treating (or mistreating) history: mixing fact with fiction, shaping evidence to deliver specific conclusions, suggesting messages for the present in stories about the past, and fabricating a documentary style to develop the "Great Man" perspective on the past.
The techniques are employed in works as varied as "Bonnie and Clyde", " Sergeant York", and Oliver (I-don't-have-to-tell-the-truth-I'm-an-artist) Stone's "JFK", but while Toplin (naturally) respects historical accuracy, he acknowledges the narrative and dramatic necessities which inevitably contaminate the historical reality. He also notes special interest pressures to have movies reflect particular interpretations, and the film-makers' responses to criticisms of their historical veracity. A worthwhile look at some of Hollywood's reconstructions of the past, and their connections to larger issues.
(The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score' books).
Average customer rating:
- A must read for anyone interested in Stravinsky's life after "The Rake's Progress"
- Intimate look at Stravinsky's world
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Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship
Robert Craft
Manufacturer: Vanderbilt University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Stravinsky, Igor
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Memories and Commentaries: New One-Volume Edition
ASIN: 0826512585 |
Customer Reviews:
A must read for anyone interested in Stravinsky's life after "The Rake's Progress".......2006-01-26
Life has a funny way of providing punishments to compensate for great fortune. Robert Craft is a very talented musician and writer and has had a more important career with many more valuable contributions than people remember. Why? Because of his friendship with Igor Stravinsky from 1948 until the composer's death in 1971. The reality is that no matter how bright your flame, you will have a hard time shining next to the sun. Everyone is always interested in Stravinsky and it is that name that will remain so very important to history. On the other hand, Craft was really a friend and a support to Stravinsky and lived that life. We have not. So, does it really matter to Craft if what we think? Probably not.
Craft had published selections from his diaries in the later "conversation" books that he and Stravinsky did together. In this volume Craft points out that he was not happy with the selections and that putting everything together for a publishing deadline rushed things. Here he has taken more time in the selections and more careful editing. The entries tend to be shorter and more focused. This book is a very interesting read. It also has a great selection of photographs some of which are in color.
This book also goes further than the previous publications of Craft's diaries and provide a very touching account of Stravinsky's death and funeral.
Of course, Craft shows his usual good taste and his eye for those details and observations that provide us with the most insight and interest.
I really enjoyed this book a great deal and was quite upset when I damaged my copy by dropping it while in a rush to get off the plane from a business trip. If you are interested in Stravinsky's life after "The Rake's Progress", this is a must have.
Intimate look at Stravinsky's world.......2000-09-08
Craft's amazing gifts as a writer are as interesting as is the story of the extraordinary relationship of which he writes. His famous and intimate long-time relationship with Stravinsky and wife Vera makes for fascinating, if not fast, reading. Some of the most interesting people on the planet make their appearance throughout the pages of this massive book (including Auden, Huxley, Spender, and so many more), and all are treated with a prepossessing intelligence, wit and intellectual candor by this remarkable conductor/musician/friend, Robert Craft. If Craft's own art is not that well known to the man in the street, all the better for the role he assumes in his many books about Stravinsky -that of an 'intimate without portfolio', as it were, able to illumine Stravinsky from the inside out, no small feat indeed. Of course, Craft's own art is indeed prodigious, as his many definitive recordings of Stravinsky's music, made since the composer's death, have proven time and again. Page after page of this 'diary' reveals the unique friendship between a genius and his 'brother-son'; Craft's ability to disappear within his observorship in order to reveal the man to whom he devoted such a great part of his life seems infinite, and so admirable. Craft's is a most perceptive mind, a mirror-mind to Stravinsky's in many ways, and more than a glimpse is thereby afforded of one of the titanic creative forces of the twentieth century. He acted as Stravinsky's alter-genius, if you will, and the results here are spellbinding. The book's journey traverses the world, and includes lengthy episodes in Venice, Paris, Los Angeles, Switzerland- all critical places in Stravinsky's history. The pages of the book devoted to Vera Stravinsky, wife, painter, and someone clearly especially loved by Robert Craft, that appear toward the end of the volume after the detailing of Stravinsky's funeral in Venice (of which there is a marvelous photo, the Orthodox priests in fierce array!), are lovely, loving and devoted, and worthy of mention. Craft's books are meat indeed for the Stravinskyphile, and even the uncommitted admirer can find in this work (as in his 'Theme and Variations', in the Dialogues, etc.) an epic chronicling of our time, and will find sure residue of the world's becoming modern through the uncompromising art of Igor Stravinsky. Impossible to overstate either the importance of this book as a testament, or the value of encountering it.
Average customer rating:
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Stravinsky: Chronicle of a Friendship 1948-1971
Robert Craft
Manufacturer: A. A. Knopf
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
Stravinsky, Igor
| Composers
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| Musical Genres
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| Entertainment
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General
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ASIN: 0394476123 |
Book Description
A broadly interdisciplinary study of the pervasive secrecy in America cultural, political, and religious discourse.
The occult has traditionally been understood as the study of secrets of the practice of mysticism or magic. This book broadens our understanding of the occult by treating it as a rhetorical phenomenon tied to language and symbols and more central to American culture than is commonly assumed.
Joshua Gunn approaches the occult as an idiom, examining the ways in which acts of textual criticism and interpretation are occultic in nature, as evident in practices as diverse as academic scholarship, Freemasonry, and television production. Gunn probes, for instance, the ways in which jargon employed by various social and professional groups creates barriers and fosters secrecy. From the theory wars of cultural studies to the Satanic Panic that swept the national mass media in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Gunn shows how the paradox of a hidden, buried, or secret meaning that cannot be expressed in language appears time and time again in Western culture.
These recurrent patterns, Gunn argues, arise from a generalized, popular anxiety about language and its limitations. Ultimately, Modern Occult Rhetoric demonstrates the indissoluble relationship between language, secrecy, and publicity, and the centrality of suspicion in our daily lives.
Joshua Gunn is Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is currently writing a book on the haunting of human speech in contemporary mass media technologies.
Book Description
A hilarious expose of the absurdities inflicted upon Hollywood's creative community by meddling film and TV executives. A Martian Wouldn't Say That will keep you laughing from first page to last with these memorable memos that often defy belief. Whether it's a mishmash of M.A.S.H., a harangue over Hamlet or a stifling of Star Trek, each caustic comment provides a hilarious insight into the workings of the entertainment executive mind.
Customer Reviews:
Hilarious.......2001-05-24
This is a magnificent collection of actual network notes to writers...I read this book whenever I am in a bad mood and instantly am not in a bad mood anymore. I hope it does the same for you...
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- A Community of Angels: Los Angeles 2002
- Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art Volume I (Aesthetics)
- Affirmations for Artists
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