Stealing the Mona Lisa: What Art Stops Us From Seeing

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Darian Leader is one of the finest popular writers using the psychoanalytical insights of Freud and Lacan to understand the contemporary state of love, life, and letters. In Stealing the Mona Lisa he turns his attentions to art. The book is not really about the theft of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in 1911. For Leader, the story of the theft provides a leitmotif for his elegant discussion of why we find art so seductive, but ultimately frustrating and perhaps disappointing. Leader begins by asking if "the story of the 'Mona Lisa's' disappearance can tell us something about art and why we look at it." He is fascinated by the fact that the painting's absence drew crowds, and asks, "might this give us a clue as to why we look at visual art? Are we looking for something that we have lost?"

This is an elegant and witty book that uses the insights of Freud and primarily Lacan to offer a range of amusing but often striking accounts of why we look at art, the importance of the gaze and the look, the significance of emptiness and incompleteness in art, and why artists create what appear to many to be incomprehensible works. Erudite and wide-ranging, Leader moves from a comparison of Leonardo's painted smile to a symbolic penis, to the artist Yinka Shonibare's observation that painting "was a way of staying out of hospital," which leads Leader to conclude that "the only people who don't sublimate are artists." Stealing the Mona Lisa doesn't always convince, but Leader's ability to explain complex theoretical ideas without oversimplification makes this a fascinating psychoanalytical version of John Berger's classic Ways of Seeing. For Leader, the point is to understand what art stops us seeing. --Jerry Brotton

Book Description

When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911, it was twenty-four hours before anyone knew it was missing. Afterward, thousands of people flocked to see the empty space where it had once hung, many of them having never seen the painting in the first place. In Stealing the Mona Lisa, Darien Leader takes the intriguing story of the theft of the Mona Lisa and the public's reaction to it as a starting point to explore the psychology of looking at visual art. What do we hope to see in paintings, and what do they hide from us? Why should some artists feel compelled to live lives that are more colorful than their works? And why did the police bungle their long investigation into the theft of Leonardo's masterpiece? Leader combines anecdote, observation, and analysis with examples taken from classical and contemporary art to create a surprising and fearless interrogation of what we see in art and what we might hope to find.

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Sensitive beautiful work of the of the hands of Rabari women

EXCELENT BOOK

Threads of Identity: Embroidery and Adornment of the Nomadic Rabaris
Judy Frater
Manufacturer: Antique Collectors' Club
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Textiles & Costume | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Embroidery | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Textile Arts | Crafts & Hobbies | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
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Mud, Mirror and Thread: Folk Traditions of Rural India

ASIN: 8185822085

Customer Reviews:

Sensitive beautiful work of the of the hands of Rabari women.......1999-01-30

Engaging book, sensitive to the art and traditions of the Rabari women, intelligently and intimately written. Of a very large library on textile art forms, this is one book I return to over and over. I hesitated at the price, but now feel it is worth it.

EXCELENT BOOK.......1998-12-20

AN OUTSTANDING BOOK THAT COVERS NOT ONLY THE EMBROIDERIES AND TEXTILES OF THESE PEOPLE, BUT JEWLERY CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS AND A TEN CENTUARY HISTORORICAL ACCOUNT

Book Description

The second graphic novel in the breakout, all-ages series, Owly. Owly is a kind, yet lonely, little owl who's always on the search for new friends and adventure. Relying on a mixture of symbols, icons, and expressions to tell his silent stories, Runton's clean, animated, and heartwarming style makes it a perfect read. Owly learns that sometimes you have to make sacrifices and work at things that are important, especially friendship.

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful gentle almost wordless fun.......2006-04-19

We have the 1st 3 Owly books, and my 4 year old daughter loves to "read" it to her 2 year old sister, who asks for it every day and night. They even play Owly games at the playground. Very sweet.

Amazingly Heartwarming.......2005-12-07

So booklist says grades 3 to 5, and instincts say "for kids and maybe young girls" but I can't help but love Owly. I bought this book for both my daughter and wife and I swear I almost shed a tear while reading it.

Especially for kids, it teaches an important lesson about friendship and sacrifice, as Owly and his little companion give up something they love to try to help a little forest friend out. Even when rebuffed they still try to do the right thing and help. OF COURSE everything turns out well in the end and everyone learns a little lesson about how to be a good friend. And somehow it manages not to be too corny or silly.

This book is perfect for ANYONE with a heart and I'm sure Mr. Runton's next book will be just as beautiful. I plan on buying it the day it comes out!

I might be a big softee, but..........2005-10-06

...these books are incredible. I literally started crying.

If You Don't Like "Owly", You Might Not Have a Soul.......2005-05-08

My initial reaction to the first "Owly" volume was no fluke: this second volume demonstrates Runton's unique talent for telling GOOD all-ages stories. It's just a nice, heartwarming story, as Owly and Wormy try to extend a helping hand to a family of blue jays, who are naturally suspicious of the normally predatory owl. I will conclude with a quote from my review of the first volume: "Go read it. If you don't like it, you may have no soul."

THE VALUE OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP.......2005-04-29

The second volume of Andy Runton's Owly has all the charm, wit, and soft moral messages of the first book. Told without benefit of any text, Andy Runton instead uses word balloons with pictures as his method of dialogue to convey his character's words and emotions. Owly is joined by his new friend from the first book "wormy" in their quest to make new friends. This time he's attracting a young bird with birdseed. But when the mother bird sees Owly, she immediately goes on the offensive, knowing that owls are predators.

Owly and Wormy decide to build the birds a birdhouse and even sacrifice their wooden wagon to make one large enough. They are proud of their work but still the mother bird is having none of it. Owly then thinks he's figured it out and paints a small little welcome sign on the front of the birdhouse. But Owly and Wormy are disappointed when they find the sign lying on the ground, broken in half and mother bird again going on the attack and driving Owly away. The friends are distraught and take the birdhouse back to Owly's tree and put it away in the closet, seemingly for good. But now the poor bird family finds themselves shivering and wet from the cold. A nice house sure would be great! When a storm blows three new baby birds out of the nest, Owly comes to the rescue but the third is still missing. Can Owly and Wormy locate the missing baby bird? How will mother bird treat them now?

Owly is not so much a graphic novel in the traditional sense but truly a wonderful children's book told solely through cartooning. We see the value of friendship and never giving up when it comes to helping others. And we also see the pitfalls of judging people too hastily. Andy Runton's unique cartooning style drives the book. At once very simplistic and yet able to express such a wide range of emotions from all his characters. This book is pure charm and shows the incredible talent that is out there among the smaller press community. Another winner!

Book Description

When Sara¹s classmate, Ruri, received a computer disk from a strange man, Setsuna shows up to whisk her away from him. After lecturing Ruri about talking to weirdos, Setsuna comments she¹s much cuter without glasses, which she dropped in the confusion. Unfortunately, neither of them have been watching the news which reports of mysterious deaths occurring in connection with the CD-ROM "Digital Angels." The disk Ruri received is this same "Digital Angels" disk, and without knowing the danger, Setsuna lets her keep it. As soon as Ruri uses the program, her personality starts to change, and strange things begin to happen as Evils and angels seek the Setsuna¹s soul for their own mysterious motives....

Customer Reviews:

Keeps the story rolling.......2007-07-16

The series is still strong. If you have gotten this far you'll buy this manga.

Angel Sanctuary Series.......2007-01-21

I was turned onto this series just by it's beautiful artwork. The syle is truely unique and angelic...no wounder it's about angels.

The story starts off as a young teenage boy soon finds out that he is in love with is sister! As if that could be strange wait till you here this. The boy, Setsuna, is the re-incarnation of one of the most powerful angel's in history; and now people all over heaven and hell want him.

What will it take to convince Setsuna, that he is greatly needed by humanity...

I hope you thought this useful...

Hypnotic~

Angel Sanctuary.......2006-10-20

This book is mainly focused around Setsuna Mudo and his forbidden love with his little sister Sara. Things get complicated almost immediatly (as it has a plot, a subplot and lots of extras), angels, evils, monsters, evil cd-roms that kill you and craziness insue.

Basically Setsuna is the reincarnation of the Organic Fallen angel Alexial, who has three wings, incredible power and a physchotic twin brother, Rosiel who she 'failed' to kill in the great battle. His best friend is Kira, who seems to be guiding Setsuna, and has been following Alexial through her multiple rebirths. Sara, Setsuna's sister and lover seems like just a normal girl, but is she? Many other seemingly 'background' characters come into role and the whole story starts rolling.

The drawing is so beautiful, I've been turned into a complete Kaori Yuki worshipper. I own her artbook and have read lots of her other works (I recommend Godchild). The characters are so gorgeous, you'll fall in love with them.

The plot is very very twisted and intricate. You have to read the volumes in order, otherwise it will make no sense. I have reread the first few volumes many times to understand (the first volume especially, as the first few pages don't focus on Setsuna) I first read this when I was about 12, so it was desperatly confusing, but it gets easier to read as thigns start falling into place. It's one of those things where all of a sudden a lightbulb lights up and you totally understand everything that happened.

It's such a great manga, it's so gorgeous and has a gorgeous story to go a long with it, what more could you want?

Angel Sanctuary: Angels, Demons, and Sinners.......2006-04-19

Book:

Setsuna is a confused teenager, that girls would die to have, he is somewhat of a player but he only loves one person...his sister Sara. He knows that it isn't right and so he tries to avoid her but in the proccess he gets mixed up with a bunch of demons that say he is the reincarnation of a really powerful angel.

Does Sara love him...

You find out...

-----
My Opinion:

I enjoyed this book in fact I love the series and the art work. I find it funny and at the same time it has that element of seriousness...now I'm not one to encourege insestious relationships but this book didn't bother me to much about it...

I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.

its like the lord of the rings. only better. .......2006-04-16

many reviews say angel sanctuary is not for beginers. to many plot lines, is the major complaint. however, if youve ever read series of novels such as 'a song of ice and fire' or 'wheel of time', then i think you could pick this up easy. as long as you start from the begining.
that said, on to the actuall review.

first of all, the artwork. in a word, brilliant. kaori yuki is one of my favorite manga artists for this work alone. stylish without being to over the top, angel sanctuary is beautiful. also, pick up the art book that goes with the series.

the story of angel sanctuary is one of the best ive ever read. the main charactar, setsuna, is a 15 year old kid who has a few problems. his parents are divorced, he gets beat up, and apparently he is the reincarnation of a (female) angel who, a long time ago, rebelled against god. as if that werent enough, he is in love with his sister sara. some might say, "oh, thats disgusting!", but really, thats one of the parts that makes this story so interesting. its a true love story.
later on in the series, it gets very violent, and the incest theme is intensified, so the strictly religios or weak of heart, stay far away. as for age limits, i read it last year when i was 14, and i was hooked. (it was also my first manga.) still, i dont know to many 14 year olds who read as much as i do.

for my closing, this (along with the demon ororon) is the best manga i have ever read. the artwork is bliss, the story is (at 20 volumes) extremly well done. with tons of violence, exteremly good charactars, and a love story at the core, you cant get much better then angel sanctuary.

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Thinking In Images: Film Theory, Feminist Philosophy and Marlene Dietrich
Catherine Constable
Manufacturer: British Film Institute
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1844571017

Book Description

Thinking in Images addresses the current crisis in film theory by offering a new methodology for interrelating theory and film texts. Drawing on the groundbreaking work of Michele Le Duff, Catherine Constable argues that philosophy is reliant on sociocultural images, such as the figures of the veiled woman, the femme fatale, and the seductress. Constable traces the key role such female images play in the theorizations of beauty, art, and truth offered by Nietzsche and his successors: Jacques Derrida, Sarah Kofman, and Jean Baudrillard. Recognizing that images are crucial to theorizing means that film images have the capacity to challenge and change previous theoretical models. This is demonstrated by a case study of three films from the Dietrich/Sternberg cycle: The Scarlet Empress, The Devil Is a Woman, and Shanghai Express. These detailed readings focus on the ways in which Dietrich's glamorous characters challenge the theorization of woman as a beautiful object, thus offering new ways of conceptualizing woman's role as the icon of beauty, art, and truth.

Book Description

The very best of Irish folk songs. Each volume features 50 complete songs with music, words, guitar chords, and interesting background notes on the songs.

Customer Reviews:

READ THE TITLE CAREFULLY: FOLKSONGS POPULAR IN IRELAND A QUARTER CENTURY AGO.......2007-06-20

AS Mr. Loesberg repeatedly indicates in his fine and clarifying introduction, these are not Irish songs, as alleged here in the editorial comments on amazon's product detail page, but rather are they songs popular in Ireland over a quarter century ago, when this pamphlet found collection and publication in the great coastal city of Cork.

Therefore we find included only two songs in the Irish tongue (a fact lamented and explained in the introduction), but some English, Scots and American tunes. Thank goodness the allegedly Irish song Danny Boy does not arise its dubious head. However we do find Leadbelly's House of the Rising Sun with the additional verses as recorded by the young Bob Dylan (copying Dave Van Rank) and Eric Burdon with the early Animals. We also find the English slaver's hymn Amazing Grace, as well Scarborough Fair.

Nevertheless with great and tearful joy I find several songs familiar from the early Clancy Brothers (inclduing Jug of Punch) and those reinvigorated by the mighty mighty Pogues. Thus you may once more rousingly shout The Leaving of Liverpool and the great Wild Rover (or just play their CD if you are alone as I).

Gratefully included here are some wonderful Irish nationalist and revolutionary tunes as well, including A Nation Once Again, The Foggy Dew, The Bold FEnian Men, The Rising of the Moon, and the great and mournful ode to Kevin Barry, whose life and death reads now like an insurgent in Gitmo or Abhu Graibh. Brief notes concerning each song are gathered at the end of thise broadside, and Mr. Loesberg mentions "Kevin was killed on Nov. 1, 1920. he tune is from a sea shanty- 'Rolling Home.'" The lyrics themselves give more of the history, as such songs were once part of the oral history of our great nation:

"In Mountjoy Jail one Monday morning High up on the gallows tree, Kevin Barry gave his young life, for the cause of liberty. But a lad of eighteen summers, yet no one can deny, As he walked to death that morning, he proudly held his head on high.

"Just before he faced the hangmen, in his dreary prison cell, British soldiers tortured Barry, just because he would not tell The names of his brave companions and other things they wished to know. 'Turn informer or we'll kill you!' Kevin Barry answered 'No.'

"( . . .skipping a verse)"

"Another martyr for old Ireland, another murder for the crown, whose brutal laws may kill the IRish, but can't keep their spirits down. ( . . .)"

We who cannot remember our history are condemned to repeating it now.

The bulk of this glorious book of course is filled with sentimental tunes of loves both near and far, including of course Will you go Lassie Go, and several others beside, well known and lesser remembered but exciting to find the beauty of this music.

Mr. Loesberg acknowledges the kind assistance of the Cork Library and schools and families in collecting the songs in this book, and includes guitar chords for each song, and some very useful pages of guitar and music theory at the end, inclduing regarding the transposition of keys and chords, and the use of a capo. The chord charts on page 60 alone are worth the slight price of the book, whose songs themselves are priceless.

Useful recordings of some of these songs include The Rising of the Moon: Irish Songs of Rebellion and Irish Songs of Rebellion/Irish Drinking Songs from the Clancy Brothers with Tommy Makem, as well of course as the rousing pipes of Spider and the Pogues delivering in full Red Roses for Me and Rum Sodomy & the Lash, etc.

Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland : Vol.3 -

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Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland : Vol.3 -
Editor - John Loesberg
Manufacturer: Ossian Publications -
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000P0YS76

Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland Loesberg (Volume 2)

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Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland Loesberg (Volume 2)

Manufacturer: Ossian Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000GRO42M

Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland, Volume 4

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Folksongs & Ballads Popular in Ireland, Volume 4
John (editor) Loesberg
Manufacturer: OSsian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000MBEBUM

Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland

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Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland
John Loesberg
Manufacturer: Ossian Publications, Cork, Ireland
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000KABY0U

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Folksongs and ballads popular in Ireland

Manufacturer: Ossian Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0006DETOO

Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland, Volume 4

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Folksongs and Ballads Popular in Ireland, Volume 4
John (collected, Edited, and arranged) Loesberg
Manufacturer: Ossian Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OZQKUU

Folksongs: Ballads Popular in Ireland (4 Volume Set)

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Folksongs: Ballads Popular in Ireland (4 Volume Set)
John Loesberg
Manufacturer: Ossian
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MEBG02

Book Description

This much acclaimed text has been fully updated to incorporate the latest advances in the field. As leading authorities on adult education and training, Elwood Holton and Dick Swanson have revised this edition building on the work of the late Malcolm Knolwes.

Keeping to the practical format of the last edition, this book is divided into three parts. The first part contains the classic chapters that describe the roots and principles of andragogy, including a new chapter, which presents Knowles program planning model. The second part focuses on the advancements in adult learning with each chapter fully revised updated, incorporating a major expansion of Androgogy in Practice. The last part of the book will contain an updated selection of topical readings that advance the theory and will include the HRD style inventory developed by Dr. Knowles.

This new edition is essential reading for adult learning practitioners and students and HRD professionals. It provides a theoretical framework for understanding the adult learning issues both in the teaching and workplace environments.

* Provides a theoretical framework for understanding adult learning issues both in teaching and workplace environments
* Essential reading for a wide audience of practitioners and students in the field of adult learning and human resource development
* Incorporates Knowles'classic theories on adult learning alongside the latest advances in the field

Customer Reviews:

THE ADULT LEARNER, SIXTH EDITION.......2006-02-25

This book was in excellent shape. I received it sooner than I expected.

A classic, but it does not use its own advice........2005-07-03

Malcolm S. Knowles is the founder of the theory of Andragogy (Adult Education), and I agree with him on many of the points he makes.

The problem is that the book seems to have been written for academics to accept Malcolm's theories, and not written for students who wanted to learn to be better teachers in Adult Education.

Unless you have to use this book for a textbook for a class, I would not buy it as your first introduction to Adult Education. I'm not sure which book I would buy, but someone must have written a better one to actually learn the subject!

Andragogy for the 21st century.......2005-03-02

Since the term "andragogy" was first coined, several theoretical schools have developed around the topic of adult learning. This book provides a context for Knowles' ideas about andragogy and demonstrates the relevance of his ideas in the 21st century.

Unreadable.......2004-02-08

This book was the text for an adult learning course, and all 300+ students judged the book to be incomprehensible. So many complaints were received that the instructor apologized, saying it was the only book the school could find. There is good information in this book, but you need dynamite to unearth it. I have a better than average vocabulary, but I had to keep a dictionary by my side as I read, and even then I found words from the text for which I could find no definition. Some chapters had to be read 4 times before I understood the authors' message. Reading this book was a guarantee for a nap or a headache. Please, somebody stop this book before it kills again!

very comprehensive look at adult learning theory.......2001-05-11

This book is like a one-stop shopping guide to Adult education. It is so comprehensive that I doubt it leaves out one development in the history of adult education. My only warning is that the opening chapters which basically trace many theories of learning (both adult and traditional) are hard to get through -- it reads more like a research paper that summarizes every major educational theory since the beginning of time. But, if you don't want to know that much, you can simply skip these chapters and get right to the meat of the adult learning theories which are more appropos. For those who need a quick primer on learning theories, you'll love the first few chapters for their abundance of quick summary information. A useful guide to adult education.

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