Book Description
The cultural Cold War between the Soviet Union and the West was without precedent. At the outset of this original and wide-ranging historical survey, David Caute establishes the nature of the extraordinary cultural competition set up post-1945 between Moscow, New York, London, and Paris, with the most intimate frontier war staged in the city of Berlin. Using sources in four languages, the author of The Fellow-Travellers and The Great Fear explores the cultural Cold War as it rapidly penetrated theatre, film, classical music, popular music, ballet, painting, and sculpture, as well as propaganda by exhibition. Major figures central to Cold War conflict in the theatre include Brecht, Miller, Sartre, Camus, Havel, Ionesco, Stoppard, and Konstantin Simonov. Among leading film directors involved were Eisenstein, Romm, Chiarueli, Aleksandrov, Kazan, Tarkovsky, and Wajda. In the field of music, the Soviet Union in the Zhdanov era vigorously condemned 'modernism', 'formalism', and the avant-garde. A chapter is devoted to the intriguing case of Dmitri Shostakovich, and the disputed authenticity of his 'autobiography' Testimony. Meanwhile in the West the Congress for Cultural Freedom was sponsoring the modernist composers most vehemently condemned by Soviet music critics, notably Stravinsky. The Soviet Party was unable to check the appeal of jazz on the Voice of America, then rock music, to young Russians. Visits to the West by the Bolshoi and Kirov ballet companines, the pride of the USSR, were fraught with threats of cancellation and the danger of defection. Caute dampens overheated speculations about KGB plots to injure Rudolf Nureyev and other defecting dancers. Turning to painting, where socialist realism prevailed in the USSR and dissident art was often brutally repressed, Caute explores the paradox of Picasso's membership of the French Communist Party. Re-assessing the extent of covert CIA patronage of abstract expressionist artists like Jackson Pollock, Caute finds that the CIA's role has been much exaggerated. Caute also challenges some recent accounts of 'Cold War culture', which virtually ignore the Soviet performance and cultural activity outside the USA. Soviet artistic standards and teaching levels were exceptionally high, but the regime's endemic fear of free innovation finally accelerated its collapse.
Customer Reviews:
Valuable primer on Cold War cultural history..........2007-08-16
David Caute has done a superb job providing a tour d'horizon of Russian-American cultural relations during the Cold War (with some discussion of British, French, and German episodes). The best chapter is the discussion of Rudolf Nureyev's defection in Paris, which gives the book its title, but it is equally valuable for chapters on Sartre, Camus, Ionesco, Brecht, Shostakovich, Picasso, Stravinsky, Paul Robeson, Benny Goodmanm, The Beatles--you name it, almost anyone who was anyone in the last half of the 20th century comes under discussion. Strangely missing is Vladimir Vysotsky, which is why I can't give a fifth star. Vysotsky, the Bob Dylan of Russia, the Pushkin of the 60s & 70s, was an authentic Russian phenomenon--yet, in the context of the Cold War, perhaps representative of some deeper connection to the West than any of the issues of Encounter or Problems of Communism discussed by Caute. That is, the popular culture--whether Jazz or Rock or even American films (later TV shows such as Dynasty)--spoke to Russians in a way that the highbrow efforts of the Congress for Cultural Freedom or surrogate broadcasters were unable to do.
THIS is the history of Cold War!.......2004-09-23
The premise of the book is simple: in no other period in history were there two systems claiming the same civilizational and cultural background (Western Judeo-Christian tradition) but at the same time set to fight each other to death. The means, strategies, individual battles and aims of that struggle are all put before you in this book in a way that has no equal.
One day, when time allows us to look at post-WW2 times from greater distance, I think we will realize that if one wants to understand that period, one should not look at the official political history - but rather at this subliminal 'popular' history. Forget Reykyavik summit or even Cuban Missiles Crisis. The history was made in the Nixon-Khrushchev kitchen debate or in Nureyev's leap to freedom (he was the dancer who defected in the title of the book). David Caute gives you a peek preview of what historians will write about the times we lived in.
He has no qualms about claiming victory - the West won and was always set to win. It was only a question of when the facade on the Potemkin village called USSR will come down.
He has a very broad range, going from ballet through exhibitions to sporting events. If you want to read about the reception of Waiting for Godot in London and Paris, it's there.
He knows lots of details. Example: I personally come from a smallish city in what used to be Czechoslovakia (Liberec, about 100.000 pop.). Caute knows that Vaclav Havel was there during the Soviet invasion in 1968. This is something that only Lokalpatrioten (such as myself) are aware of. Needless to say, I was impressed. These little details and stories make it really interesting.
He does not mind getting mad at his own, so to speak. Like, he ends his book with a strong and witty polemic against the various Kremlin Studies/Cold War Studies/Soviet Studies and other pseudosciences in which wackos and useful idiots inhabit parallel universes where Stalin is a hero and Kennedy a villain. That last chapter alone is worth the money.
Finally, let me add another personal testimony: having lived on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain as a youth, I often struggled to put all the pieces together to make sense of what was going on. Caute supplied them all and the whole picture emerged. Reading the book, I would slap my forehead thinking 'So, THAT's how it happened!'. Every such moment freed me some more from the lies I was spoonfed as a kid and I am really grateful to Caute for that.
An Excellent Book with the Wrong Title.......2004-01-26
In most respects this is a very good book. It is wide-ranging, and extremely well-written. It is also well organized around different aspects of culture-stage and screen, music, including ballet, and the visual arts--so that if one is, for example, interested in ballet but not in the lengthy descriptions of the treatment of US soldiers in Stalin-era Soviet films about the Second World War or of the plot of a Sartre anti-American play, it is easy to skip these without loss. The author can be forgiven for excluding literature from this volume, which is already very long, and I for one look forward to his promised book on this.
Interesting though it is, however, it is not the book one expects from its title. In the first place there is remarkably little about the organized activities of Western Governments to promote the image of Western culture. Some of this was undercover CIA support of magazines, congresses and festivals-one learns only at the end of the book that the reason for the neglect is that the author considers that this aspect of the cultural war has been overstressed. But the promotion abroad of national cultures by organizations such as the British Council, and their French and American equivalents deserves much more attention; in particular the concern with the American cultural image abroad, especially in Western Europe, was a cold war matter since this image might affect the electoral strength of the large Communist parties of France and Italy, and this in turn influenced President Kennedy's introduction of high cultural activities into the White House, and President Johnson's founding of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Second, much of the book has little to do with the Cold War. The sections on the stage and especially on film demonstrate the cultural effects of the Cold War best, although even here it is not clear what the plays of Ionesco and Beckett have to do with Cold War culture. But music and art are neither tools of propaganda nor competitive sports, and the well-known capacity of Soviet institutions for talent spotting and training, whether of athletes, musicians, or dancers enriched the world's supply of performers without amounting to a "struggle for supremacy." More interesting is the Soviet suppression of atonal music and nonrealist art. This is very well described in the book, but it preceded the Cold War by decades, reflecting at first mainly Stalin's personal tastes. But it is to be expected that artistic originality and creativity will be often associated with political and social iconoclasm. In the West, this led creative geniuses like Picasso and Brecht to be attracted by communism, with the amusing consequence that communist parties found themselves trying to exploit their fame while rejecting their work. In the Soviet Union, the clash between artistic innovation and the constraints of a totalitarian regime led inevitably to eventual links with political dissidence. The defections of performing artists, however, were mostly inspired by private ambitions rather than political motivations. Cold Warriors seized on both of these to demonstrate the weaknesses of Soviet society but they were not themselves products of the Cold War.
Book Description
This digital document is an article from The Historian, published by Thomson Gale on September 22, 2005. The length of the article is 512 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: The Dancer Defects: The Struggle for Cultural Supremacy during the Cold War.(Book review)
Author: Simon Ball
Publication:
The Historian (Magazine/Journal)
Date: September 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 67
Issue: 3
Page: 586(2)
Article Type: Book review
Distributed by Thomson Gale
Book Description
When we look at a painting hanging on an art gallery wall, we see only what the artist has chosen to disclose--the finished work of art. What remains mysterious is the process of creation itself--the making of the work of art. Everyone who has looked at paintings has wondered about this, and numerous efforts have been made to discover and depict the creative method of important artists. A Giacometti Portrait is a picture of one of the century's greatest artists at work.
James Lord sat for eighteen days while his friend Alberto Giamcometti did his portrait in oil. The artist painted, and the model recorded the sittings and took photographs of the work in its various stages. What emerged was an illumination of what it is to be an artist and what it was to be Giacometti--a portrait in prose of the man and his art. A work of great literarydistinction, A Giacometti Portrait is, above all, a subtle and important evocation of a great artist.
Customer Reviews:
It was all in the facial expression with Giacometti-transfixed...........2007-08-31
I always know when I am confronted with a portrait by Giacometti. The manner in which he presents his work is completely different to that of any other artist. Giacometti was haunted by a desire to understand what it meant to be alive. His own life he could dismiss, but faced with another, the mystery of his alien being-how it filled up space, how it battled with the hostile elements of its existence-seemed to Giacometti infinitely mysterious and marvelous. It was, above all, the head that perpetually challenged him, and more specifically the gaze-the look that another person exchanges with us, which Giacometti saw as both unfolding the mystery of that personality and yet, perpetually concealing it.
The portrait of "Jean Genet" is beautiful. Giacometti had known Genet for a year when he painted "Genet" oil on canvas. It is an impressive picture. It was Genet's appearance that had first drawn Giacometti to him, especially the shape of his head, so bald, so round-a skull in which the whole mystery of personality resided. He avoids the allure of colour; instead the picture is brown and white, with just the faint streaks of earth red to enliven it. Yet never is it more clear that a human being is a creature of majesty.
When Giacometti used his wife as a subject of painting you can see through the art he was striving to come to terms with this person who, in theory, was the closest to him. The piece of work, "ANNETTE" It is almost as though he has scratched her portrait out of a world of white into which she would otherwise disappear. There are black markings that claw her back. She seems as riveted and horrified by the experience of encountering her husband's gaze as he is by hers. Those great eyes of hers glare at the world without emotion, the lips are pursed, and, although the body is sketchy, there is an uncanny sense of presence. He has cought her, as if in a momentary flash of light, and there she will stand transfixed forever.
TO SEE VERY MUCH.......2001-08-06
Anyone who has ever wondered how a truly great artist gets his inspiration, works on a daily basis and incorporates his philosophies of life into his work will want to read this terrific story of how a young, American writer sat for his portrait by the legendary Alberto Giacometti.
Almost non-stop upon their meeting, Giacometti opens up and begins letting his thoughts come tumbling out of his mouth. He tells his subject that he looks like "a thug...if I could paint you as I see you and a policeman saw the picture he'd arrest you immediately!" And then, "Don't laugh. I'm not supposed to make my models laugh." He tells the author of his trip to London's National Gallery where he says, "...I deliberately didn't look at the Rembrandts, because if I had looked at them I wouldn't have been able to look at anything else afterward." Later on in his work, "It's impossible to paint a portrait...the photograph exists and that's all there is to it."
Giacometti was not only one of the greatest artists of the last century he was also, obviously, a wonderful, contradictory, clever, intelligent, verbal, loving, open, warm companion. When the painting is not going well, the artist exclaims, "If only Cezanne were here, he would set everything right with two brush strokes." Lord gently corrects him pointing out that Cezanne had plenty of trouble. And then Giacometti (probably with a hint of happiness) agrees, "Even he had trouble."
One comes to know these two men so well in this small, beautifully written memoir that one feels close to them and to their emotional upset when after only eighteen days, they part ways. The author reminds us that Giacometti would be the first to remark that a portrait could only achieve a "semblence of reality." He hopes that the artist will enjoy this written portrait. As Lord writes, "To see even so little will be to see very much." True.
Included in the paperback are snapshots taken to show Lord's portrait in progress. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Absolutley Fabulous!.......1998-12-08
This book is a must, for fans of Giacometti's work and for artists world wide. It gives one the opportunity to be in the studio with a great artist. It is wonderfull but terrible at the same time, as an artist, I came away from the book feeling completely insignificant untalented and without hope, however this is a good thing, it is an experience all artists must, and do go through. Please read the book you will learn so much!
Average customer rating:
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Alberto Giacometti
Herbert Matter , and
Mercedes Matter
Manufacturer: Harry N Abrams
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Alberto Giacometti. Ein Portrait.
James Lord
Manufacturer: Ullstein TB-Vlg
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Binding: Paperback
Giacometti, Alberto
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A Giacometti Portrait
James Lord
Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
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Giacometti, Alberto
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ASIN: B000GKB3PU |
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A Giacometti Portrait
James Lord
Manufacturer: The Museum of Modern Art/Doubleday & Company
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Giacometti, Alberto
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ASIN: B000O80YDQ |
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A Giacometti Portrait
James Lord
Manufacturer: Museum of Modern Art
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Giacometti, Alberto
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ASIN: B000V918KQ |
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Giacometti, portrait de Jean Genet: Le scribe captif (Collection "Un sur un")
Thierry Dufrene
Manufacturer: Biro
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Binding: Unknown Binding
Giacometti, Alberto
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ASIN: 2876601133 |
Book Description
This collection of drawings represents a wry look at life in the operating theatre, wards and clinic, as seen from the Head End, which is, of course, by far the more important end. Appealing to anyone who has ever worked in a hospital, this book will help pass the time during those long periods of inactivity between audit meetings. Exam candidates in particular will find it contributes absolutely nothing to their chances of success.
Customer Reviews:
Great Book.......2007-02-12
Great comedy that anyone who has worked in the operating room will appreciate. Great for anyone who wants a humorous glimpse behind the mysterious doors of the operating rooms of America.
humorous indeed.......2007-01-10
Anyone in the OR area will relate. Some of the British referrences I didn't "get".
Book Description
Film/Asian Studies
An original and incisive account of one of the world's most exciting cinemas.
Breathtaking swordplay and nostalgic love, Peking opera and Chow Yun-fat's cult followers-these are some of the elements of the vivid and diverse urban imagination that find form and expression in the thriving Hong Kong cinema. All receive their due in At Full Speed, a volume that captures the remarkable range and energy of a cinema that borrows, invents, and reinvents across the boundaries of time, culture, and conventions.
At Full Speed gathers film scholars and critics from around the globe to convey the transnational, multilayered character that Hong Kong films acquire and impart as they circulate worldwide. These writers scrutinize the films they find captivating: from the lesser known works of Law Man and Yuen Woo Ping to such film festival notables as Stanley Kwan and Wong Kar-wai, and from the commercial action, romance, and comedy genres of Jackie Chan, Peter Chan, Steven Chiau, Tsui Hark, John Woo, and Derek Yee to the attempted departures of Evans Chan, Ann Hui, and Clara Law.
In this cinema the contributors identify an aesthetics of action, gender-flexible melodramatic excesses, objects of nostalgia, and globally projected local history and identities, as well as an active critical film community. Their work, the most incisive account ever given of one of the world's largest film industries, brings the pleasures and idiosyncrasies of Hong Kong cinema into clear close-up focus even as it enlarges on the relationships between art and the market, cultural theory and the movies.
Contributors: Jinsoo An; David Bordwell, U of Wisconsin, Madison; Rey Chow, Brown U; Steve Fore, City U of Hong Kong; Elaine Yee-Lin Ho, Hong Kong U; Law Kar (Lau Yiu-kuen); Kwai-cheung Lo, Hong Kong Baptist U; Linda Lai Chiu-han, City U of Hong Kong; Gina Marchetti, Ithaca College; Hector Rodriquez, City U of Hong Kong; Bhaskar Sarkar, UC Santa Barbara; Mark Siegel; and Stephen Teo.
Esther C. M. Yau is associate professor of film and new media at Occidental College.
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Political and Religious Ideas in the Works of Arnold Schoenberg (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities)
C. Cross
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Schoenberg, Arnold
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ASIN: 0815328311 |
Book Description
The original essays in this collection chronicle the transformation of Arnold Schoenberg's works from music as pure art to music as a vehicle of religious and political ideas, during the first half of the twentieth century. This interdisciplinary volume includes contributions from musicologists, music theorists, and scholars of German literature and of Jewish studies.
Book Description
The Najdorf has always been one of the sharpest lines of the Sicilian Defense. Fearless, attacking play is usually rewarded, while even the smallest slip by either side can be immediately fatal. In this ground-breaking book Tony Kosten explains not only the theory, but also the important concepts behind this popular opening. Written by an experienced Najdorf expert, this guide covers all of White's main replies and explains an opening played by World Champions Fischer and Kasparov. Everyman's Easy Guide series represents a new approach to chess openings books: just enough detail and just enough explanation to enable readers to play an opening with confidence, without months of memorizing theory: the easy way to master a chess opening.
Customer Reviews:
2002 and time is runing out..........2002-06-26
June 2002: Time is gone for this book; new variation are being played on tournaments and update information is need it. I bought this book in 1999 and it was really helpful but it seems like new book are demanded . Nevertheless if you are a Najdorf lover then you will enjoy the games and the strategic ideas. Enjoy.
Smart choice for amateur players.......2000-07-05
This book represent good start point to understand and successfully use the Najdorf Sicilian. The author reach the goal and wrote simple but understandable book which is the smart choice for amateur players with ELO around 2150 points. Of course if you want more details about Najdorf Sicilian you should try some other book.
Excellent Repertoire Book.......2000-05-02
This book covers all of White's major responses and does a very good job of providing a workable Black repertoire. I especially liked his recommendation against 6. Bg5 (7...Nc6!?), sidestepping the voluminous theory of the Poisoned Pawn, Polugaevsky, Main Line etc. This book compares favorably with Danny King's "Winning with the Najdorf" which is wordier (useful for patzers like me) and has a nice historical introduction. Many of the recommendations are similar but the theory in Kosten's book is up to date. One small quibble: the cover says the book is written by a "Najdorf expert" but Kosten explicitly disclaims being an "expert" in the Najdorf, whatever that means, in the Preface. This book is a good place to start for those trying to take up this challenging but always interesting opening. If you don't like Kosten's recommendations, you can always supplement with the 2-volume "Complete Najdorf" set authored by Nunn and Gallagher.
A good guide to a complicated opening.......2000-02-05
I got this book so that I could learn the Sicilian, and this book does an excellent job in teaching you the ideas behind it without massive amounts of the latest novelties. The text gives you as black specific moves to play in some ways like a repertoire book, but explains the idea behind the moves. After you learn these basics you could adopt different lines, such as the poisoned pawn variation. I have, however, had good luck learning the ideas behind this extremely powerful opening.
Book Description
Unlock and Embrace a New Mindset about Business Creativity
The 20th century saw the United States dominate the world of innovation, but at the dawn of the 21st century it’s become pretty clear that the pace of change in a global economy demands not only innovation, but creativity. We must become as good at changing our perceptions as we have become at changing reality.
Inspiring creativity is one of the most pressing needs for American corporations, particularly those in markets that are forcing them not only to improve but transform themselves. Yet true creativity can be had only if you are willing to break the rules that have locked you in a set way of thinking, not just doing. This unique book will help managers think about how they think. This understanding will help them inspire creativity and sense when it is time to focus on the second half of change—changing perception.
The Forgotten Half of Change differs from other books the same way perception differs from reality. It is at once humorous and humanistic, making fun of our weaknesses yet sympathizing with our challenge to be both active and thoughtful. It entertains and challenges its readers at the same time with an array of examples drawn from philosophy, mathematics, technology, and linguistics. Ultimately, this book may help us regain our ability to astonish ourselves and others.
Customer Reviews:
Excelente.......2007-01-10
Es un muy buen libro esta realmente interesante y deja unas lecciones de vida muy buienas
"Change twice".......2006-02-09
Built on the thesis that sustained change (and in particular the change to living with continuous change) requires that we 'change twice'. The first change - in arrangements, structures, relationships, processes and so on - does not stick without the second change, which is in perception - how we see the world. The author works through tools and techniques that challenge our established mind-sets and so facilitate this second change. The text contains useful lists - for example of types of questions and the impact of asking questions in different ways - and a variety of visual puzzles designed to challenge our view of 'the obvious'.
The style and coverage is somewhat reminiscent of the de Bono books, but with a tighter linkage to change in organizations.
Helpful to a broad range of people.......2005-11-10
Luc de Brabandere's book The Forgotten Half of Change: Achieving Greater Creativity Through Changes in Perception is a useful work in that it discusses many of the core elements concerning the stimulation of creative thinking. I picked this book in particular because more importantly, de Brabandere largely views the topics of creativity and innovation from the perspective of deconstructing stereotypes. Much of his work is concerned with going beyond the movements of creativity and innovation. He devotes a great deal of time addressing the necessity of altering one's persepective on problem solving, as well as the workings of businesses in general.
The book's chapters are broken down as follows:
Introduction:
This summary will attempt to provide the reader with a general overview of the topics that the author addresses in his book, and will provide some interesting anecdotal information regarding the issues of Creativity and Innovation, and their past and present applications in the business world.
Chapter 1: "Changing Twice"
De Brabandere discusses that change occurs in two phases: firstly, it happens through an alteration of reality-that is, changes in methodologies. Yet the second and more important phase of change is brought about through a change in perception, and in the way individuals see problems in relation to themselves and the greater world.
Chapter 2:
Discusses the notion that in our global socioeconomic system, frontiers are rapidly vanishing, and it may not always be possible to explain how or why things happen or function-be it organizations, individuals, or economic systems.
Chapter 3:
The author turns to the issue of perception, and how true innovation and creative thought stems from abandoning established ways of perceiving problems. Argues that human beings are hard-wired to think in a certain way, and that we must step out of these modes of thinking in order to be more creative.
Chapter 4:
Seeks to address the growing notion that change itself is ending in our modern society, and argues that change on a more local level occurs through "breaks," or instances in which an individual or organization makes a break from a preconceived way of looking at a product or process.
Chapter 5:
Generally discusses the notion that no idea is born good, and that ideas must be nursed into fruition through collaboration with others, and also through thinking that melds the creative with the rational mindsets.
Chapter 6:
The "eureka" moment is not simply a moment of instant creative freedom; it's a multi-phasic process that can be generated.
Chapter 7:
Talks about ideas in several broad senses, most notably that there exists a definite need to anticipate the future even as uncertainty increases in situations where new ideas are driving progress towards a goal. Stresses the need of constant, not erratic, creativity. Discusses the need for feedback in any creative process, regardless of the cost, be it material or temporal.
Chapter 8:
Discusses specific advice for managers on how to stimulate creativity in a workplace. For example, the author advocates giving small, symbolic gifts for every instance in which a creative idea is generated by an employee.
On the broadest sense, I feel that the book was a bit too abstract at times. While de Brabandere does an excellent job of interspersing his narrative with colorful examples, his subject matter occasionally drifts away from what I feel should have been emphasized more in his work: the notion that creative thought and innovative processes result in things that sell, and that any business that does refuses to act in accordance to that principle is doomed. I would further improve on de Brabandere's work by expanding on his advice regarding management in relation to the ideas of gaining new perspectives on existing problems, and using innovating techniques to crate new and revolutionary solutions.
On balance, however, I felt that The Forgotten Half of Change is an immensely useful book because it does place creativity and innovation in a practical light. De Brabandere's writing effectively conveys the urgency with which companies, organizations, and individuals need to embrace methods of creative thought. To de Brabandere, learning to think outside of one's traditional perspectives is not an infusion of technique. Rather, it is a process of finding capabilities and facets of the self that were previously hidden by existing stereotypes and fixed modes of thought.
Enjoyable and insigtful.......2005-09-17
Change is a normal part of life and as such it is also a normal part of business and the need to adapt. The problem is that the change is only the first step and there is more to change than change by itself. Dealing with the other half of change - a change of perception is what this book is about. The author challenges the reader to examine such things as thinking about how you think and inspiring creativity so that you can change perception.
With a light writing style that is at times humorous Mr. Brabandere leads the reader to an enlightening view of the human mind and how it traps us into particular ways of thinking. Escaping from this trap by changing our perception is what this book is all about. A lesson in creative thinking and getting out of the stereotypes that we have learned and handicap our thinking, The Forgotten Half of Change is highly recommended and fun to read.
A feet-up chat with your most intelligent friend.......2005-09-16
The tone of The Forgotten Half of Change could easily become preachy and admonishing, touting the value of change for change's sake. It doesn't. Instead, de Brabandere embraces the reader's own past experiences and gently challenges them with the question "what if...?".
In business, as in life we've all faced the disappointment of the great plan hamstrung by flawed execution or been amazed at the even middling success of the seamlessly executed, though fundamentally weak plan. De Brabanedere offers balance. He obviously respects and honors the thinker, the planner, the architect, and the inventor. At the same time though he pays homage to the mechanic, the guy with a metaphorical cutting torch, roll of baling wire, and can-do attitude.
Perception, it's a powerful thing. The end product might not be the conventionally beautiful artwork that the creative mind developed. Innovations tend to leave lumps, burns, and scars. We learn from de Brabandere though to love the scars, to acknowledge their role in the growth experience.
Put this book in your toolbox. Whether it rests beside fourteen pencils or a cutting torch you will find yourself putting it to work.
Books:
- The Drawings of Stuart Davis: The Amazing Continuity
- The Empire Strikes Back Sketchbook
- The human form in action and repose: A photographic handbook for artists
- The M.C. Escher Jigsaw Puzzle Book
- The Mask of Art: Breaking the Aesthetic Contract--Film and Literature
- The Pennsylvania-German Decorated Chest
- The Quilt Maker: A Story Collection
- The Rhetoric of the Frame: Essays on the Boundaries of the Artwork (Cambridge Studies in New Art History and Criticism)
- The second official I hate cats book
- The Uncanny: Experiments in Cyborg Culture: Experiments in Cyborg Culture
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Recommended Books
- Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Sof
- Disappearing Acts: Gender, Power, and Relational Practice at Work
- Clockers
- Bullmastiffs
- Automated Lighting: The Art and Science of Moving Light in Theatre, Live Performance, Broadcast, and
- Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change
- Dark Side Of Man: Tracing the Origins of Male Violence
- Beyond the Outer Shores: The Untold Odyssey of Ed Ricketts, the Pioneering Ecologist Who Inspired Jo
- Diana : An English Rose
- American Trees - A Book of Discovery
The First Resort of Kings: American Cultural Diplomacy in the Twentieth Century
Dance for Export: Cultural Diplomacy and the Cold War
Cultural Exchange & the Cold War: Raising the Iron Curtain
"Here, There and Everywhere": The Foreign Politics of American Popular Culture
Satchmo Blows Up the World: Jazz Ambassadors Play the Cold War
