Over the last few months, several posters have mentioned books that have been important to them. Karl considers Cennino Cennini to have written the best how-to book for painters. Doug gave us a report on a concise and readable book about photography by Steve Edwards. Lisa Hunter talked about her own book, “The Intrepid Art Collector,” in an interview. Rex cited in one post a motivational book for painters (the correct title is “How to Make a Living as a Painter,” by Kenneth Harris). David, in a comment, recommended “Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: A Life of Contemporary Artist Robert Irwin.”
What is your favorite art book?
One of my mine, I just discovered, has popped up in comments a couple of times: Art and Fear, by David Bayles and Ted Orland (that’s Orland’s “One and a Half Domes, Yosemite” at left). As it happens, they are both photographers, but the book is not at all confined to photography or even visual art. As you might guess from the title, it’s a frank discussion of issues that are faced by artists that relate to making public creative work that can be very personal. Even if you’ve never been the slightest bit nervous about putting your work out there, I still think the book is helpful as an unusually readable treatment of what artists do and how they do it. It will help you think about your own process. Just read it.
Over to you: help me add to the list!
Steve,
I’m also fond of a book called Feud that sparked the Renaissance and another book with overlapping subject matter called Brunelleschi’s Dome. These deal with the artistic competition between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti in early 15th century Florence. Neither book is by a real expert, and the accounts contradict each other in amusing ways. Nevertheless, they are most interesting introductory reading about a completely different kind of art world, one that had the financial power to support its people.
Steve,
In vain have I been trying to find a post searching early A&P in which several artists recommended books that teach to draw and paint. I went through the early posts once before and also just now. I cannot find it. Maybe I read about it on a different blog.
Birgit,
I don’t remember a specific book beyond those Steve mentions above. Can you remember any words in the title?
I do not remember who mentioned the books or any words in the title. All I remember is that I meant to buy these books on drawing and painting to read them over the summer but did not get around to it.
This is a difficult question as I have more than one book that I really like and most of my favorites are not really in the genre of ‘art technique books’. They are mostly in the area of art and its relation to the other sciences… The two books that come to mind are
1. ‘Seen/Unseen: Art, Science, and Intuition from Leonardo to the Hubble Telescope’ by Martin Kemp
2. ‘Gödel, Escher, Bach: an Eternal Golden Braid: A metaphorical fugue on minds and machines in the spirit of Lewis Carroll’ by Douglas Hofstadter
I am still trying to figure out the second book, but the first does a good job of exploring the interrelationships between art and science (something that I am very interested in). I also get a lot of pleasure from reading the series from Time Warner that chronicles artists and their lives by their diary writings ‘Monet by himself, Gauguin by himself, Cezanne by himself’ etc. They really tend to ‘humanize’ great artists and it makes you feel that they were just like you and me facing the same trials and issues that confront us in our lives today.
The ‘Grove Book of Art Writing’ is an extremely enjoyable book and I have spent several hours just soaking up the rich prose from artists and their critics…
I am waiting for the prices to come down on the book ‘Beautiful Evidence’ by Edward R. Tufte, but I have read his other book ‘Visual Explanations: Images and Quantities, Evidence and Narrative’ and I loved it…
Sorry I really do not have a favorite…
Thanks, Sunil, no need to select a single favorite, or a single genre. Your suggestions sound intriguing, I’ll be looking them up. I don’t recall the Hofstadter touching on art itself, though perhaps everything mental is related. I am about to look at a book along these lines I’m sure you’ll be interested in, but you’ll have to wait for the post…
Karl, I’m in the middle of another historical book by Ross King, “The Judgment of Paris,” which is about Manet and Meissonier and the art world of the time. A good read in general, with lots of interesting tidbits, though it seems a bit long and slow at times.
I like The POetics of Space – others have mentioned that.
I also like James elkins’ “Why Art cannot be Taught: a Handbook for art students” and his book “Pictures of the Body: Pain and Metamorphisis”
Has anyone ever read “Art and Physics?” I gave it to my mom (she’s a physicist) but she never read it and neither have I. One of you science types must have picked it up :)
Dave Eggers’ “What Is The What”.
“Art and Physics” is currently checked out from my library, so I won’t be able to have a look. Have to say that from the info on Amazon its main idea looks questionable to my sceptical mind. That doesn’t mean it wouldn’t be fun and stimulating to read, though.
I like Why Art Cannot Taught too.
Another favorite of mine is the book Art Worlds, by sociologist Howard Becker. He discusses the ways in which networks of people—not just the so called artists, but the accompanying “support personnel too”—are necessary to make finished art. In addition to case studies by others, he draws off his own experiences as a phphotographer and jazz pianist.
In addition to the book on Irwin, I highly recommend A Year With Swollen Appendices: The Diary of Brian Eno. It’s, unfortunately, out of print, but maybe you can find a used copy at a decent price.
Margaret Aston (1994): The King’s Bedpost: Reformation and Iconography in a Tudor Group Portrait
In that beautiful book of the late Margarete Aston I found a comparison between the 16th century painting “Edvard VI and the Pope” and the 1564 print “Ahasuerus consulting the records by Philip Galle” after Maarten van Heemskerck.
In http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnetmaker/5322184412/ that is the middle segment and the right segment. In the same image, the left segment and the middle segment my a comparison between an illustration by Henry Holiday to Lewis Carroll’s “The Hunting of the Snark” and the 16th century painting “Edvard VI and the Pope”.
But also John Everett Millais “Carpenter’s Shop” cites shapes from that 16th century painting. And Henry Holiday quoted from Millais. And then Alfred Parsons quoted from Henry Holiday: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnetmaker/sets/72157624303810154/detail/
That may be interesting for “Art & Perception”, which is my main interest (besides an non-artist job).
Best regards from Munich
Goetz
PS: Some arts books for my Snark hunt:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnetmaker/4844261984/
Goetz,
Thank you for your information.
Ich hoffe das ich eines Tages nach Munchen kommen kann um die dortigen Art Museen zu besuchen.