Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting
by Barry Schwabsky
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Book Reviews of Vitamin P: New Perspectives in Painting
Book Review: Vitamin P
Summary: 3 Stars
I have this book as well as Vitamin D in hardcover and should have waited until they came in paperback -- the hardcover made them too expensive as well as cumbersome. The tiny font on the pages as well as the cramped spacing makes reading about the artists tedious and annoying. My main problem with these books is that I have no idea of knowing how credible these artists are, and a professor of mine told me probably half of the book is just kids of editors, publishers, or famous art critics that graduated from pretentious art institutions but have no real grasp on their concepts or ideas. What does it take to get into a book like this? Much of the art is immature, if that is what they mean by "new perspectives". I would recommend checking it out from the library to flip through but don't plan on trying to read it.Book Review: Fulfilling Requirements
Summary: 5 Stars
Schwabsky manages to pull together precise & intelligent critical essays of an enlightening array of painters from all over the world. The selection of images from each artist's oeuvre is generous. Big names like Currin and Ghada Amer appear alongside lesser-knowns with little academic biases. The only beef, really, I have with this wonderful volume of contemporary painters is the miniscule sizing of the actual text. Tedious to acknowledge, but the problem is actually distracting. This may be natural hierarchization, but the text size is 6 or 8, at the most. Have plenty of focused light nearby when turning pages & enjoy!Book Review: Tons of information, great resource
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an intense book filled with a lot of beautiful reproductions from some of the best contemporary painters today. It is a great resource for artists and art lovers alike. I highly recommend it; you will own this book for years and still be able to flip through it and find something new because there are SO MANY artists in it!
(On negative aspect of the book, for some people, is that the type is very small and might be hard to read for people with vision problems. This didn't really both me though.)
Book Review: there is no there there
Summary: 1 Stars
i waited for this book with anticipation after reading the good reviews. unfortunately, the best thing about it is the cover. some of the work may push mediums in creative ways, but there is no under-girding of strong content (ideas, philosophy, world views) behind it, nor are the formal aspects very strong. it's almost all surface, and i don't mean rich paint surface. basically, there is no heart here, and very little head. i don't like giving bad reviews, but in this case i can't help it.
Book Review: The sterile state of painting
Summary: 3 Stars
This book is full of images...unfortunately they are so unoriginal and overworked that it is bound to disappoint a reader looking for richness of paint and depth of content. Most of the art lies on the surface of the ground and seems very influenced by design. To my eye, a lot of photos were used as reference for the portrayal of the human figure which "deadens" the content for me. Unless you are a fan of several of these artists, I would avoid the investment.