Iain Zaczek

A good overview of Art Deco across different mediums, from jewelry to advertising posters to architecture. I have always admired Art Deco when I recognized it but didn't know what actually constituted that style of art, what was "in" or "out" of that movement. I was really surprised to see how expansive the style is - many items in the book were well beyond what I would have identified. Now that I have a general grasp of what is and what is not Art Deco, I'd like to read a book that goes deeper on the topic.… (mere)

This book isn’t a great example of thoughtful commentary and it doesn’t employ very good design techniques in its page layout, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the crash course in fantastical fairy art between its covers. The author started out strong with a selection of the classically trained artists who popularised the subject of fairies in artwork in the 1800s, which I was just starting to enjoy (barring their slightly repetitive writing style) when they switched tactic entirely to discuss a broader range of artists based on themes and inspirations for the artwork. Most of these themes had been discussed in the context of the major fairy artists, so their choice to rehash the details weakened the presentation of the additional artists they chose to feature. Of these selections, they could have also taken more care in grouping them, so that if an artist was featured more than once their images would appear together (once again we were forced to read the same facts) to enhance the visual flow of the slightly arbitrary selection. More than anything, this book served as an introduction to some of the major artists which will hopefully prompt readers to seek out additional material on artists they favour particularly.… (mere)