The Best of Printmaking: An International Collection [Hardcover]

Lynne Allen (Editor), Phyllis McGibbon (Editor), Ruth Weisberg (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

One of a kind, full-color volume showcases the work of many of the leading printmakers from around the world.

--Features 250 of the finest prints by artists from 17 countries

--Shows every technique including intaglio, lithograph, wood cut, collagraph, serigraph, and many more

--Includes an essay by Ruth Weisburg, artist and Dean of Fine Arts, University of Southern California

--Presents a variety of genres-figurative, abstract, landscape

This collection-selected from thousands of entries-is an inspiration for all printmakers, professional and amateur alike, and a valuable teaching aid.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Rockport Pub; 1St Edition edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564963713
• ISBN-13: 978-1564963710
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,581 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a serious survey of international printmaking, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best of Printmaking: An International Collection (Hardcover)

I have long looked outside the US for great contemporary printmaking, so when I found this book I was really excited. What a disappointment! The book is dominated by North Americans while nearly ignoring the rest of the world. The real world of printmaking is almost the reverse - there is so much more going on in printmaking outside the U.S. than within it. Merely being a teacher/friend/colleague of the editor does not make someone an important artist. Being an art professor does not make someone an important artist. Nearly the entire printmaking faculty from one editor's alma mater is included! This is not a serious survey; it is a small step above coffee table book with an astonishingly pretentious title. There needs to be a serious survey of international contemporary printmaking, but sadly this isn't it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good on form, not so good on content., January 30, 2001

By 

SWboy (hometown USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of Printmaking: An International Collection (Hardcover)

This book, like few others, shows a variety of contemporary prints in color. I find it inspiring to see how people use the medium for effect. If you are a printmaker, I'd recommend the book for that reason. A lot of the art featured is the kind you might find in "American Artist" magazine, rather than "Art in America" for instance. Some of it is very amateur. The text which describes each print, and the meaning of its artistic statement, is often stupefying, and reads like the fluff filler in interior design books. The price is right compared to exhibition catalogs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a useful "look book", plain and simple, August 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best of Printmaking: An International Collection (Hardcover)

This book functions like a juried group exhibition catalogue, but with better production values. It presents broad sampling of contemporary prints culled from a group of slide entries, which accounts for some of the odd inclusions as well as exclusions. Despite the misleading title (which the publisher seems to have retained to match a "best of watercolor" series or something), the book nevertheless presents work by artists who print their own images as well as those that utilize master printing services. Although clearly not international, comprehensive, nor selective enough, this book helps bring greater visibility to contemporary printmaking.