Customer Reviews

The Best of Printmaking: An International Collection

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

The title is slightly misleading. As the majority of the artwork is from the western world. This having been said, I find it to be one of the few art books I will pick up on a frequent basis. It's greatest asset is to the Fine Art Printer. Each print has a short but comprehensive description of the processes used to achive the print. Occasionally it mentions the papers that were used. The prints also have a mercifully succinct description of the subject of each piece. It is a boon for Printers and Printmakers alike. The small pictures and lack of verbage mean that it does not work well as a coffee-table book or have much intrest to people outside of the printmaking realm.

I would have to agree with other's views that this book is dominantly abstract art. The reproduction is good, as is the price for this quality printing. Also, the variety of printmaking techniques is quite good. My biggest "beef" is with the title. At 75% North American content, this is hardly an "International" collection. There are serious gaps in the coverage. Minumal Eastern European and Far Eastern representation seriously reduces the importance of this volume as a true international collection. Perhaps this shortfall will be addressed in alluded to future projects. I would like to see more works from the leaders of contemporary printmakers (and frankly, there are far more leaders outside N.A. than within.)

This book has a wide selection of prints that shows the diversity of the printmaking medium. Although its main focus is on contemporary ideas, it is nice to see more traditional uses of the medium such as Ralph Slatton's "Lessor of the Two Evil's" and Brian Paulson's "Bridging Buildings." It is nice to know that some artist's aren't afraid to show that good drawing skills haven't been forgotten. With so many artist's today hiding behind technology, it is good to see printmaker's using traditional ideas to create new and exciting imagery.

I agree with other readers that the term "Internation collection" is a misnomer, however, the content of the book is on the cutting edge of printmaking today. Abstract work in printmaking is highly experimental, controversial, and above all, necessary for the advancement of the medium. Also, the terminology used in the book is common knowledge to anyone in the know of the world of printmaking. I enjoy this book very much and have placed it among my special collection of art books.

A HARDCOVER BOOK FULL OF COLOR ILLUSTRATIONS, BUT WITH LITTLE APPEAL TO THOSE INTERESTED IN ANYTHING EXCEPT ABSTRACT PRINTS. UNLESS YOU ARE A COLLECTOR OF PRINTS THERE IS LITTLE OF INTEREST FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF AN ART COLLECTOR. TOO MANY ESOTERIC TERMS SUCH AS "CHINE COLLE", ETC.AND TOO LITTLE BACKROUND ON THE ARTIST OR THE TECHNIQUES INVOLVED IN THE STYLE OR SUBJECT. THIS US NOT A COCKTAIL TABLE BOOK, RATHER IT IS AN ART ASSOCIATION OR SCHOOL REFERENCE TYPE BOOK.