Customer Reviews

Fushigi Circus

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

 

 

ignore the page count. about half the pages (those on the left) are blank. and maybe a quarter or a third of actual art in this already very small book takes up only a third or a half of the actual page. some are even only an inch in diameter. i am not joking. an inch. ryden is great. but there is no real way to appreciate the art at this ridiculous size...that is if you can even find his books in print...

The art collected inside the pages of "Fushigi Circus" is some of my favorite Mark Ryden work to date. And while each piece is amazingly unique and surreal in the way that Ryden's work always is, several of the previous reviewers are entirely correct: this book is tiny! Tiny, tiny, tiny. It is hard to appreciate an intricate piece of artwork when it has been reduced down to such a miniscule size. I would not trade my copy for the world; it is, afterall, still Mark Ryden and I find his work genius and inspiring. However, I would have gladly paid the extra money to have the book in a sufficient size so that the detail of the work can truly shine through.

This book is a nice compilation of Ryden's works, however it could be bigger. Somehow seeing his art in such a small book is a little frustrating. His art deserves more visual emphasis.

This is An "ART" BOOK... IN EVERY WAY. A thing of beauty. A book to treasure. U like Ryden, you MUST have this book.

This is a beautiful Mark Ryden book.A MUST-HAVE if you are a fan!!Actually, A MUST-HAVE even if you are not!It's great to leave out on the coffee table and let people thumb thru it,and let the conversations BEGIN!His art is soooo unique and stunning!Truly a master of this time in American Art.Groundbreaker. The paintings make you 'feel' sooo much.Words just don't do it justice.You must see these paintings to truly know & love them.They have become 'good old friends" to me.A MUST-HAVE!

This book is twisted and beautiful. I love it and I charish it. If you like his work...buy it. Its worth it and its something that will gain in value.

One of my favourite Mark ryden's book!!! IT"S FANTASTIC!!!! I'm real satisfied of my purchase!!!!!

The work of Mark Ryden has been described as kitschy pseudo sentimental works that harken back to some twisted Golden Book era gone bad. Sure one could view his work in that way. To me that's a bit simplistic. I tend to get a bit more awestruck looking at his images. To me they invoke a ageless romanticism that juxtaposes humanity with the cosmos. One of the things in art that has always appealed to me was when mans very awkward nature as a sentient creature is shown. And in the case of Ryden's work, this awkward nature is contrasted with the vastness of time and space. The pictures are intimate but they allude to so much. The details such as meat and candy show the animal nature of man and the sugarcoated side that hides and pretends to not be afraid. This awkward nature that humans have is rarely spoken or written about. Still, it's obvious that Ryden is pushing this. His works, while uncomfortable at first glance, show characters engaged in life cycles. Often times plants and creatures from the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian periods on this planet are painted to co-exist with human/cartoon counterparts. These characters, to me, represent humanity. Some times there is more specific symbolism going on with Santa, and certain celebrities. Still, to me, the best works are the ones that allude to the vast bridge of time that humanity has crossed to arrive here at this moment in time. Our self reflective nature give us the power to look back on the history of the earth, the galaxy, and the universe. In the face of this vast time that has elapsed, man is very insignificant. That idea can be unsettling, uncomfortable, even awkward. This is the feeling I get when looking at Mark Ryden's work. I feel insignificant, yet I still feel awe and wonder at the very wonderful awkward nature of myself existing in the universe. Mark Ryden has made images that allude to this vastness. He has also used the art of Rudolph Zallinger from the Time Life book The World We Live In. The book is amazing and has been on my shelf since the day my father gave it to me. I'm sure Ryden has his own copy as well.