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The Art of Inside Out An in-depth look into the making of Pixar’s upcoming animated film, INSIDE OUT, with a foreward by star Amy Poehler. Learn more | See related books
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I am overwhelmed with gratitude as I write this. Gratitude that I know of Maira Kalman, and that this book exists.
This is my favorite of all books by or about Maira. Ever since I happened upon "The Principles of Uncertainty" -- that very first entry that begins with an angel (an angel!) and Hallelujah... Which sang right to the depth of my heart and offered page down after page down of sheer rapture... Remember the image of the helicopter that took Bush away on Inauguration Day, with the caption ... "at last"... That blog entry is one of the greatest cultural discoveries of my life. The joyous merging of personal and political, playful & astute absolutely had me by the heart and I was in heaven. I followed breathlessly as blogs followed about Lincoln, the judicial system, Alice Waters... Thrill after thrill.
When I discovered Maira, I became voracious and bought and ate up all her work. What I love about this book in particular, first of all, is its formatting. The size is larger than I expected from the Amazon preview (10.5 x 8.8). The illustrations are perfect size, not too blown out nor too small to see. There is a nice pacing, usually 2 images per spread, not overwhelming, offering perfect detail in sumptuous color. This process could have gone wrong at one of many points, but the paper, the printing, the color, everything has turned out perfectly (we can all probably recall books on beloved artists where the color is ever so slightly off, but enough to make them unpalatable). The paper is also FSC certified, which I appreciate. Nice heavy semi-gloss stock. A+ on printing.
The text is by Ingrid Schaffner of the Institute of Contemporary art at UPenn. Not too much text. Perfect. Loved what she had to say. Not too academic or effete. Approachable.Read more ›
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39 of 39 people found the following review helpful
From the minute I opened this book I felt the need to start creating. I love her work, The Principles of Uncertainty is in my all time top ten, and The Elements of Style have style to spare with her illustrations. And don't miss the blogs she's done for the New York Times.
The beauty of this particular book is that it covers years of her work and more details of her life. It's simply wonderful and I can't tell you how much it's worth owning and being able to pick up and enjoy any time.
I usually go on for paragraphs in review, but really, it's a book you have to hold and open and look at for yourself. Incidentally, if you are familiar with the Max books, and some of her intelligently, but wildly sane, loopy drawings, take a look at some of the work here - she can draw the way you are "supposed" to do it - thank goodness she draws the way Maira Kalman sees the world. My heart is full from reading it - and I'm out of words. A book to love and treasure - that covers it.
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I feel a special kinship for Maira Kalman because, on the surface, we are a lot alike. She's only a little younger, grew up much as I did and shares a passion for NYC, and has a similar heritage. There the similarity, sadly, ends: she's a creative genius with phenomenal artistic talent. I am not. What I am is an individual that cherishes such talent. I get her humor, I so much appreciate her idealism, I adore her quirky view of the world. I've got all her wonderful books and after seeing [twice] the retrospective of her work at both the San Francisco and New York Jewish Museums, I had to have this book that provides such a perfect overview to her intriguing persona. I cannot draw more than a couple of lines together, and these intersect in strange places, but Maira Kalman also reminds me that we all have our talents, and lack of, and what matters is the intrinsic value we add to the planet. And where we fit in a world of collective images and personas. Thus, this is the book prominently placed on the coffee table [with my New Yorkers pile and a few other visually fabulous picture books] and page through now and then, each time as if I've never seen it before. Always fresh and funny and touching and, yes, brilliant. I am not prone to hyperbole, truly, I save my accolades for the exceptionals, like Joni Mitchell, another creative genius, and Ken Robinson, whose just plain fascinating. Maira Kalman is right up there at the top of this exalted list. In fact, she would sit at the head of my fantasy dinner party table. Across from Joni. And I would want to sit next to her - that says it all. Great book to own and give.
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Having followed Kalman's work in the New York Times, I found this book simply wonderful. Her creations often look simple and even primitive, but I know that if I tried to copy one of her pictures, I'd produce a hopeless mess instead of her graphically sophisticated art. From a kitchen sink to impressionistic "copies" of famous artworks, every painting is a treasure. If only my life had the simplicity, humor, style, and brilliance of Maira Kalman's work....
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I love Maira and have been her fan for 15 years. Wow! Time flies! And, I just bought this book because I knew I would spend time devouring each page. But I have to say the print quality is poor and I'm kind of disappointed. But the writing is interesting & love reading about her history.
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This item: Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (Of a Crazy World)
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