Customer Reviews

Masters: Art Quilts: Major Works by Leading Artists

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3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
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There are loads of books filled with gorgeous color photographs of quilts, but this one is so much more. Martha Sielman's curatorial eye has resulted in a portable exhibition of the most exciting art quilts of our time. By grouping them as she has, you get a sense of each textile artist's progression and depth, not just a repeat visit to iconic images seen over and over already. The quality of this solid effort coupled with the price make this one of the great bargain books around. A great gift for quilters, and a must for the libraries of all quilt-lovers, quilt-collectors and quiltmakers.

I just got my copy of Masters: Art Quilts, by Martha Sielman, published by Lark Books and it is perhaps the most important book to come along since the first book on art quilts many years years ago.
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This is a great way for us to study the masters so that you all have the benefit of seeing what's good about the best of the best. Studying the work of the artists in this book should be a good exercise to help you with your own work, not in the sense of copying someone else, but in understanding the design elements each artist has used to get the results that have made him or her famous. It is also good to know the artists individually as this is the living history of our art heritage.

If you are a member of an art quilt group, you can use the book as the basis for study of each artist's unique style. As an individual artist, it is a great way to study art quilts without having to leave home. What I like too is that the writer doesn't use a lot of difficult to understand terms so even a beginning fiberartist can readily relate to whatis being discussed. Martha Sielman writes in a very comfortable and down-to-earth style.

I like this book as there are a wide variety of artists covered and each one is discussed in depth regarding the artists' backgrounds and lots of good notes about the artists' techniques and styles.

Aside from all of this, it is the most fantastic opportunity to see the works of artists whose works you might not otherwise have an opportuni'ty to see. We so seldom get an opportunity to see a number of each artists pieces . This book is definitely a visual feast. and one it is truly hard to put down. I think my only regret is that I didn't want the book to end!

Masters: Art Quilts is part of a series published by Lark Books under the premise of featuring major works by forty leading artists in a specific medium. To date, the series includes, in addition to this volume, Beadweaving, Gemstones, Glass Beads and Porcelain.

Having started this way to indicate that the emphasis is perhaps greater on craft than art in their selection of media, I must continue by saying this gorgeous, gorgeous book needs (yes, needs) to grace your desk, coffee table or bedside reading pile.

I guess that pretty much gives away the general tenor of this review, but, more specifically, this is a much-needed volume if you are an artist who tires of explaining the ART in art quilt or who enjoys reading about the why, rather than the how, of artists.

If you are a collector of art quilts or a general art aficionada, Masters: Art Quilts will help you understand this medium (why fabric???) and provide hours of delighted perusal.

The emphasis on only forty artists, dictated by the constraints of the series, was undoubtedly a cruel hardship to the editor and curator, Martha Sielman. Sielman is the Executive Director of Studio Art Quilt Associates (SAQA), an organization dedicated to the promotion of art quilts and their makers.

Each of the forty artists receives a small essay by Sielman, space for personal comments about their artwork, and, of course, several (up to ten or twelve, including details) photos of their artwork over eight pages.

The small essays by Sielman are sparkling. Nothing is harder than to study the work of a diverse cross-section of artists and render their work sensible and in a perceptive light in a very short essay.

Editor essays are usually the least valuable part of a survey, but Sielman has added to the considerable worth of this volume by sharing what is important about each artist, what themes the artist has explored and placing their work in the context of the art quilt movement.

The comments by the artists are necessarily short and, I assume, selected and edited by Sielman. Again, the comments are seldom gratuitous and often a revelation. I completely reassessed my viewpoint of the work of Jane Sassaman after reading this: Plants are my metaphor. A plant travels the same cycle as a human: fertility, birth, maturity, death and rebirth.

The format of the book is one of its strong points. There are 414 pages in a 9' x 8' inch format. Despite it's bulk, this book is user friendly - - easy to hold and it fits nicely in a tote bag. The photos are large, of excellent quality and unbelievable in number. If you have shopped for magazines lately at a newsstand, you will agree that it is somewhat mind-boggling that this huge book retails for $24.95.

I found it best to flip through the book until I saw a work that caught my eye and then to read the whole "chapter" about the artist and study the photos before moving on. Reading straight through is asking for sensory overload.

I have only two small quibbles about the book. The designation "Master" does imply those practitioners of an art that have labored long and hard in the field or have shown a mastery through an established style, regardless of their time in the field.

I personally could have seen a lot less of the art quilts which were the exciting New Thing of their time (some dating back to the 60's) and a lot more current work. Perhaps the focus on the series is to show the history as well as the current state of the medium, but it does beg the question if some of the artists chosen would be better identified as Master Emeritus or some other title that acknowledges the debt art quilters owe these pioneers in the field.

Also many of the chosen artists are very well-known in the art quilt exhibit circuit, but perhaps those artists who eschew that route for professional or personal reasons are less well-represented. However these are minor considerations when weighed against the greater service this book provides as a resource for artists and collectors.

Part of the joy of reading Art Quilts: Masters is having a fine argument with yourself about the inclusions and exclusions made necessary by the choice of forty artists and for the ranking of your own personal favorites among the artwork. I have found that argument to be an education in itself.

Masters, curated by Martha Sielman, is a magnificent 414 page book of 40 of the top art quilt artists. Each artist has up to 12 of their outstanding art quilts in this goregous collection. Many of which have detail photographs so that you can see the quilted surfaces.

Each artist has several quotes in his or her section so that you can get a real feel for their intent with their artwork.

This book has really inspired me to get back into my studio and create artwork.

It is a must have for your library.

"Masters" is an overview of quilted art and represents 40 of the most highly respected figures in quilted art today. The inclusion of 12 pieces by each artist, along with the quotes and introduction of the artists, gives the book an unexpected range and depth. Many of the works shown have been widely exhibited and published, but when put together with lesser known works by the same artist, a new breadth of understanding of the art and the work can be obtained.

Quilted art, generally wall hung, is a specific form of art, with its own attributes and boundaries. It is a highly stylized form, which surprisingly seems to have more in common with Jeff Koons than with Van Gogh.

The tradition of layers, embedded in traditional quiltmaking, becomes a perfect place for the quilt artist to use the traditions to form untraditional imagery in collage manner. John Lefelhocz says that the physical layers "push me to think in narrative and metaphoric layers." Even the artists who paint their work, like Nancy Erickson, who says she does "layered, stitched paintings" rely heavily on line and layering. Most of the quilts are designed using layered and pieced fabrics. In this sense they are clearly a part of the older tradition of bed quilts.

My one criticism of the book is that the quilting stitches are not evident in the photos of many of the pieces. This is due to the large size of the works, of course, but as the quilted line is part of the graphic design of quilted art, it would have been useful to include it more forcefully. Next time, maybe.

"Masters" is one of those books that will act as a resource for many years to come. It's a compendium of what quilt artists have been able to achieve and, as such, will form the basis for studies of the form.

This is one gorgeous book! The photographs and paper they are reproduced on are of first rate quality - you can almost feel the texture of each of the many many works included.

From forerunners in the art quilt world like Michael James to some of the newest innovators in the genre like Pamela Allen, this book's author has judiciously chosen from a wide array of artists the ones that reflect the diversity of this medium.

This book has become my favorite book on the art quilt shelf!

This is a beautiful book,and I don't regret buying it. I was quite disappointed, though, to see several artists who have done wonderful work over the years, but haven't grown or dared to step outside their box. They are now too predictable and a bit boring. On the other hand, it was a pleasure to see Michael James' growth. Also, I must agree with the reviewer who was surprised not to find some of her favorite artists in the book--talented, well known, and respected art quilters who definitely should have been included. I'd like to know what the inclusion criteria was. There would have been plenty of room for them if less information had been given about each person. Quite frankly, I don't care why a particular work was made or techniques used. All artists create for the same basic reason--We can't NOT create, and we do it any way that works for us!

The latest installment in Lark Books' Masters series is a celebration of the art quilt. Martha Sielman has used a discerning eye to include a wide-ranging cross section representing this medium. The selected artists are notable for the expansive body of work which defines them. Their inclusion here attests to their imprint on the art quilt sphere. It also provides much more of a true picture of each artist, as opposed to a mere survey book. Anyone interested in discovering an artist's evolving form will appreciate this approach. Showcasing several works from each artist renders a more comprehensive and thought-provoking study.

The diverse works have in common fiber and stitch, layers and textures. How these are brought to fruition is remarkable in many ways. The underlying tradition of quilting is sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, but the roots are apparent. There is something to fascinate every viewer, whether your taste runs to the abstract or the objective.

The tactile essence of quilts is captivating. When seen in person, the compulsion to touch and feel is part of the experience. Masters Art Quilts is no less compelling in capturing that sensory experience. It may even inspire you to take up needle and thread.

Whether or not you're a quilter you would find it hard not to find inspiration in the pages of this book. Page after page of the most incredible quilts await you in this 400-page book. The photographs are clean, clear and placed on pages with no background clutter to detract the reader's eye. This is a book to be savored one page at a time and one that you'll find yourself picking up and flipping through over and over again. A must have for any fiber artists library.

Masters: Art Quilts is a slam-dunk in contemporary art! Art quilts (or "studio quilts" as many folks call them) range from minimalist compositions to conceptual nuances to outright gaudy explosions of fabric, paint, and embellishment. Although all the forty "masters" in this book are not necessarily my forty masters, the stimulating and sometimes challenging quilts illustrated here clearly indicate why these artists were selected. Martha Sielman, whose succinct and informative comments accompany the work of each artist, gives us the welcome news in her introduction that this volume is the first in a series. The quilt world now has 150 or more artists at or near the caliber of these forty, and I eagerly look forward to the next volume. In future volumes, it would be helpful to have the quilts of each artist in chronological order. I kept flipping pages back and forth trying to see each artist's development. Also, I am sure that readers would like to know how many years each artist has been working in the quilt medium. When we read that Miriam Nathan-Roberts has been involved with quilts for 53 years, our curiosity is provoked concerning the others. Lark Books has done itself proud with this production, gorgeously designed and with a pleasing balance of serif and sans-serif fonts.