Customer Reviews

Prebles' Artforms (with MyArtKit Student Access Code Card) (9th Edition)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a fairly wordy book, plenty of vocabulary, and online quizzes that don't match the book exactly but are a great asset for developing a midterm or final. I used this book in my undergrad art class. Lots of pictures of obscure art. It can definitely open student's eyes to different forms of art.

Well written, easy to understand, and well chosen works used as examples. Used as text book, would recommend.

Prebles' Artforms book is fantastic!!! Not only does it provide a glance into historical art, but it yields an innovative way to interpret artwork from all periods... The layout is superb and the illustrations are fantastic!!! Overall the book is very well done.

The book was used but served it's purpose. I saved a lot of money by buying this book used insteat of new at the college bookstore.

The text talks about the art movements throughout human history from prehistory to modern-day. The latest edition is about the same as the early editons

As an art professor who has taught with a number of different art appreciation/intro to art textbooks, I can say there is no single perfect text that fits my needs. I am, therefore, one who teaches the subject matter of art, not just "teaching to the text" as so many tend to do.

As to this particular textbook, I do feel it is on the higher end of offerings for such courses. It could use some improvements, such as more visual examples, whether artworks or charts/graphs especially in chapters 3 and 4 so that students can better grasp some of the basic concepts of elements and principles. Also, a nice feature that is lacking here but which exists in Living with Art 9th ed. is cross-referencing of artwork examples so that students better understand the universality of the exemplified concept.

Despite the few flaws listed above, the 9th edition is FAR superior in my opinion to the brand new 10th edition. Unfortunately, it is not in my power to decide which edition is used and I must abide by the college's decision. Thus, my students will unfortunately have to pay for a more expensive yet inferior required product. This is not to say that the 10th edition is terrible, though it is now confusingly organized in a few chapters; but I am appalled that the author chose to skim on his treatment of the basic necessary elements of art and to omit texture entirely. And it confuses most students to tell them to study the principles of design when the chapter covering them is now called "How an Artwork is Built" and only mentions the phrase "principles of design" once that is not in any way emphasized though this is what they have been called for eons. Luckily, the 9th edition still dedicates an entire chapter to all of the elements of art and is well organized in general.

All in all, the 9th edition is a great buy that I would prefer to continue using in my courses if I were allowed. So for any other instructors searching for an inexpensive and good text to use if your institution allows such flexibility, this is a good choice. As I said before, I don't teach to the text and instead utilize the general concepts covered along with my own supplemental online materials (as I find those offered by most of the textbook companies lacking in either clarity, relevance, or are too specific to what is written exactly in the text). But this also keeps me on my toes and the subject fresh for me year after year. So for instructors, I suggest using this along with older editions of Living with Art (Getlein) and/or even World of Art (Sayre) in your personal "toolbox" of instructional materials to offer your students the broadest and most thorough treatment of the subject as each text offers something just a little different from the others.Living with Art Living with Art A World of Art

i needed this book for my art class, and i got a great deal on it. it was in perfect condition. very satisfied with purchase

I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I received this book and the great condition that it was in considering it is a used book. I would definitely buy from this seller. Very reliable!

The book was quickly delivered and exactly what I needed. Have used it daily on homework, tests, and journal entries-the text is clear and very straight forward. condition is good. definitely a good buy

This was a pretty simple textbook to learn from. The CD wasn't much help in my opinion. Still photographs don't really teach me how a printing process is performed, but I still managed to understand from the explanation.