A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art [Hardcover]

Philip M. Isaacson (Author)

Book Description

Illus. with full-color photos. Isaacson introduces art in all its forms: painting, sculpture, folk art, crafts--even cities. He discusses the differences between realism and abstraction, links between tribal art and modern sculpture, use of color by diverse artists, and why everyday objects can be works of art.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Exuding a sincere appreciation for the emotional impact of art, Isaacson's vividly eclectic tour from the pyramids to a magically photographed New York City forms an outstanding introduction to the rewards of looking at art. More than 70 beautifully presented examples acquaint readers with painting, sculpture, crafts, industrial design, photography and city planning--from Elgin Marble fragments to a Shaker village in Maine, from a Jackson Pollack drip painting to a Peruvian poncho. Simple but eloquent descriptions touch on color, form and the power of art to communicate across both centuries and cultures. The graceful layout allows ample opportunity for reflection stimulated by Isaacson's gentle observations on the links between a West African tribal funerary figure and a Jacques Lipchitz bronze, or on the sinuous harmony of a Karmann Ghia automobile photographed in front of the Guggenheim Museum. "Art will make our hearts leap," he writes, and proves it on every page. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Once again, the author of Round Buildings, Square Buildings, and Buildings That Wiggle Like a Fish (1988) informs eye and mind with his lucid, intelligent approach to the visual arts. Here, he ranges from ancient structures through classical painting and sculpture to contemporary crafts--all in a logical progression from pure form to schematic and literal representation and to the impact of color and style on how images are perceived. His demonstration of the difference between photographs as simple records of the visual world and as art is admirably effective (the Taj Mahal is a work of art, for instance, but a photo of it usually isn't). Chapters on ``Useful Things,'' made handsome by the way their form follows function, and on communities--from traditional villages to a modern city--where architectural motifs are particularly harmonious, well integrated, and appropriate, are especially fascinating. The author (a Maine attorney and art critic) makes a splendid guide; his examples are a personal selection, some well known and some unfamiliar but all shrewdly chosen to illuminate ideas that could well spark a lifelong interest in art. (Many of Isaacson's own photos, more than two- thirds of the 84 color images here, are superb.) Beautiful, imaginative, and richly provocative. Notes on the art; index. (Nonfiction. 9+) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers; 1St Edition edition (September 7, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679815236
• ISBN-13: 978-0679815235
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 9.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #660,940 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a fabulous overview of the Arts for young people!, January 24, 1999

By 

Patrice Stanton [[e-mail]] (Texas, it's a whole 'nuther country) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Short Walk Around the Pyramids & Through the World of Art (Hardcover)

Isaacson does a wonderful job of tying all sorts of art forms together in this short volume [I read through it in <30min.]. I'll get nit-picky below, but let me say I heartily recommend it: first, for adults looking to understand "art" themselves, and secondly, as an introduction to the process of sharing and beginning to explain the arts to their children.

Now, to the "picking"...I would beg to differ with Isaacson on a few fine points, chief among these being 1) Pyramids belong in a separate chapter! to be called "Useful Things We NOW Consider 'Art'"; 2) don't [unless you must be totally PC] shy away from the term "primitive art", parents, look in a dictionary and share the definition of 'primitive' with your kids...there's a much deeper meaning than the derogatory-superficial meaning it's picked up; 3) in the chapter "Photographs" Isaacson, in an affront to all of us who have ever labored over a piece of ART [made with a camera+darkroom or otherwise] destined to be utilized to ILLUSTRATE something or other, flat out states that photographs which are 'illustrations' are "not works of art" and refers to an adjacent photo of the Taj Mahal.

Oddly, I had just done a double-take on that very same photo! It had struck me, as an RealArtCritic might say, as "exuding such an ethereal quality, such a misty moodiness, unlike the harsh photo-images of the late 90's..." that I at first mistook it for a PAINTING!

All in all, this book would make a great textbook for your very own "Family Art Appreciation" class.