On Tender Hooks [Hardcover]

Isabel Samaras (Author), Colin Berry (Author), Justin Giarla (Author), Lucy Blue (Contributor), Shag and the Pizz (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2009

Isabel Samaras's quirky, sexy, pop-surrealist art has had a cult following for yearsand now at long last her first monograph, On Tender Hooks, is here. Drawing her influence from classic TV shows and paintings by the Old Mastersfor example riffing on Gricault's Raft of the Medusa by replacing the figures with characters from Gilligan's IslandSamaras has created a witty, erotic, and surreal body of work. This fresh and dazzling volume includes a three-way interview between Samaras and fellow low-brow artists Shag and The Pizz, as well as delightful and enlightening commentary from gallerist Justin Giarla and art writer Colin Berry, and an erotic short story by Lucy Blue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

NEW YORK TIMES BLOG
From painting homoerotic fantasies on vintage lunch boxes (The Lone Ranger and Tonto in flagrante) to bawdy television trays (starring Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock), Samaras went on to paint in oil on wood, using the techniques of the old masters to enliven the stuff of fairy tales.

About the Author

Artist Isabel Samaras's work has been featured in numerous books, magazines, television shows, and a documentary film. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; First Edition edition (May 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811866041
• ISBN-13: 978-0811866040
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Fabulous, June 23, 2009

By 

Knowledge Contagion (California - again) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On Tender Hooks (Hardcover)

If you are easily offended, this is not the book for you. If it tickles you to see iconic images put into a pornographic (yet artistic) context, this is the perfect book for you.

Isabel Samaras apparently favors using classics like "I Dream of Jeannie," "Batman and Robin," "The Addams Family," "The Munsters," etc. and gives them a fabulous pornographic twist; she puts The Addams and Munsters in bed together; has Batman and Robin making out (and so much more); Lily and Morticia sharing a moment or two. She paints beyond these examples, of course, and every painting is just wonderful. Every once in a while, an original painting is shown to give the viewer a better idea of what inspired a particular painting and many paintings take up two pages because one page is devoted to giving a close up of something in the background.

Her introduction to this book is fabulous! Her writing style is very engaging: she explains what and who inspired her to start painting and why she started off with vintage lunch boxes and TV trays as canvases; she mentions her trips to Italy and how each trip was a completely different experience because of the way it affected her painting. She details why she decided to depict classic monsters in alternate (i.e. happy) scenarios and she gives us a glimpse of her painting process.

Justin Giarla (a gallerist who showed her work) writes about what made her artwork appeal to him. One thing he said was "Yet Isabel's subjects aren't the perverse musings of some twisted mind. Instead, they are actually loving portraits of humanity, with all its failings and crazy drama." He wrote that for people who grew up on these television shows, Isabel's paintings remind them what it is like to be a kid again.

Colin Berry wrote "... Isabel clearly embraced tenderness in her work ... [she] favored scenes of affection, mystery and passion." He juxtaposes her work with other artists' in that genre (which is apparently "Lowbrow") and goes into some detail about how her style and subject matter differs from the others'.

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Darkest TV Fantasies...., July 27, 2010

By 

R. Rosener "Photomatic" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Tender Hooks (Hardcover)

Amazing Art book that even Non Art people will love. You've gotta be of a certain generational age, Say 35-50? The re-run Generation X. All my darkest and giddiest fanatasies about my favorite Tv characters come to like in full flesh color!

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous book!, May 18, 2010

By 

R. Riggs "hip scarf junkie" (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: On Tender Hooks (Hardcover)

Simply gorgeous coffee table photo book, with interesting background info on the artist also. I've been a fan for years and it's wonderful to be able to actually own some of her works now. She's a brilliant artist, very witty and creative ;-)