In The Exquisite Book, one hundred indie artists play an ingenious version of the Exquisite Corpse drawing game. Each adorns a page with artworkhaving seen only the page of the artist immediately prior and using a single horizon line to connect the two. Some continue the "story" quite literally while others build on the previous page in more fanciful ways. This astonishing volume's format is as unique as its content, with each of the book's ten chapters residing on a ten-page accordion pull-out, allowing readers to view the art continuously. With an illustrated foreword by Dave Eggers, and art from such luminaries as James Jean and Jill Bliss, this charming book is, simply, exquisite.
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"A fantastically quirky little art book whose ideas and pages literally just keep unfolding and unfolding." --NPR
"...The Exquisite Book is nothing short of inspirational."
--Time Out Chicago
"...we love how it's a picture book for adults that is both creatively inspiring and incredibly engaging."
--Readymade
"The foreword by Dave Eggers (What is the What) is enough of a reason to buy this compelling and seriously cool work. What we want to know is: how did the publisher design it for the price?"
---The Weekly Review
"In our current world of straight-jacketed rationality almost to the point of insanity, The Exquisite Book launches us into the madness of possibility and the frightening potential of our own imagination."
--Big Think
"...The Exquisite Book is nothing short of inspirational."
--Time Out Chicago
"...we love how it's a picture book for adults that is both creatively inspiring and incredibly engaging."
--Readymade
"The foreword by Dave Eggers (What is the What) is enough of a reason to buy this compelling and seriously cool work. What we want to know is: how did the publisher design it for the price?"
---The Weekly Review
"In our current world of straight-jacketed rationality almost to the point of insanity, The Exquisite Book launches us into the madness of possibility and the frightening potential of our own imagination."
--Big Think
About the Author
Julia Rothman, Jenny Volvovski, and Matt Lamothe are partners in Also Design. Julia is author of the popular blog Book-By-Its-Cover.com.
Dave Eggers is a writer and editor.
Dave Eggers is a writer and editor.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By kybrdplyr
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I tried to read this book from cover to cover, visually, and it was just not enough. I now display one fold out page per week or as long as is necessary to really see at what I am looking. This book fits the criteria for the kind of art I hang on my walls: it must be endlessly visually compelling and it must grab my heart. Add to that the intellectual curiosity of each artist's piece and this book becomes a mini-museum of delight. Congratulations on the concept and thank you.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By Imagine This
Format:Hardcover
This book is so creative and smart. The illustrations are beautiful and will pull you in to discover what the connections are from one to the other. When I looked at it with a friend, I discovered that we each saw different connecting entry points and that made it ever more captivating. Dave Eggers introduction is so true, that however complicated, all our stories are in some way connected. This was a huge undertaking...a hundred contemporary artists participating by responding to a previous artist is done to perfection. The fold=out design was a perfect format. You will look at this over and over and then match the interview as to why the artists responded the way they did. Art teachers will especially want to try this with students and use the book as an example. The variety of ideas and the playfulness are refreshing and gorgeous.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is not just thought provoking, it's also really fun! It is obvious most of the artists put a lot of time and creativity into their page, and I like the "chapter" themes the editors came up with. Over time I'm sure I will be looking up my favorites to see what kind of other work the various artists have done. The production quality is very good, especially for such a reasonable price, with good binding, folding and clear print quality throughout.
Granted, this book is not perfect, in that the editors definitely should have sent a few pictures back with a "read the rules and try again" note because some artists acted as if they just couldn't be bothered with actually lining up their painting with the page before. Seriously, that's the point of the whole book! Luckily, on balance most DID try to work with the previous images, and in many cases the connections made between multiple images is truly fantastic. Also luckily, even the paintings that are "on their own" are usually good works too. Still, it can be annoying to see a great series of pictures kind of come to a dead end when the next artist maybe uses one tiny line to "connect" and ignores all the interesting possibilities the previous image had!
I'd love to see this project done again in the future with other artists and designers; you really could never run out of things you could do with this concept!
Granted, this book is not perfect, in that the editors definitely should have sent a few pictures back with a "read the rules and try again" note because some artists acted as if they just couldn't be bothered with actually lining up their painting with the page before. Seriously, that's the point of the whole book! Luckily, on balance most DID try to work with the previous images, and in many cases the connections made between multiple images is truly fantastic. Also luckily, even the paintings that are "on their own" are usually good works too. Still, it can be annoying to see a great series of pictures kind of come to a dead end when the next artist maybe uses one tiny line to "connect" and ignores all the interesting possibilities the previous image had!
I'd love to see this project done again in the future with other artists and designers; you really could never run out of things you could do with this concept!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Hard to fully embrace a chaotic result, but interesting all the same
First, the price of this book makes it easy for me to recommend, albeit slightly, that you purchase this if interested. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Kilgore Gagarin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eye candy
I could just sit for hours and look at this book. I love all of the creativity that went in to all of the designs.
Simply fabulous.
Simply fabulous.
Published 19 months ago by JenBen
2.0 out of 5 stars
not what i expected
I must say I expected more from this book, not to good paper, not so good pictures, a good Idea....
Published 20 months ago by marisopa
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun
A fun artistic collaboration. Love books with pages that fold out - gives me a sense of tactile play as well as a delightful feast for my eyes.
Published 20 months ago by Jambo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exquisite indeed
This book showcases the talents of some wonderful artists - not the least of whom are those who put the whole project together. I love collaborations, and this book is a great one. Read more
Published on March 28, 2011 by Happy Registrar
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Exquisite Book
The Book is amazing! Great concept, perfect execution, nice format. A must for designers, artists and people who love the game approach to important things in life. Read more
Published on January 18, 2011 by Kiril Z
5.0 out of 5 stars
truly exquisite
This book is lovely. The impressive compilation of artists weaves together a wonderfully creative masterpiece. Read more
Published on January 9, 2011 by Lila
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful!!!
I bought this book for my friend for Christmas and just received it in the mail today. It is an absolutely beautiful book to look through and I don't know what I was thinking not... Read more
Published on December 21, 2010 by hcb2491
5.0 out of 5 stars
love this book
I am so in love with this book... I can't believe how beautiful it is. I'm really interested in illustrations lately (as I've started to do it myself a bit) and I am so amazed by... Read more
Published on December 10, 2010 by Jana
2.0 out of 5 stars
Don't judge a book by a book by its cover.
I bought this book here after reading about it on the book-by-its-cover blog, which I really enjoy. I loved the concept, and I still think it's a great idea. Read more
Published on October 4, 2010 by Amy
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