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Broad Strokes by Bridget Quinn

Title: Broad Strokes: 15 Women Who Made Art and Made History (in that Order)

Author: Bridget Quinn

Publisher: Chronicle 2017

Genre: Nonfiction - Art History

Pages: 192

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nonfiction Reader

Historically, major women artists have been excluded from the mainstream art canon. Aligned with the resurgence of feminism in pop culture, Broad Strokes offers an entertaining corrective to that omission. Art historian Bridget Quinn delves into the lives and careers of 15 female artists from around the globe in text that's smart, feisty, educational, and an enjoyable read. Replete with beautiful reproductions of the artists' works and contemporary portraits of each artist by renowned illustrator Lisa Congdon, this is art history from the Renaissance to Abstract Expressionism for the modern art lover, reader, and feminist.

An online bookish friend recommended this book and I immediately got it from the library. I took two amazing Women Artists in History classes in college, and this book brought me right back to that space of learning. I knew about a few of the women profiled here, but not others. I loved the conversational style of writing highlighting these women’s lives and accomplishments. I loved seeing some of their work in the pages. And I especially love bringing history out of the closet. This would be the perfect gift book for someone interested in women and art.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

enchantra.jpg water moon.jpg uzumaki.jpg tombs.jpg black paradox.jpg gyo.jpg great big.jpg alley.jpg deserter.jpg soichi.jpg book of the most.jpg jujutsu13.jpg jujutsu14.jpg jujutsu15.jpg seoulmates.jpg twisted1.jpg jujutsu16.jpg twisted2.jpg twisted3.jpg twisted4.jpg
tags: Bridget Quinn, nonfiction, Nonfiction Reader, art, history, 4 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Wednesday 07.17.24
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

The Poet and the Murderer by Simon Worrall

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Title: The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime and the Art of Forgery

Author: Simon Worrall

Publisher: Plume 2002

Genre: History

Pages: 270

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Popsugar - True Crime; A to Z - P

In The Poet and the Murderer, acclaimed journalist Simon Worrall takes readers into the haunting mind of Mark Hofmann, one of the most daring literary forgers and remorseless murderers of the late twentieth century.

I really really really wanted to enjoyed this mystery/history, and yet I didn't love it. It's a good book and a very interesting premise. I love books about solving history's mysteries, but this one just fell flat for me. The writing style is a bit dry and plodding. I would have loved a narrative history approach to this one. But instead, we get what reads like a newspaper article. A 270 page newspaper article. I just couldn't stay connected to the story. Good book, just not for me...

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Next up on the TBR pile:

enchantra.jpg water moon.jpg uzumaki.jpg tombs.jpg black paradox.jpg gyo.jpg great big.jpg alley.jpg deserter.jpg soichi.jpg book of the most.jpg jujutsu13.jpg jujutsu14.jpg jujutsu15.jpg seoulmates.jpg twisted1.jpg jujutsu16.jpg twisted2.jpg twisted3.jpg twisted4.jpg
tags: Simon Worrall, U-S- History, art, 3 stars
categories: Book Reviews
Sunday 02.18.18
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Sprezzatura by Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish

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Title: Sprezzatura: 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World

Author: Peter D'Epiro and Mary Desmond Pinkowish

Publisher: Anchor Books 2001

Genre: Nonfiction -- history

Pages: 396

Rating:  4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey -- 940s; My Years -- 2001; Fall into Reading

How I Got It: Library loan

A witty, erudite celebration of fifty great Italian cultural achievements that have significantly influenced Western civilization from the authors of What Are the Seven Wonders of the World? The word "sprezzatura," or the art of effortless mastery, was coined in 1528 by Baldassare Castiglione in The Book of the Courtier. No one has demonstrated effortless mastery throughout history quite like the Italians. From the Roman calendar and the creator of the modern orchestra (Claudio Monteverdi) to the beginnings of ballet and the creator of modern political science (Niccolò Machiavelli), Sprezzatura highlights fifty great Italian cultural achievements in a series of fifty information-packed essays in chronological order.

A very detailed overview over 50 gifts from Italy.  I was familiar, at least in a general sense, with all 50 entrants.  I especially enjoyed the chapters on satire, the Roman Republic, Dante's Divine Comedy, the legacy of law, and da Vinci.  While I overall enjoyed the volume, I didn't dive completely in because of my prior knowledge.  I guess I am too much of a history buff truly enjoy skimming the topic books.  I need to grab onto deeper tomes.

tags: 4 stars, art, Mary Desmond Pinkowish, Peter D'Epiro
categories: Book Reviews
Thursday 12.06.12
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun by Gita May

Title: Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun

Author: Gita May

Publisher: Yale University 2005

Genre: Nonfiction - Biography

Pages: 256

Rating:  4 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Dewey -- 750s; Mixing It Up -- Biography

How I Got It: Library Loan

The foremost woman artist of her age, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755—1842) exerted her considerable charm to become the friend, and then official portraitist, of Marie Antoinette. Though profitable, this role made Vigée Le Brun a public and controversial figure, and in 1789 it precipitated her exile. In a Europe torn by strife and revolution, she nevertheless managed to thrive as an independent, self-supporting artist, doggedly setting up studios in Rome, Naples, Venice, Milan, Vienna, St. Petersburg, and London. Long overlooked or dismissed, Vigée Le Brun’s portraits now hang in the Louvre, in a room of their own, as well as in all leading art museums of the world.

I first encountered Vigee Le Brun in my Women Artists class in college.  I instantly liked her neoclassical style of painting.  I can't believe that I never picked up a biography in the intervening years.  Thankfully I snatched this from the library shelves.  May does not disappoint in giving insight to a talented woman painter of the late 18th century.  Vigee Le Brun had the fortune of natural talent, a family that supported her painting, and the acquaintances of many rich patrons.  Originally my favorite of her paintings was Marie Antoinette with Her Children (1787), but after reading more about her own life, I love her self portraits.  She had a way of capturing people in a moment.  The paintings are less static than more neoclassicists.  I get a sense of movement in the poses.  They are almost like candid photographs.  Behind her actual art, I loved hearing about her early life and later travels throughout Europe.  And I now have a deeper understanding of the French Revolution's effects on the participants.  Overall,  a great biography of a great artists.

My current favorite painting: Self Portait in a Turban with Her Child 1786

tags: 4 stars, art, Gita May, nonfiction, vigée le brun
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 09.21.12
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
Comments: 1
 

Spring Break Vacation Part 3/3

See Part 1

See Part 2

Days 8-9 were spent in the Pittsburgh area.

Day 8: Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History.  Awesomely they are in the same building and one admission price gets you into both.  The boys were over the moon with the dinosaurs.  J loved the art museum.  And I really liked everything.  I really am a museum whore and proud of it!

Pictures: Working lab, Allosaurus, boys in front of the T Rexes, Boys being paleontologists, main staircase, Terpsichore Muse of Lyric Poetry

Day 9: We drove about an hour outside of Pittsburg to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater.  I've been to his house in Oak Park (Chicago) and see the designs there.  But I've always wanted to see Fallingwater.  The boys even enjoyed it!  Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the house.

Day 10: J and I drove back to Omaha.  On to the moving!

tags: architecture, art, Carnegie Mellon, museum, Pittsburgh, vacation
categories: Life
Tuesday 04.17.12
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Art of Reading

Girl Reading by Charles Edward Perugini

Girl Reading by Charles Edward Perugini

Beautiful paintings of women engaged in reading.  I love the postures, the colors, the facial expressions.  Nothing is better than relaxing in a great setting reading a book.  Somehow I don't think that taking a photo of me reading would  convey the same sense of serenity.  These paintings are much more expressive of how I see the art of reading.  Hope you appreciate these as much as I do!

tags: art, reading
categories: Life
Thursday 12.23.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Beauty of Earth

I found these pictures of various locations of earth from one of my "interesting" blogs.  The images were taken by satellites and then false color was added.  The one I feature definitely reminds me of Van Gogh's "Starry Night".  The green patches are phosphorescent plankton.  I love the swirls of the ocean compared with the green and brown of the land.  It's a beautiful contrast.  Seeing an entire island this small, I feel like a speck on the earth.  And really I am.  I am one of ~6 billion people on the earth.  One of ~300 million in the United States.  One of ~6 million in Indiana.  One of ~300,000 in Allen county.  I am small compared to those giant numbers, but I love these photos.  They give me a tangible perspective.  I am really enjoying the beauty depicted.  And after the day I had today, I need something beautiful.  So enjoy!

Gotland, Sweden

Gotland, Sweden

tags: art, nature
categories: Life
Tuesday 11.23.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

Frankenstein Apple

While randomly browsing through the internet, I ran across this photo.  Interesting, weird, slightly disturbing, beautiful... Are those contradictory?  No, I think not.  Those words describe this photo perfectly.

 Apple OP by wolkentanzer

 Apple OP by wolkentanzer

Phrases that come to mind: A juxtaposition.  Opposites attract.  A monster.  A mash-up of sorts.

Thoughts after viewing: This is a perfect visual representation of my life right now.  I feel like I have these two sides that I'm trying to stick together.  But they don't connect naturally.  They may even in fact be polar opposites.  The flimsy staples are a an attempt to connect two very different pieces.

I have recently started a new job.  After three years of teaching high school social studies, my school closed.  I now have a part-time job doing marketing for a Facebook application company.  You might be thinking "Okay just a career change."  But here's the thing, I've always wanted to be a teacher.  And the three years I was getting paid (very little, but that's another story), I absolutely loved it.  I love teaching (and teaching high schoolers to boot).  As a child, I would play "school" with my stuffed animals and dolls.  I think I was destined to be a teacher.  But my school closed and then I was going to move to another state to attend law school.  But then that plan had to be put on hold indefinitely.  So, then I needed a job.  And guess what?  The local school systems are in the process of cutting the budget and that means cutting jobs.  Bottom line: no teaching jobs available in the immediate area.

I went on unemployment and started applying for anything and everything that would make about the same salary.  (Hey!  I have two kids to try and support and need a livable income.)  Surprise surprise, nothing really out there.  Oh there are tons of job listings on Careebuilder and Monster and the like, but none of those companies really seem to be hiring.  For example, the local hospital was hiring patient registrars.  I worked for an orthopedic surgeon off and on for the past 6 years.  Guess what I did?  Check patients in and out, schedule. answer phones.  And this hospital told me that I wasn't qualified for the position.  Phooey!

About two weeks ago I was offered a job as a Marketing Intern for this new company. What do I know about marketing?  Nothing really. I'm making this up as a I go along.  I've checked out books from the library.  I've read people's blogs.  So far, so good...

But this isn't my dream job.  I don't want to be doing this for the next five years.  I want to get back into teaching or go to law school and be a student.

Right now my life really feels like this Frankenstein Apple.

http://wolkentanzer.deviantart.com/

tags: art, jobs, teaching
categories: Life
Friday 11.19.10
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
 

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