Video and Books Objects & Meaning: New Perspectives on Art and Craft Picasso and Ceramics Art Deco Bookbindings: The Work of Pierre Legrain and Rose Adler Asian Games: The Art of Contest Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830 Bernd Munsteiner: Relexionen in Stein / Reflections in Stone ¡Carnaval! Luminous Art: Hanukkah Menorahs of the Jewish Museum Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Precious Gemstones Archive
	Objects & Meaning: New Perspectives on Art and Craft edited by M. Anna Fariello and Paula Owen, 2004, Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD, 800-462-6420. 235 pages, essays by the editors and 10 contributors, illustrated. $45. What is the place of craft within an art-historical continuum? What are the “institutional systems” that have separated craft from art? Are craft artists doomed to perpetual second-class status in the art world and have they contributed to it by sheltering themselves within their own insular institutions? What are different ways of “reading” the craft object? These are among the questions addressed in this anthology of essays by 10 artists, curators, editors, critics and scholars, who share the co-editors’ concern with the ways “various academic disciplines and cultural institutions approach and assign meaning to the artist-made object in North America.” Selected by M. Anna Fariello, an independent curator and a faculty member at Virginia Tech, and Paula Owen, president of the Southwest School of Art & Craft, San Antonio, Texas, the essays are drawn from previously published or presented material and are loosely organized into three sections: Historical Contexts, Cultural Systems and Theoretical Frames. TOP
	Picasso and Ceramics 2004, Editions Hazan, Paris, France, available from Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, Canada, 416-408-5066. 288 pages, contributions by Paul Bourassa, Harald Theil, Yves Peltier, Marie-Noelle Delorme and Léopold Foulem, illustrated. $65. Throughout his life, Pablo Picasso turned his protean talents to ceramics, producing an estimated 4,500 pieces, and introducing bold innovations in his treatment of surface and volume. “What sets him apart as a ceramist is his grasp of ceramics as a specific, autonomous art form, rather than just a painter/sculptor with clay,” write Léopold Foulem and Paul Bourassa, in this striking catalog of a touring exhibition. “In his ceramic work Picasso made use of a number of the craft’s technical resources. Even if he sometimes fractured the medium’s traditions, his approach was that of an artist who was also a true ceramist.” The show, with more than 140 works, including 21 historical examples that were sources of inspiration for Picasso, was organized by the Musée National des Beaux–Arts de Quebec, the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art and Musée Picasso, Antibes, France, the final venue (through May 29). The book gives a chronology of Picasso’s encounters with ceramics and discusses such collaborators as Josep Llorans Artigas, Suzanne Ramié and others, and his connection to the Vallauris pottery. TOP
	Art Deco Bookbindings: The Work of Pierre Legrain and Rose Adler by Yves Peyré and H. George Fletcher, 2004, Princeton Architectural Press, New York, NY, 212-995-9620, in association with the New York Public Library, 212-930-0641. 120 pages, illustrated. $35. Among the most innovative and consummately crafted examples of the bookbinder’s art are the Art Deco bindings made in France during the early 20th century by Pierre Legrain and Rose Adler. Their patron, Jacques Doucet, a couturier, collector, bibliophile and philanthropist, commissioned them to design bindings for his collection of books and manuscripts by celebrated French writers. This elegant catalog of a 2004 exhibition at the New York Public Library spotlights 45 works—24 designed by Legrain, 21 by Adler, all executed by skilled artisans—that exemplify each designer’s ability to unite luxury and simplicity. Yves Peyré’s essay explores the works’ influence on modern design.
	Asian Games: The Art of Contest edited by Colin Mackenzie and Irving Finkel, 2004, Asia Society, New York, NY, 212-327-9217. 326 pages, texts by the editors and nine contributors, illustrated. $45 paperback. “There is scarcely a society in the ancient or modern world in which games of some kind have not flourished, and these games reflect in some measure a shared human heritage,” write the scholars Colin Mackenzie and Irving Finkel, in their preface to this richly illustrated catalog of an exhibition at Asia Society last fall. Through an assemblage of some 200 objects—from museums in the United States, Europe, Japan and China—that comprise both the paraphernalia of games—among them, chess, pachisi (Parcheesi) Snakes and Ladders, and Mahjong—and paintings, prints and decorative arts depicting people playing games, the book examines the role of these activities in the diverse societies of pre-modern Asia. The objects include spectacular game sets from the 12th to the 19th century, Persian and Indian court paintings and illuminated manuscripts from the 16th to the 18th century and Chinese and Japanese scroll paintings, screens, ceramics and other decorative arts. Among their goals, the authors hope to stimulate an interest in playing board games in an age of the electronic variety. “The physical satisfaction of holding a well-crafted gaming piece . . . or of hearing the sonorous click of the pieces as they are placed on the board, does not exist in an electronic universe.” The exhibition is at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Washington, DC, through May 15, and tours in a modified version to the Middlebury College Museum of Art, Vermont, September 15 – December 11. TOP
	Totems to Turquoise: Native North American Jewelry Arts of the Northwest and Southwest Kari Chalker, general editor; Lois S. Dubin and Peter M. Whiteley, contributing editors, 2004, Harry N. Abrams, New York, NY, 800-345-1359. American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY. 224 pages, essays by the editors, Martine Reid, Martha A. Albrecht and Jim Hart, illustrated. $45. “Native American jewelry frequently embodies larger cultural themes in miniature, making cosmic theories accessible and understandable at a human scale,” write Lois S. Dubin and Peter M. Whiteley, in the companion book to the exhibition they curated at the American Museum of Natural History (through July 10), which brings together two artistically sophisticated but distinct traditions and styles of American Indian jewelry. In general, the Northwest artists focus on carving, while their Southwest counterparts strive for painterly effects, especially through using such stones as turquoise, coral and lapis. The exhibition grew out of a cultural exchange program in 2000 that brought five Haida artists to Arizona and New Mexico and ten Southwest Native artists to British Columbia. The artists discovered many commonalities in their world views despite the differences in geography and culture. In this attractively designed and illustrated book, 39 contemporary masters—17 from the Northwest, 22 from the Southwest—discuss their works, techniques and influences. Historical photographs lend context and augment the photography of the artists and their works commissioned for the book. TOP
	The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830 by Elena Phipps, Johanna Hecht and Cristina Esteras Martín, 2004, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 203-432-0961. 396 pages, 14 contributors, illustrated. $75. The encounter between the Spanish arriving in 1532 on the coast of what is now Peru and the socially complex and artistically sophisticated Inca Empire resulted in a remarkable cultural interaction. Tapestry weaving and silverwork, for centuries two of the outstanding art forms in the Andes, flourished, once the Viceroyalty of Peru was established, as many skilled indigenous artists were inspired by new design sources from around the world. “Colonial weavers did not simply copy foreign models and European design directives,” writes co-curator Elena Phipps. “They creatively combined traditional techniques, materials, and patterns with European forms and motifs to produce a corpus of tapestries that are a unique expression of colonial aesthetic values.” Silverwork was similarly transformed. With the discovery, soon after the Conquest, of vast deposits of silver in the mountains above the town of Potosí (in modern Bolivia), there was an insatiable demand for domestic objects of every kind, as well as ecclesiastical pieces, most of them floridly ornamental. This companion book to a recent exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art presents more than 160 silver objects, textiles and other masterpieces of colonial Andean culture. The essays examine the cultural context of these works—in particular the role of the Catholic Church—and the aesthetic interests and themes of the makers. TOP
	Bernd Munsteiner: Relexionen in Stein / Reflections in Stone edited by Wilhelm Lindemann, 2004, Arnoldsche Art Publishers, Stuttgart, Germany. Antique Collectors’ Club, Easthampton, MA, 800-252-5231. 224 pages, texts by the editor and five contributors, English and German, illustrated. $75. In a career of more than 40 years, the German artist Bernd Munsteiner has created a unique oeuvre of sculpture based on the aesthetic properties of gemstones, or what he prefers to call minerals. Trained in gem-cutting by his father and in jewelry design at the Fachhochschule für Gestaltung, Pforzheim, Munsteiner focuses on transparent stones such as rock crystal, aquamarine and citrine, starting his exploration with the inclusions, or “impurities,” that help create the individual “landscape” of the stone, in defiance of what might be regarded as its market valuation. Illustrated with dramatic photographs of his major sculptures and jewelry and of the artist at work, this monograph provides rich insights into Munsteiner’s innovative methods and technical skill, his aesthetic philosophy and his collaborations with and influence on other artists. TOP
	¡Carnaval! edited by Barbara Mauldin, 2004, Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM. University of Washington Press, Seattle, 800-441-4115. 352 pages, essays by the editor and 10 contributors, illustrated. $60 hardcover, $40 paperback. Carnaval, the Spanish word for the annual pre-Lenten festival also known as Carnival, Mardi Gras, Fasnacht and Entroido, is celebrated in many communities across Europe and the Americas with elaborate costumes, masquerades, parades and performances. Accompanying a traveling exhibition, at the Museum of International Folk Art through August 28, this exuberant book transports viewers to 11 locations where Carnival is deeply rooted in the culture: rural Bulgaria; Venice, Italy; Basel, Switzerland; Basile and New Orleans, Louisiana; Tlaxcala, Mexico; Pernambuco, Brazil; Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; and Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The essays describe the distinctive attributes of Carnival and trace its history and evolution in each locale. The exhibition recreates the Carnival experience through 49 colorful costumes, video programs and large-scale photo murals. Profusely illustrated with photographs of the dynamic festivals, the book has an extensive bibliography. TOP
	Luminous Art: Hanukkah Menorahs of the Jewish Museum by Susan L. Braunstein, 2004, the Jewish Museum, New York, NY. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, 203-432-0163. 256 pages, illustrated. $50. The nightly kindling of lights during the eight-day festival of Hanukkah commemorates the liberation and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem in 164 B.C. Over the centuries, Hanukkah lamps have become one of the most significant and diverse of Jewish ceremonial objects. This book presents 114 Hanukkah lamps (the traditional nine-branch menorah, as well as other forms) selected from the more than 600 examples in the collection of the Jewish Museum. The lamps date from the Renaissance to our own time, and were created from a variety of materials—the majority are metal—in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, North Africa and the Americas. Learned and lively, the text by Susan L. Braunstein, curator of archaeology and Judaica at the museum, tells the story of each lamp, accounting for the interaction of historical events, Jewish law, artistic expression and personal experience. Included among the American artists and designers who have taken the Hanukkah lamp in innovative directions are Moshe Zabari, Peter Shire, Otto Natzler, Matthew MacCaslin, Richard Meier and Harley Swedler. TOP
	Secrets of the Gem Trade: The Connoisseur’s Guide to Precious Gemstones by Richard W. Wise, 2003, Brunswick House Press, Lenox MA, 413-637-1589. 292 pages, illustrated. $79.95. The goals of Richard W. Wise, a goldsmith turned gemologist and journalist, here are twofold: to establish a methodology for evaluating and quantifying beauty in gems, and to offer an overview of the gem trade worldwide that is the result of more than 20 years of travel and research. In Part I, Wise discusses the concept of preciousness, explains the criteria for connoisseurship as the Four C’s—Color, Clarity, Cut and Crystal—delves into color, light, and grading, and points out new sources. In Part II, “Probes: A New List of Precious Gems,” he discusses specific gem types—alexandrite, agates, garnets, tourmalines, to name a few—describing their production sites around the world and applying his methodology to them. Intended for collectors and connoisseurs, the books should also appeal to jewelry artists using gems. Wise includes images of what he calls “gem sculptures” and jewelry such as a pendant by the noted Margaret DePatta collaborating with the pioneer lapidary Francis J. Sperison. An extensive glossary and a bibliography complete this valuable reference.
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