Longhorn Reviews » falstaffpicks

[Longhorn Review] The art of Harvey Kurtzman : the mad genius of comics

tdomf_4d405 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:31:14 +0000

Thank Harvey Kurtzman for Mad Magazine, if you are old enough to remember when it was good, or if not, for The Simpsons whose creators were influenced by him as youths. Or whatever hilarious subversive satire the kids are reading and watching these days. He was a subversive genius when it wasn’t so lucrative.

[Longhorn Review] Meadowlands

tdomf_4d405 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:46:07 +0000

Wonderful photography and essays about an area that we usually see only from planes (landing at Newark Liberty) or from the road and rail links that cross it.

[Longhorn Review] A.C.I. : art catalogue index : catalogues raisonnés

tdomf_4d405 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:39:58 +0000

What a great new reference source! A much needed index of catalogues raisonnes, complete works of an artist.

[Longhorn Review] New York sleeps

tdomf_4d405 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:38:51 +0000

The photographs in this book are beautiful, scene of New York without any people!

Split sides videorecording / Cunningham Dance Foundation presents Merce Cunningham Dance Company

tdomf_4d405 — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:40:42 +0000

R.I.P., Mr. C.
modern dance would have been a different thing without you and it will never be the same.

Looking in : Robert Franks The Americans

Matt — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 16:51:01 +0000

Some amazing photographs of Americans and America.

A moving presence

jade — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:36:04 +0000

a film by Kent De Spain, UT Theatre and Dance faculty member.

Into the sunset : photography’s image of the American West

jade — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:30:54 +0000

Interesting juxtaposition of photographs of the West.

A strange eventful history : the dramatic lives of Ellen Terry, Henry Irving, and their remarkable families

Matt — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:51:54 +0000

From the 9/6/08 Times review by Michael Arditti: “He [Holroyd] creates a saga in which the glories of an older generation are dissipated by children.”

Role models : feminine identity in contemporary American photography

jade — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:21:04 +0000

This book is full of beautiful and provocative photographs.

Outside the dream syndicate

jade — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:49:50 +0000

The heavier side of American Minimalism.

Christian Lacroix : histoires de mode

jade — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 16:43:11 +0000

Quoting Eddy in the BBC’s Absolutely Fabulous, “Lacroix, darling.”

The printmaking bible : the complete guide to materials and techniques

jade — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:02:44 +0000

A resource for inspiration as well as a review of technique. This book has it all for the contemporary printmaker.

Das grosse Lachen = hearty laughter

jade — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:56:17 +0000

Hieronymous Bosch meets Julie Speed, paintings by a Chinese artist who now lives in Munich.

At right, “Kardinal II”; At left, “East Meets West,” collaborative self-portrait with Dietmar Gross

Enclosure. 8

jade — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:52:05 +0000

This DVD contains excellent documentary films of Partch’s music and workplace. Totally fascinating material.

Helvetica

jade — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:42:02 +0000

An interesting documentary that provides excellent perspective into this omni-present font’s place in the world.

The music of Joni Mitchell

jade — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:11:31 +0000

A good, perhaps overly detailed, analysis of Joni Mitchell’s works, from the beginning of her career through the most recent. Many of the descriptions of specific songs reminded me of my first connections with them – um, a few years ago!

Subodh Gupta : Gandhi’s three monkeys

jade — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:08:44 +0000

An amazing contemporary artist that sculpture enthusiasts should know about…

America

jade — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 18:05:21 +0000

Real, provocative, startling images.

The Fosse style

jade — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:22:24 +0000

Choreographer for musicals “The Pajama Game,” “Damn Yankees!,” “Sweet Charity,” “Cabaret,” “Pippin,” and “Chicago,” among others

Nature and its symbols

jade — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:19:19 +0000

These volumes in the Guide to Imagery series continue to be of use to students studying iconography. Over and over again, the answers to meanings of subjects within artworks are found in these volumes.

Trisha Brown : so that the audience does not know whether I have stopped dancing

jade — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:14:31 +0000

The Walker Art Center presents the exhibition Trisha Brown: So That the Audience Does Not Know Whether I Have Stopped Dancing, the centerpiece of a spectrum of programs honoring the 40-year career of this contemporary dance icon at a moment of increasing interest in the broad sweep of her work and its influence. Providing an in-depth look at Brown’s visual arts practice, the exhibition features a survey of the artist’s drawings going back thirty-five years, a live early performance work in the gallery, and videos of seminal early performances.”
from e-flux: http://www.e-flux.com/shows/view/5332

Patterns 2: design, art and architecture

Matt — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:29:06 +0000

Part 2 of this wildly successful and satisfying book series, which connects works art, architecture, and a variety of other disciplines through patterns.

Astral Glamour

Matt — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:26:04 +0000

Vampire Weekend was far from the first group to incorporate African influence into snotty white kid music, and Radiohead was certainly not the first to try to sell their music on their own. The Homosexuals were a shifting group of punk rockers in the UK who set out to make avant garde music in a totally insular, outsider manner. The result was they self-released a ton of projects on their own label It’s War Boys that ultimately sound like they may be the best DIY, kitchen-sink pop recordings ever. Collected on three CDs in this set are all of the recordings they issued as The Homosexuals.

Dancer in the Dark

Matt — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:24:13 +0000

A tragically beautiful mixture of musical theater and cinematography. Bjork stars as a factory worker fighting a losing battle to save her son’s vision. And she sings, too!

Ornament as art: avant-garde jewelry from the Helen Williams Drutt collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Matt — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:18:56 +0000

From the publisher: “Presents 800 jewelry objects and drawings from 1960 through 2006 by more than 170 international jewelry artists in the Helen Williams Drutt Collection at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Includes essays about Minimalist and Conceptual influences and the history behind the collection, a chronology, and artist biographies.”

Obsolete systems

Matt — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 17:31:57 +0000

“When it was new, each of these music systems, now long obsolete, was state of the art, visionary, radically new and so revolutionary that it required extended explanations in response to common questions such as ‘Why would anyone ever want to do that?’ ” -Laurie Spiegel

St. Giles Cripplegate

Matt — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:28:07 +0000

Here is Jack Nitzsche’s massive and beautiful orchestral work that brilliantly captures what’s compelling about the classical avant garde in the 20th century.

Most will recognize Nitzsche’s name for his work scoring films like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Performance” as well as arranging for Phil Spector, Stevie Wonder, Neil Young, and pretty much everyone else too.

Jazz in silhouette [sound recording] : images and forecasts of tomorrow

Matt — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:24:33 +0000

Finally we have a good selection of Sun Ra material. This is one of my favorites. Eloquent and odd jazz that’s deeply satisfying

The $12 million stuffed shark : the curious economics of contemporary art and auction houses

Matt — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:36:55 +0000

For an eye-opening study of the market for art and why some artists are paid millions and others starve, this is a fascinating read. Full of gory detail about how dealers, auction houses, collectors and artists operate.

Persian electronic music: yesterday and today

Matt — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:33:55 +0000

Some very fine electronic music from Persia. A compilation spanning 40 years.

Czech Eden

Matt — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 14:39:34 +0000

Matthew Monteith’s images of the people and the environment of the Czech Republic are provocative. They both pull you in and keep you out. Some landscapes are pastoral and others are industrial. Portraits of individuals look right at you but you have no idea what they are thinking. I was mesmerized by the images in this book.

The magical life of Long Tack Sam [videorecording]

Matt — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:45:16 +0000

Interesting glimpse into the world during WWI-WWII and especially vaudeville life during this time.

p.s. Great fashions and costumes!

The magical life of Long Tack Sam

Matt — Sat, 03 May 2008 14:42:22 +0000

Interesting glimpse into the world during WWI-WWII and especially vaudeville life during this time.

p.s. Great fashions and costumes!

Films & videos

Meg — Thu, 01 May 2008 16:54:45 +0000

Some of the most genuinely enjoyable experimental film and videowork, bar none.

Martin Parr

Matt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:07:29 +0000

Recommended by Adam.

Cannibal, the Musical

Matt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 15:03:18 +0000

Biopic of Colorado’s favorite son/cannibal Alferd Packer; it’s an early effort by Southpark’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Wikipedia has a lot to say about it. This is a good example of what Wikipedia is good for. And an EXCELLENT illustration of the fact that it doesn’t have to be fine art to be available at the Fine Arts Library!

Shoes: the complete sourcebook

Matt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:56:06 +0000

Almost all illustrations – drawings and photographs of SHOES!

Offjects: concepts and designs for a change of century

Matt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:47:53 +0000

An exhibition of object design since 1992, household objects that remind us that design is part of our everyday life. And I just love the title!

A performer’s guide to music of the classical period

Matt — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:28:26 +0000

Three picks from different publishers and different years that we received within the last month or so; they could almost be companion volumes:

A performer’s guide to music of the Baroque period

Matt — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:26:41 +0000

Three picks from different publishers and different years that we received within the last month or so; they could almost be companion volumes:

A performer’s guide to Renaissance music

Matt — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 15:13:26 +0000

Three picks from different publishers and different years that we received within the last month or so; they could almost be companion volumes:

The Holy Modal Rounders–Bound to Lose

Matt — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 15:30:19 +0000

The director answered questions at a recent screening of this film. Wacky guys, wacky times, and Sam Shepard! www.boundtolose.com

Been rich all my life

Matt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:20:13 +0000

“Meet the Silver Belles, five tap dancers who performed in the 1930s in Harlem at the famed Apollo and Cotton Club. Together again, they’re dancing to standing ovations and sharing stories of the Harlem Renaissance.”

How can you lose?

The ultimate scene & monologue sourcebook

Matt — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:00:06 +0000

Finally after 13 years! A new edition of the we-need-to-find-a-sceners bible.

Stimmung [sound recording]

Matt — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:10:08 +0000

Superior vocal works from under the direction of Paul Hillier. Stimmung is scored specifically for voice, while his treatment of “In C” is a new and extremely well done approach to the piece.

Philip Plisson’s Celtic Coastlines

Matt — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:54:40 +0000

I like it because it has a huge photo of part of the town of Aberystwyth including the Old College, where I studied, and also the house in which I lived for 3 years, and the building in which I had my natural food store! Also many other great photos of the sea along the coastlines of the 6 celtic countries.

In C

Matt — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 17:59:49 +0000

This item was chosen as a Fine Arts Library Staff pick in June 2009.

Seed queen : the story of crop art and the amazing Lillian Colton

Matt — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:05:55 +0000

The subject headings say it all:
Celebrities — United States — Portraits.
Seeds as art material — United States.

Ellis Island; Book of Days

Matt — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 18:00:38 +0000

Two films by one of America’s most interesting composers and performers.

La jetée ; Sans soleil

Matt — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:48:23 +0000

Two landmark films finally on DVD. Extreme exploration of image-making and storytelling.

Who is Bozo Texino? : the epic account of the improbable discovery for the true identity of the world’s greatest boxcar artist

Matt — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 17:43:32 +0000

Here is a great film from a once-local film maker (Bill Daniel) about box-car-writers …. was that the beginnings of graffiti? More at www.billdaniel.net/who_is_bozo_texino/info.

Shakey : Neil Young’s biography

Matt — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:11:23 +0000

Not only a great biography of an incredibly important musician, it is also an interesting overview of rock from the sixties to the nineties.

Solo piano [sound recording] / Gonzales

Matt — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:08:44 +0000

A surprising disc coming from this South American MC. Sounding something like an expert mixing of Keith Jarrett and Erik Satie (in his more imaginative stylings), Gonzales has made a thoroughly enjoyable and memorable album of piano sketches that are at turns elegiac, ecstatic, comatose. The sound quality of the recording leaves something to be desired (expect a small amount of background noise and damage if you turn it up) but it also adds its fair share of charm to the recording, coming across as a work of private, brilliant impulse. Odd, but a CD to play again and again.

The Elements of Drawing

Meg — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:53:16 +0000

The chapter on Ruskin in the above de Botton book describes Ruskin’s view that drawing can teach us to see, and that everyone should draw.

The Art of Travel

Meg — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 17:44:40 +0000

How art has influenced what we consider beautiful in the world, and how an appreciation of art can enhance your travels and your life. “Although we are inundated with advice on where to travel, few people seem to talk about why we should go and how we can become more fulfilled by doing so.”—from the jacket blurb

Passione

Matt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:41:03 +0000

These three CD’s are performed by Antonio Florio and the Cappella de’ Turchini who are reviving baroque music of Naples.

Motets

Matt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:40:56 +0000

These three CD’s are performed by Antonio Florio and the Cappella de’Turchini who are reviving baroque music of Naples.

La bella devozione [sound recording]

Matt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:29:24 +0000

These three CD’s are performed by Antonio Florio and the Cappella de’ Turchini who are reviving baroque music of Naples.

The Well-tuned piano in The magenta lights

Matt — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:13:33 +0000

A complete 6-hour performance of La Monte Young’s magnum opus for piano. Not as good a representation as is found on the out of print Gramavision 5CD box, which was stolen from us and which this version replaces, but still exquisitely beautiful piano that just doesn’t end. Also contains video of the performance.
If you like, you can do as I did and put it on on a Sunday afternoon playing through the stereo, leaving the TV off, then you have the option of surprising anyone who doesn’t know that you didn’t just happen to turn on the TV to a piano performance that perfectly matches what’s playing through the stereo…

Where we live: photographs of America from the Berman collection

Meg — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:54:59 +0000

edited by Judith Keller and Anne Lacoste; with essays by Kenneth A. Breisch, Bruce Wagner and Colin Westerbeck.

These photographs are great, so realistic and familiar. Simple and complex at the same time. I’m sorry I missed this exhibition that was at the Getty, but at least we have this great catalog!

A Love Supreme

Meg — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:52:49 +0000

. . . where Coltrane’s journey began . . .

Margaret Kilgallen: In The Sweet Bye & Bye with texts by Alex Baker, Eungie Joo, Susan Sollins

Meg — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:49:37 +0000

She’s a great graphic/graffiti/figurative/musical artist, now deceased. If you like her, also check out Barry McGee, OsGemeos, Bill Daniel. Then look for the names they give you — and your journey begins.

Robert Smithson Unearthed

Meg — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:46:46 +0000

Interesting insights into one of 20th century art’s best minds.

Porgy and Bess

Meg — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 17:55:48 +0000

I’d like to recommend our newest Gershwin CD, “Porgy and Bess.“ Gershwin is always a classic, and that he wrote an opera when he did with this much style makes this worth a listen.

Norman McLaren. / Collector’s ed.

Meg — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:59:54 +0000

A wonderful 2 DVD set chronicling some of the most beloved film creations of this early master. The films range from aesthetically sublime animations to live dance, but really it all dances. There’s good reason this genre has come to be known as Visual Music.

Roots, Rock, Reggae

Meg — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 17:57:40 +0000

Do you like reggae? If you do, you have to watch this great video that gives a glimpse of the reggae scene in Kingston, Jamaica. The footage of Trenchtown is revealing, especially contrasted with the luxurious parts of Kingston. Artists interviewed and performing include Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, Toots and the Maytals, Jacob Miller & Inner Circle, The Absyinnians, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Joe Higgs.

The Magic Nut: A Prologue to The Nutcracker

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:44:07 +0000

Beautiful renderings of Chemiakin’s costumes and scenery for the ballet
which premiered at Mariinsky Ballet in 2005.

Yvonne Ranier: radical juxtapositions 1961-2002

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:39:40 +0000

About the dancer and the filmmaker. A nice accompaniment to the
Yvonne Rainer Collection series (DVD 4691- DVD 4697 Fine Arts Library)

Sondheim

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:36:06 +0000

Sondheim biography and the stories of eighteen Sondheim hit productions. Includes lots of color photos,
snippets of the librettos, and production history.

John Currin

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:33:02 +0000

John Currin is one of the most skilled — and witty — painters working today. He uses paint like an old master, yet always keeps the current context evident. He is straightforward without being too academic, and never loses his sense of humor.
This monograph is substantial (382 pages), retrospective, and recent – exactly the kind of book we wish to have in our library about every contemporary artist.

Restaging the Sixties: Radical theaters and their legacies

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:30:19 +0000

This book explores eight theaters (The Living Theatre, The Open Theatre, At the Foot of the Mountain, The San Francisco Mime Troupe, El Teatro Campesino, The Free Southern Theater, The Performance Group, and Bread and Puppet Theater) that were significant in that period. The first section on each theater is a historical overview talking about the people who started the theater, what they were trying to do, and a description of how it evolved over time, and in most cases how the theater eventually went away. The second section discusses the contributions made by that theater to the overall subject of political theater. Finally an essay goes over the legacy of those contributions over the time since the sixties (and seventies). UT’s own Dr. Charlotte Canning writes this essay about At the Foot of the Mountain.

Beyond exoticism : western music and the world.

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:27:27 +0000

This book considers how western cultures’ understandings of racial, ethnic, and cultural differences have been incorporated into music from early operas to contemporary television advertisements, arguing that the commonly used term “exoticism” glosses over such differences in many studies of western music.

Bulletin of the International String Figure Association

Meg — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:25:02 +0000

FAL has several issues. There’s also this website with links to other publications on the subject of world string art.

Unseen Worlds

Meg — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:52:26 +0000

A reissue record label, has released Blue Gene Tyranny’s “Out of the Blue” and it is reviewed in the April issue of Wire. In the Boomerang section.

see also www.unseenworlds.net and www.myspace.com/unseenworlds

Wire Magazine

Meg — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 17:47:15 +0000

A great place to find new music, especially if Spin, NME, and Rolling Stone aren’t producing any worthwhile results for you. This British publication is always full of clearly written and interesting reviews of new (and old) music in most genres.

Jelly Roll Morton the complete Library of Congress recordings by Alan Lomax

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:55:33 +0000

some recently acquired CDs

The piano

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:53:48 +0000

some recently acquired CDs

Engine takes to the water

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:52:04 +0000

some recently acquired CDs

Rusty

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:46:07 +0000

some recently acquired CDs

What do pictures want? : the lives and loves of images

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:41:32 +0000

My favorite book in the library at the moment

Phaidon Design Classics

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:38:33 +0000

I can spend hours looking at this set to find new things to look for on EBAY. Modern furniture, freaky looking electronics, as well as just classic designs. It is all in here.

Performing architecture : opera houses, theatres and concert halls for the twenty-first century

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:35:46 +0000

This book contains the most inspiring and simply incredible modern structures that exist anywhere, including works by Herzog & de Meuron, who were, at one time the architects assigned to give us our new Blanton. Ah well.

O let us howle some heavy note : music for witches, the melancholic, and the mad on the seventeenth-century English stage

Meg — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 15:33:15 +0000

by Amanda Eubanks Winkler Bloomington , 2006

Public Memory

Meg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:06:06 +0000

Discusses the design, meaning and purpose of public memorials built to commemorate wars and tragedies. This documentary asks: why do some memorials move us, why are others forgettable, what do they really mean, and are memorials still relevant today? The program covers a specific group of memorials, including: the Oklahoma City National Memorial, the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Pan Am Flight 103 Memorial Cairn, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and plans for the first African-American lynching monument (the Clayton Jackson McGhie Memorial), among others. Examines what we can learn from controversial memorials and the many complex issues involved in memorializing the victims of crimes against humanity and terrorism. Great example of Performance as Public Practice.

Glitter and Doom: German Portraits from the 1920s

Meg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:03:50 +0000

I saw this exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was blown away. The images are so real, so creepy. Through the portraits you get a true glimpse into the mindset, attitudes and experience of Germany during the ’20s. Otto Dix, Max Beckmann, and George Grosz are just a few of the artists featured. If you did not get to New York to see this show, you must see this exhibition catalogue.

Perfect Lives: An Opera for Television in Seven Episodes

Meg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:00:11 +0000

People have called this self-proclaimed “Opera For Television” the first distinctly American opera. John Cage said expressed his favor in an over-the-top fashion, “Who needs the Bible? We have Perfect Lives.” In either case, the sentiment of an enlightening and utterly singular experience is well-placed. You won’t see any of the classical influence here except in its grand scope and ambition. Despite its low video production values, Perfect Lives truly shows a great potential for television accommodating high art, if it isn’t already a perfect fit.

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Meg — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 15:57:28 +0000

Great photos!