DEPARTMENTS: WORDS BY LUCY HEAVENS (LH), JESSICA MANIM (JM)
BOOK REVIEWS MARCEL WANDERS: BEHIND THE CEILING edited by R. Klanten, S. Moreno, A. Mollard Gestalten
This book offers page after page of beautiful things, humour and ideas from Dutch designer, Marcel Wanders. The artist’s wit and imagination is beautifully evoked throughout. It includes photographs of objects and installations, as well as personal, conceptual sketches. Behind the Ceiling also introduces Wanders’ highly anticipated, new ideas around extraordinary architecture and interiors. Examples of furniture, lighting, textiles, tableware and porcelain, as well as Wanders’ personal art editions are accompanied by incredibly unpretentious anecdotes and insights into the nature of design and creativity. This book is a pleasure trip into Wanders’ extensive and irresistible universe. (LH)
ELEGANT ENIGMAS: THE ART OF EDWARD GOREY by Karen Wilkin
Brandywine River Museum and Pomegranate Press
More than 175 reproductions of Gorey’s work offer a rich retrospective on the genius of this awesome American writer and artist. Samples from Gorey’s own books, illustrations for other authors from Charles Dickens to Virginia Woolf, theatrical sets, costume designs, and a wealth of individual pieces, many previously unpublished, are included here. The text by Karen Wilkin, an expert on, and friend of Gorey, offers an intimate review of his career, as well as fresh insights into his life and work. Published on the occasion of the first major travelling exhibition of this master artist, this beautifully produced book is long overdue. It shines a deservedly bright light on Gorey’s technical brilliance, black humour, intellect and devastating charm. (LH)
SATCHMO: THE WONDERFUL WORLD AND ART OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG by Steven Brower Abrams
This surprising collection of collages, scrapbooks and letters by Louis ‘Satchmo’ Armstrong is completely captivating, personal and intriguing. Photographs of long, colourful prose pieces written by Satchmo himself, recount memories and experiences in the easy manner of a prolific diary-keeper. Brower’s own insights are accompanied by hundreds of collages, mostly on recording tape boxes, created by Armstrong. The book not only reveals the life of the great jazzman, but also takes the reader on a vivid journey through mid-century black America. The collages incorporate newspaper clippings, handwritten notes, and personal photographs of Armstrong, other jazz greats, friends and family. A biography in the form of an art book, this is an essential for fans and art lovers alike. (LH) 14
one small seed