Perfect Balance of Hisotry and Theory, 06 Feb 2007
Often I find when reading books that trace theoretical beginnings to be a mere recollection of events. This book is built on a chronological order of happenings, and all are explained. However, Styan gives explaination of WHY this surreal and WHY this is absurd, giving bibliographical references perfect for further reading on any topic.

The only slight downside is it's preoccupation with symbolism (I'd say half the book is on symbolism whiles the other half getting through Surrealism, absurd, the cruel, ritual, existentialism). The reason, I belive is that Styan seems to exert that all other schools are 'biolt upon' symbolism.

From Greek and Shakespearian roots of symbolism to modern day application and resultant 20th century movements.

Volume 2 is good as a standalone book aswell as being complementary to the other volumes.

Perfect Balance of Hisotry and Theory, 06 Feb 2007
Often I find when reading books that trace theoretical beginnings to be a mere recollection of events. This book is built on a chronological order of happenings, and all are explained. However, Styan gives explaination of WHY this surreal and WHY this is absurd, giving bibliographical references perfect for further reading on any topic.

The only slight downside is it's preoccupation with symbolism (I'd say half the book is on symbolism whiles the other half getting through Surrealism, absurd, the cruel, ritual, existentialism). The reason, I belive is that Styan seems to exert that all other schools are 'biolt upon' symbolism.

From Greek and Shakespearian roots of symbolism to modern day application and resultant 20th century movements.

Volume 2 is good as a standalone book aswell as being complementary to the other volumes.

Introducing youngsters to the creative insanity of Dali, 25 May 2004
It is hard to do justice to the imaginative insanity of Salvador Dali, but Angela Wenzel does a pretty good job for this volume in the Adventures in Art series. "The Mad, Mad, Mad World of Salvador Dali" introduces young readers to the Surrealist artist who knew how to put himself in the limelight in ways other than his paintings. One of things that Wenzel does is that she provides some of Dali's own comments about his art, such as the 1937 painting "Sleep," where a heavy face that looks like the film director Luis Bunuel is propped by my crutches and explaining the link between the writings of Sigmund Freud on dreams and Dali's painting "The Burning Giraffe" (1936-37), where drawers are coming out of a tall woman's body. Also included are the famous melting clocks of "The Persistence of Memory" (1931), the fried eggs of "The Sublime Moment" (1938), and the multiple pictures within "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus" (1937).

What I especially like about this volume is how it looks at the origins of some of these paintings. For "The Endless Enigma" (1938) we have the original sketches of the six different paintings that Dali hid in the finished painting, while a postcrd showing an African village became a face turned on its side in "Paranoid Faces" (1931). Then there was the "Portrait of Mrs. Isabel Styler-Tas" (1945), which Dali based on Piero della Francesca's "Battista Sforza and Federico de Montefeltro" (circa 1465) by way of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's "Winter," a marvelous example of how the old becomes new in the hands of a talented artist.

Young readers will also be exposed to some prime examples of Dali's imagination with regards to other types of art beyond paintings, such as his infamous "Lobster Telephone" (1936) and the "Mae West Lips Sofa" (1937), although I miss seeing the harp covered with silverware that he made for his friend Harpo Marx. There are also some choice photographs of "Dali the superstar" engaging in the art of self-promotion. Just showing young readers examples of Dali's artwork is enough to get them interested in the artist, but Wenzel takes pain to explain how Dali created his masterpieces and what he was trying to do with some of these pieces. This is one of the more truly educational books I have seem about a great artist written for young readers.

Perfect Balance of Hisotry and Theory, 06 Feb 2007
Often I find when reading books that trace theoretical beginnings to be a mere recollection of events. This book is built on a chronological order of happenings, and all are explained. However, Styan gives explaination of WHY this surreal and WHY this is absurd, giving bibliographical references perfect for further reading on any topic.

The only slight downside is it's preoccupation with symbolism (I'd say half the book is on symbolism whiles the other half getting through Surrealism, absurd, the cruel, ritual, existentialism). The reason, I belive is that Styan seems to exert that all other schools are 'biolt upon' symbolism.

From Greek and Shakespearian roots of symbolism to modern day application and resultant 20th century movements.

Volume 2 is good as a standalone book aswell as being complementary to the other volumes.

Introducing youngsters to the creative insanity of Dali, 25 May 2004
It is hard to do justice to the imaginative insanity of Salvador Dali, but Angela Wenzel does a pretty good job for this volume in the Adventures in Art series. "The Mad, Mad, Mad World of Salvador Dali" introduces young readers to the Surrealist artist who knew how to put himself in the limelight in ways other than his paintings. One of things that Wenzel does is that she provides some of Dali's own comments about his art, such as the 1937 painting "Sleep," where a heavy face that looks like the film director Luis Bunuel is propped by my crutches and explaining the link between the writings of Sigmund Freud on dreams and Dali's painting "The Burning Giraffe" (1936-37), where drawers are coming out of a tall woman's body. Also included are the famous melting clocks of "The Persistence of Memory" (1931), the fried eggs of "The Sublime Moment" (1938), and the multiple pictures within "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus" (1937).

What I especially like about this volume is how it looks at the origins of some of these paintings. For "The Endless Enigma" (1938) we have the original sketches of the six different paintings that Dali hid in the finished painting, while a postcrd showing an African village became a face turned on its side in "Paranoid Faces" (1931). Then there was the "Portrait of Mrs. Isabel Styler-Tas" (1945), which Dali based on Piero della Francesca's "Battista Sforza and Federico de Montefeltro" (circa 1465) by way of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's "Winter," a marvelous example of how the old becomes new in the hands of a talented artist.

Young readers will also be exposed to some prime examples of Dali's imagination with regards to other types of art beyond paintings, such as his infamous "Lobster Telephone" (1936) and the "Mae West Lips Sofa" (1937), although I miss seeing the harp covered with silverware that he made for his friend Harpo Marx. There are also some choice photographs of "Dali the superstar" engaging in the art of self-promotion. Just showing young readers examples of Dali's artwork is enough to get them interested in the artist, but Wenzel takes pain to explain how Dali created his masterpieces and what he was trying to do with some of these pieces. This is one of the more truly educational books I have seem about a great artist written for young readers.

Gives a good explanation of the artist's work., 01 Jul 1998
As an art teacher, I have been very impressed with this series of books for children. This volume, in particular, helps to explain some of the interesting and yet bizarre qualities of this surreal artist. I look forward to the next book in this series.

Perfect Balance of Hisotry and Theory, 06 Feb 2007
Often I find when reading books that trace theoretical beginnings to be a mere recollection of events. This book is built on a chronological order of happenings, and all are explained. However, Styan gives explaination of WHY this surreal and WHY this is absurd, giving bibliographical references perfect for further reading on any topic.

The only slight downside is it's preoccupation with symbolism (I'd say half the book is on symbolism whiles the other half getting through Surrealism, absurd, the cruel, ritual, existentialism). The reason, I belive is that Styan seems to exert that all other schools are 'biolt upon' symbolism.

From Greek and Shakespearian roots of symbolism to modern day application and resultant 20th century movements.

Volume 2 is good as a standalone book aswell as being complementary to the other volumes.

Introducing youngsters to the creative insanity of Dali, 25 May 2004
It is hard to do justice to the imaginative insanity of Salvador Dali, but Angela Wenzel does a pretty good job for this volume in the Adventures in Art series. "The Mad, Mad, Mad World of Salvador Dali" introduces young readers to the Surrealist artist who knew how to put himself in the limelight in ways other than his paintings. One of things that Wenzel does is that she provides some of Dali's own comments about his art, such as the 1937 painting "Sleep," where a heavy face that looks like the film director Luis Bunuel is propped by my crutches and explaining the link between the writings of Sigmund Freud on dreams and Dali's painting "The Burning Giraffe" (1936-37), where drawers are coming out of a tall woman's body. Also included are the famous melting clocks of "The Persistence of Memory" (1931), the fried eggs of "The Sublime Moment" (1938), and the multiple pictures within "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus" (1937).

What I especially like about this volume is how it looks at the origins of some of these paintings. For "The Endless Enigma" (1938) we have the original sketches of the six different paintings that Dali hid in the finished painting, while a postcrd showing an African village became a face turned on its side in "Paranoid Faces" (1931). Then there was the "Portrait of Mrs. Isabel Styler-Tas" (1945), which Dali based on Piero della Francesca's "Battista Sforza and Federico de Montefeltro" (circa 1465) by way of Giuseppe Arcimboldo's "Winter," a marvelous example of how the old becomes new in the hands of a talented artist.

Young readers will also be exposed to some prime examples of Dali's imagination with regards to other types of art beyond paintings, such as his infamous "Lobster Telephone" (1936) and the "Mae West Lips Sofa" (1937), although I miss seeing the harp covered with silverware that he made for his friend Harpo Marx. There are also some choice photographs of "Dali the superstar" engaging in the art of self-promotion. Just showing young readers examples of Dali's artwork is enough to get them interested in the artist, but Wenzel takes pain to explain how Dali created his masterpieces and what he was trying to do with some of these pieces. This is one of the more truly educational books I have seem about a great artist written for young readers.

Gives a good explanation of the artist's work., 01 Jul 1998
As an art teacher, I have been very impressed with this series of books for children. This volume, in particular, helps to explain some of the interesting and yet bizarre qualities of this surreal artist. I look forward to the next book in this series.

intelligently designed book, a creative and fun read too, 14 Apr 1999
Designed from cover to back with many diagrams, photos, etc. this is a nice piece of book. It contains writings by Bataille that were published separately in a surrealist type group's periodical which is fantastic when put together here. From A to Z Bataille defines in a dictionary/encyclopedic type style various terms, objects, actions, and in this format really grabs a reader by his perspective and YANKS, turns ya around to see things differently than you could've ever imagined. There's much more than that though, other writing, including an introduction that mentions Bataille's attempt at creating a secret society. A great book to not just read, BUT TO OWN, whether a frequent reader of Bataille or as just a curious soul. "Acephale", by the way, means without head, and as you might know: Decapitation is really in these days so buying this Book will make you cool.