Arabic Tattoos
Jon Udelson
Mark Batty Publisher
36 West 27th Street, Penthouse, New York NY 01018
9780977985081, $17.95 www (dot) markbattypublisher (dot) com

Islam prohibits tattooing, but there's been an increase in the types
and number of people obtaining Arabic tattoos, and ARABIC TATTOOS uses
color photos and essays to document this trend. Both art libraries and
general-interest collections appealing to younger patrons will find it
a popular survey of the cultural and artistic meaning of these
tattoos. It's a fine exploration with interviews of tattoo owners
spicing a colorful presentation – also recommended for any Middle East
collection.

Defining Landscape
Oh Chi Gyun
Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
193443504X, $50.00 www (dot) hudsonhills (dot) com

Any art library or collection strong in Impressionist painting or
Asian and Western works needs DEFINING LANDSCAPE, representing the
works of Oh Chi Gyun's paintings from Korea and New York periods. His
landscapes are defined more by mental than physical concepts – and
thus his paintings, which span nearly thirty years in both countries,
provides a diverse and different range of ideas. The full-color, full-
page presentations reinforce the insights on his techniques and
unusual perspective.

Islamic Geometric Patterns
Eric Broug
Thames & Hudson
500 – 5th Avenue, New York NY 10110
9780500287217, $21.95 www (dot) thamesandhudsonusa (dot) com

Islamic patterns come from ancient practitioners who used traditional
measurements to create geometric compositions based on patterns of
repetition: ISLAMIC GEOMETRIC PATTERNS covers the history, evolution
and current common examples of these patterns and is a fine choice for
both art libraries and Middle Eastern holdings. From examples of
Islamic architecture and art to surveys of how the patterns work,
expect pages of patterns and discussions.

Defining Landscape
Oh Chi Gyun
Hudson Hills Press
PO Box 205
3556 Main Street, Manchester, VT 05254
National Book Network (distributor)
4270 Boston Way, Suite 200, Lanham, MD 20706
9781934435045, $50.00 www (dot) hudsonhills (dot) com www (dot)
nbnbooks (dot) com 1-800-462-6420

An artist trained in Seoul, Korea and in New York City, Oh Chi Gyun is
best known to the art world for his Impressionist style of thickly
textured landscape and streetscape paintings, using as his subject
scenes of a Korean country village, the streets of new York City, or
views from the American Southwest. Oh Chi Gyun's three decade career
as an artist is now on view at the Chelsea Art Museum of New York and
"Defining Landscapes", one of the newest titles from the premiere art
book publishing firm of Hudson Hills Press, compiles more than 80
color plates showcasing the best of this artist's distinctive work.
Enhanced with a brief but informative Foreword, a Chronology of the
artists life, and succinct essays by Richard Vine, Phoebe Hoban; Raul
Zamudio; Kim Boggi, and concluding with a List of Works, "Defining
Landscape" is a welcome addition to personal, professional, academic,
and community library 20th Century Art History collections.

The Dancer
Annette Dixon, et al.
Portland Art Museum
c/o University of Washington Press
PO Box 50096, Seattle, WA 98145-5096
9781883124274, $39.95, www (dot) washington (dot) edu/uwpress

From the ballet to the Can-Can, French dance studios, dance stages,
and dancers have long been favored subjects for French artists in
general, including such luminaries of brush and canvas as Degas,
Forain, and Toulouse-Lautrec. In "The Dancer: Degas, Forain, and
Toulouse-Lautrec", this specific theme as represented in 19th century
avant-garde French art are explored by Annette Dixon, with the
invaluable assistance and contributions of Mary Weaver Chapin, Jill
Devonyar, Richard Kendall, and Florence Valdes-Forain. Enhanced with
269 full color illustrations and extended bibliography, "The Dancer"
is a 256 page compendium of informed and informative commentary that
will prove of immense interest to students of the works of these three
great artists, as well as the subject they chose to interpret through
art and sculpture. Simply stated, no academic, art department, or
community library art history reference collection should be
considered complete without the inclusion of "The Dancer".

Spirit of Drawing
Connie Smith Siegel
Watson-Guptill Publications
770 Broadway, New York NY 10003
0823032124, $24.95 www (dot) watsonguptill (dot) com

Blend meditation with drawing insights using a range of experiments
and you have SPIRIT OF DRAWING, an exciting survey of drawing through
touch, perception and meditative insight. From drawing inspiration
from another's work to experimenting with perspective and movement,
SPIRIT OF DRAWING packs in black and white examples, exercises, and
insights blending meditative techniques with artistic sentiments.

Hudson Hills Press
Box 205, Manchester, VT 05254
www (dot) hudsonhills (dot) com

Francoise Siriex's THE HOUSE OF LELEU (1555952860, $160.00) provides
an excellent selection of classic French styles from 1920-1973,
pairing these classics with modern styles in a weighty volume perfect
for college-level libraries strong in interior decoration and design.
Nearly five hundred pages comes from the design and decoration firm
Leleu and its powerful family, and gather the range of the firm's
contributions to modern French style. Photos abound and pack a survey
that examines its style and includes original drawings, images and
essays by leading experts in their fields, and more. Industry pros
will find it an invaluable, unprecedented contribution. EDMOND
LACHENAL & HIS LEGACY (9780978837136, $95.00) considers the 19th and
early 20th century French ceramics industry in light of one of its
major contributors and is a specialty item any art library strong in
ceramics history needs. It presents the work of Lachenal's career and
includes pieces by his collaborators and students, as well as his
family and assistant, and pairs scholarly essays and period photos
with descriptions of his works.

Saints of the Pueblos
Charles M. Carrillo
LPD Press
925 Salamanca NW, Los Ranchos, NM 87107-5647
9781890689308, $22.95 www (dot) nmsantos (dot) com

Winner of the Twitchell History Award among other honors, Saints of
the Pueblos is a wonderful testimony to the influence that the images
of saints have upon Pueblo pottery traditions - a unique melding of
Hispanic and Pueblo cultures. Each of the nineteen active pueblos is
represented with a retablo as created by author Charlie Carrillo of
its patron saint, in the style of the pueblo. Four additional,
ancestral pueblos are also represented. The colorful imagery,
interspersed with black-and-white photography and thoughtful text
about the history of each pueblo and its art makes Saints of the
Pueblos a distinguished, viscerally visual exploration of how
Catholicism and Pueblo culture are inextricably interwoven. A welcome
addition to Native American art studies shelves.

Spirit of the Wedge-Tailed Eagle
Penny Olsen, author
Humphrey Price-Jones, illustrator
CSRIO Publishing
c/o International Publishers Marketing
22841 Quicksilver Drive, Dulles, VA 20166
9780643094338, $43.00 www (dot) internationalpubmarket (dot) com
1-800-758-3756

Spirit of the Wedge-Tailed Eagle: The Art of Humphrey Price-Jones is a
stunning, oversized hardcover art book showcasing the work of artist
Humphrey Price-Jones' and features his lavish illustrations of the
wedge-tailed eagle -- Australia's largest true eagle. Both black-and-
white sketches and striking, incredibly detailed full-page color
artworks fill this compilation which is worthy to stand side-by-side
with the works of the master avian artist Audubon himself. The
informed and informative text by author Penny Olson is filled with a
wealth of fascinating facts about the wedge-tailed eagle. The result
is a coffee table art book enthusiastically recommended as an
unforgettable gift for bird lovers everywhere, as well as a welcome
addition to academic and community library collections.

The Rublev Trinity
Gabriel Bunge
St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
575 Scarsdale Road, Yonkers, NY 10707
9780881413106, $27.00, www (dot) svspress (dot) com

One piece of art can mean so much to so many people. "The Rublev
Trinity" is a look at a monk named Andrei Rublev. Around 1400 A.D., he
painted his depiction of the holy trinity of Christianity, which has
stayed in the minds of practicing Eastern Orthodox Christians for the
following six centuries. With a scholarly history on iconographic
traditions of the western world and the power of Rublev's painting all
the way up to the modern day, "The Rublev Trinity" is highly
recommended to anyone studying the strong connection that exists
between art and religion.

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