Resource Center.

BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS--Ken Marantz

The World of William Joyce Scrapbook. William Joyce, photographs by Philip Gould. San Francisco: HarperCollins (800-242-7737), 1997. Hardcover, 48 pp., $16.95.

A visual extravaganza! Joyce overloads the pages with appropriate examples of his artwork integrated with a funny text set in a casual, folksy type face. Photographs of his family and his home all decked out with his holiday decorations add to the feeling of intimacy as he shows and tells us about how he got into the business (a very talented youngster according to the drawings he reproduces) and how he creates his books. This should stimulate many young appetites and get them honing their skills with visual narrative drawings.

Flora and Tiger: 19 Very Short Stories From My Life. Eric Carle. New York: Philomel Books (800-631-8571), 1997. School and library binding, 64 pp., $17.95.

A collection of stories that reveal the artist's history and somehow involve animals. His lifelong involvement with things natural is evident in the subjects of his fifty plus picture-books. Here Carle illustrates each story with a typical cut paper portrait of a snake or beetle or whatever creature he has incorporated into each bit of autobiography. I was disappointed by his total neglect of references to his Germany of World War II, the place her grew up in, other than mentioning an occasional air raid. How could he be so sensitive to the natural environment and so ignorant of the human events?

Paul Cezanne. Mike Venezia. New York: Children's Press (800-243-7256), 1998. School and library binding, 32 pp., $20.30.

Another title in the Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists series, the very simple text is printed in a large typeface and is loosely chronological. The author most often writes as if he knows how Cezanne felt, a dubious method when mixed with the facts of his education and companions. Each page includes a color reproduction of Cezanne's work, or works by a related artist. There are several of the author's cartoons that do not contribute to the biography but may attract rather young readers. Fourth and fifth grade students should find this a useful introduction.

BOOKMARKS--Kent Anderson

Discovering Child Art: Essays on Childhood, Primitivism and Modernism. Jonathon Fineberg, ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press (800-777-4725), 1998. Illus., hardcover, 272 pp., $65.00.

This collection of thirteen essays addressing the idea of the child as a defining aspect of modern art builds on an earlier work by the same author, The Innocent Eye (reviewed in the May/June 1998 issue of SchoolArts). The premise that many of the great masters of twentieth-century art collected children's drawings in depth, and that these drawings directly influenced some of their most celebrated works, is extended and explored by a diverse group of museum directors and curators, art historians, psychologists, philosophers, and critics.

Among these eminent scholars, Sir Ernst Gombrich notes that Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, in his 1879 work, Histoire d'un Dessinateur, was perhaps the first scholar to include reproductions of children's art without a patronizing purpose. Rudolf Arnheim considers children's art as a new world of imagery that broke traditions that had run their course: "... nature eagerly and closely scanned by a young explorer and that tasted as a treat of the senses by the detached, aging mind of an artist of our time." Other essayists' observations ranged from Rousseau to Rembrandt, with extended discussion of works by Klee, Miro, Kandinsky, Munter, Dubuffet, and other early twentieth-century modernists. The 160 halftones that illustrate the essays include work by many artists, along with numerous examples of children's art. A scholarly work with a mix of new and old theories about children and the nature of art, this book is recommended for both art history and art education university resource shelves.

Elizabeth Catlett Sculpture. Lucinda H. Geseon, ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press (206-543-4050), 1998. Illus., 120 pp., hardcover, $35.00.

This beautifully illustrated book covers a fifty-year period (from 1946-1996) in the creative life of one of our most renowned African-American artists. In paintings, prints, and sculpture, Catlett's work show concern for social injustice, the human condition, and life as an African-American woman. Her figurative style, influenced somewhat by Cubism, African, and pre-Columbian art is expressed in wood, marble, onyx, terra cotta, and bronze. The sixty-one works illustrated, in full color, are included in an exhibit of Catlett's work that is currently touring a number of museums--University of Houston through December 20, Baltimore Museum of Art, January 27-April 11, 1999, Museo de Arte Moderne, Mexico City, May 20-August 1, 1999, and the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, September 13-November 12, 1999. The range of work focuses on a limited number of subjects--lone, heroic African women, mother and child, and portrait heads. Each work possesses extraordinary an expressive content. A Looking/Learning article in the December, 1992 issue of SchoolArts introduced many readers to the sculptural style of Catlett, a woman to emulate and celebrate. Strongly recommended for high school, university, and personal libraries.

Observation Drawing with Children. Nancy Smith with the Drawing Study Group. New York: Teachers College Press, (212-678-3929), 1997. Illus., 144 pp., paperback, $18.95.

This book begins with the question, "What is Drawing?" and proceeds to explore and discuss how drawing helps to develop the mental and physical abilities used in creating meaningful marks. The group of authors who were mentored by the late Nancy Smith, represent a balance of teaching experience that includes elementary art and classroom teaching, university professors, and professional artists who are able to make meaningful connections between child development and art education. The major portion of the book consists of twenty-three detailed lesson plans, K-6. The lessons are grouped into 4-7 lesson units for two grade groupings. As an example, lesson plans for third and fourth grades are: Faces and Feelings; Object/Context/ Pheasant; Shells; and Shoes. Each chapter begins with a Developmental Framework that should help teachers keep developmental characteristics in mind when planning art curricula. Each lesson plan includes: Objectives, Materials to be Used, Room Arrangement, Motivational Dialogue Evaluation, and Suggested Extensions. Overall, the drawing group views children as active inventors of symbol systems into which they breathe "life." This is an excellent small book that contributes sound insights, such as how teachers influence the quality of children's drawing experiences, and the importance of observation to meaningful art expression. A recommended acquisition for elementary art educators from both philosophical and pragmatic vantage points.

Drawing Animals. Victor Ambrus. Cincinnati: North Light Books, (800-268-0963), 1998. Illus., 120pp., hardcover, $25.00.

This is a visually impressive, large-format book where every page is graced by skillful and spontaneous pencil drawings of animals and birds. Each page of drawings is complemented by insightful comments from technical, personal and scientific sources about the animals illustrated. The artist/author does all of his drawing directly from animals in the wild or in a zoo, and encourages students to draw from life also, not just from photographs. Books on how to draw animals are readily available, most in full color, but the black-and-white renderings of Victor Ambrus provide graphic role models of masterful animal drawing. Recommended as a resource for drawing students from intermediate grades through college level.

Murals: Cave, Cathedral, to Street. Michael Capek. Minneapolis: Lerner Publications (800-328-4929), 1996. Illus., 80 pp., hardcover, $16.95.

This book looks at a wide selection of murals from many times and places, from ancient Egypt to modern California. The large-scale works of artists, both famous and unknown, are discussed in cultural, historical, and contextual perspective. A glossary, index, suggestions for further reading, and maps are nice additions to the chapters on cave paintings, contemporary community murals, historical murals, Mexican murals, Italian Renaissance murals, Early Christian murals, and the murals of Ancient Rome and Egypt. A useful reference for middle school through high school.

VIDEO VIEWING--Kent Anderson

Classroom Creative Experience: A Culture and Art Lesson. Chicago: CLEARVUE/eav (800-253-2788), 1998. VHS format, 22 min., $65.00.

The geometric basis of many Peruvian textile designs is the point of departure for this step-by-step lesson on creating designs from colored construction paper. The video begins with vividly colorful examples of Peruvian crafts, complemented by images and information concerning the history, culture, people, geography, and climate of Peru. Artist/teacher Barbara Rosenthal presents a six-step lesson on how to turn a triangle-based design into abstracted animal and bird forms. Each step is carefully presented, from folding and cutting through pasting and enhancing. She concludes by noting how such designs may be extended into textile applications on pillows, wall hangings, handbags, scarves, and other accessories. Closing credits roll over images of children holding up and discussing their designs. The video is accompanied by a 17-page teacher's guide that provides learning objectives, a list of possible review questions, several additional activities, and a vocabulary listing. This social studies/art activity could be adapted for use in grades one through five.

Beginning to Glaze and Fire. Graham Sheehan. Tara Productions (800-668-8040), 1998. VHS format, 60 min., $39.95.

In this well produced and filmed video, potter Graham Sheehan demonstrates how to complete pots once they have reached the leather-hard stage. Beginning with the selection, characteristics, and operation of electric kilns, Sheehan discusses clay bodies, decorating techniques, glazes, slips, and application procedures.

Kiln loading, stacking/shelf arrangement, and temperature management for bisque and glaze finishes are among the many topics addressed. Power requirements, venting options and new electronic controls receive detailed attention. The application--brushing, pouring, dipping, and trailing--of slips, underglazes, matte, glossy, clear and opaque glazes are demonstrated and discussed. Attention is given to safety concerns and procedures with cautions concerning the use of lead or barium in glazes, and means to control dust when mixing glazes and slips. This is a highly recommended resource for high school and university level pottery programs. This video continues the high standards of earlier releases in this series: Getting Started with Clay, Beginning Hand Building, Beginning Raku (reviewed in SchoolArts October, 1997), and Beginning to Throw on the Potters Wheel.

Videos on Art. Anthony Roland. 1996. The Roland Collection (800-59-ROLAND), 22-D Hollywood Avenue, Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey 07423. Illus., 438 pp., paperback, $39.98 plus $8.00 S&H

This resource guide to films and videos available worldwide from the Roland Collection is designed to give access to programs and titles in art, architecture, and modern literature. The main part of the resource guide is divided into thirty-seven sections, chronologically sequenced from the art of the earliest times to the present day. There's even a section of films for younger audiences.

The catalog entries have been comprehensively indexed in eight different ways. The General Index lists every production under its title. The guide also has entries for artists featured in the programs, countries, narrators, etc. The guide is organized to help you find the programs you need as quickly and easily as possible. This is a good resource to have available for curriculum planning and for expanding a school's video collection.