What Painting Is

Rating:
Summary: Excellent read
Review: Elkins uses alchemy to interpret and read paintings. It sounds strange, but the way he explains it using such an odd device helped me to expand the way I think about art and paintings. It also is a book about paint- not conceptual or computer art or even theory. It is more concerned with the physical act of pushing paint, the solid matter of pigment, and the artisan-like way a painter opperates in the studio. If youre a person who is interested in the hands-on experience in art, and like thinking about new ideas, this book will be a lot of fun. If you dont like getting your hands dirty, you may want to look elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: abstractionist in disguise
Review: The book starts out captivating then it suddenly shifts to Elkinks views of painting, that are strongly bent to the favor of abstractionist. Elkinks thoughts on Jackson Pollocks creative energy is more than I wanted to know. He devots almost an entire chapter to this already to small book, to his idol. How Pollock flicks his wrist to get the effect of splated paint just right and Pollocks tourched stance over his works as the canvis is lying on the floor.To much! I Do not recommend this little book.

Rating:
Summary: abstractionist in disguise
Review: The book starts out captivating then it suddenly shifts to Elkinks views of painting, that are strongly bent to the favor of abstractionist. Elkinks thoughts on Jackson Pollocks creative energy is more than I wanted to know. He devots almost an entire chapter to this already to small book, to his idol. How Pollock flicks his wrist to get the effect of splated paint just right and Pollocks tourched stance over his works as the canvis is lying on the floor.To much! I Do not recommend this little book.

Rating:
Summary: Esoteric and fresh title by Elkins
Review: The central premise of the title arises from the authors assertions that Painting and Alchemy are linked. It dealt with the notions of how painting like the scientifically naive Alchemy is rife with guesswork. No joke. It compares (as one of many examples) certain passages of Monet's paintings with the sort of haphazard experimentation that goes on in Alchemy. This is a well-researched book as far as I can tell, but then again I'm no expert on Alchemy.*pause* The book attempts to educate the forlorn and lost artist/art student such as myself on the lost pseudo-science of Alchemy.*pause* I had arrived at the idea that painting and alchemy are analogous in my own artwork; which led me to this book.*pause* I cannot stress enough in this review the extent to which he uses the Alchemy/Painting contrast as a springboard to jump into a bastardized survey course on the history of Alchemy. If you want a speculative art book that attempts to concentrate on the physical act of painting (as opposed to art history & criticism of content) this maybe worth checking out. I do have reservations about the book. Elkins compared the painter's studio to a 'jailhouse' and ascribed to painting self-reflexive connotations of the painted picture. The notions of a painters awkward methods of experimenting with media and it's spiritual connection are liken to the arcane pre-sciencitfic experiments of an Alchemists laboratory. "What painting is" really helps a student or artist ponder their personal feelings toward the actual experience of painting rather than the intellectual side of the content. Recommended simply because this book is really a new type of art book that concentrates a descriptive position paper around the actual activity involved in a favorite artistic media- Not AN ARTSPEAK book, coffee table glossy, "how-to" or technical manual!

The only possible negatives: It can drag on a bit when dealing with "Alchemical history". It can be slavish to the metaphorical relationship of painting to alchemy to a fault, at the expense of discussing the working life of a painter... Bare in mind that the author mentions the life of a painter is lived in oils.

Rating:
Summary: Insight for Painters
Review: This is a serious book for painters. If you are having a problem with what or why you're painting, this book may help. It seeks to explain painting from a truly unique viewpiont. Elkins does an excellent job. A fasinating book. An intellectual exercise.

Rating:
Summary: Insight for Painters
Review: This is a serious book for painters. If you are having a problem with what or why you're painting, this book may help. It seeks to explain painting from a truly unique viewpiont. Elkins does an excellent job. A fasinating book. An intellectual exercise.