Rating: 
Summary: Excellent discussion of the creative process in art.
Review: "I purchased Sight & Insight ;the art of Burton Silverman several months ago, but just came across his listing with Amazon. I think it's a beautiful book with some of the best paintings I've seen that uses representational realism. The people depicted are both very real and very arresting in a thoughtful, reflective way. It's like reading a good book and looking up to conjure the image of the character in ones mind only this artist does that for you. He doesn't exclude the viewer though, because there's a lot of ambiguity in his characters that leaves room for ones own speculations as to the meanings of the paintings. The writing, by both Prof. McGrath and Philip Saietta are excellent if sometimes difficult sledding, particularly with the Professor. But it's really a very readable and informative collection of essays. Silverman also writes about his career with compelling honesty. It's a real treat to go through this book and well worth the price, many times over."
Rating:
Summary: Excellent discussion of the creative process in art.
Review: "I purchased Sight & Insight ;the art of Burton Silverman several months ago, but just came across his listing with Amazon. I think it's a beautiful book with some of the best paintings I've seen that uses representational realism. The people depicted are both very real and very arresting in a thoughtful, reflective way. It's like reading a good book and looking up to conjure the image of the character in ones mind only this artist does that for you. He doesn't exclude the viewer though, because there's a lot of ambiguity in his characters that leaves room for ones own speculations as to the meanings of the paintings. The writing, by both Prof. McGrath and Philip Saietta are excellent if sometimes difficult sledding, particularly with the Professor. But it's really a very readable and informative collection of essays. Silverman also writes about his career with compelling honesty. It's a real treat to go through this book and well worth the price, many times over."
Rating:
Summary: Why Insight?
Review: As the art director of the Merrill-Johnson Gallery, we are privileged to exhibit Mr. Silverman's work including several of the paintings in the book, "Sight and Insight". The paintings depicted in the book are fine example of the work that has made Mr. Silverman one of America's most respected realist painters. There are many books that are "how-to" paint (in fact Silverman has written two wonderful ones himself), but there are few "why-tos." "Sight and Insight" provides the reader an insight into the interpretive and artistic motivations behind his paintings. The book deserves to be in every serious art book collection for both the artist and the art appreciator.
Rating:
Summary: Why Insight?
Review: As the art director of the Merrill-Johnson Gallery, we are privileged to exhibit Mr. Silverman's work including several of the paintings in the book, "Sight and Insight". The paintings depicted in the book are fine example of the work that has made Mr. Silverman one of America's most respected realist painters. There are many books that are "how-to" paint (in fact Silverman has written two wonderful ones himself), but there are few "why-tos." "Sight and Insight" provides the reader an insight into the interpretive and artistic motivations behind his paintings. The book deserves to be in every serious art book collection for both the artist and the art appreciator.
Rating:
Summary: Sight and Insight -- A Masterpiece
Review: Burt Silverman's book is a triumph for American painting. His unbridled talent and mastery of paint in capturing both the human form and the formal elements of art and design has an immediate impact. His genius cannot be confined to categorization. His work is stunningly realistic, and yet it also expresses some beautifully abstract ideas of color, shape, texture and line through its translation of the subject onto the canvas. For me the heightened interconnectedness between the sublime and his search to record life accurately and with an economy of means teaches one more about painting than anything else can. Personally, his art has been my inspiration and joy and his accompanying insightful essay underscores his unswerving conviction to painting.
Rating:
Summary: The least helpful (No. 2) review from me.
Review: Just a few lines (as I chose to write below) to be an 'unhelpful' review.My fingers wiggle when seeing the drawings. My nerve cells tingle trying to process/digest/analyze color combinations in the paintings, and half of me trying to get off the chair and get to the easel to "mix 'em colors". Some body, catch me! I am falling... in love.
Rating:
Summary: One man's journey
Review: Most people who would buy this book are already familiar with Burton Silverman's paintings. The book is no disappointment; the reproductions are large and sensitive to color nuances, on heavy paper, and there are a lot of them. There are short essays by Silverman about each painting which show an honest, contemplative mind at work. It's not a how-to book; there's no pedantic bloviating, just a humble, intelligent man describing the circumstances behind each picture. At first I pegged Silverman as one of those East Coast types who paint their Greenwich Village friends sitting still with expressionless faces and vacant stares. It all seemed too academic, lacking action and vigor, like most modern art. But his understanding of color and composition is undeniable, and the personalities he depicts grow on you. They are of the type of person who can be found in artist's lofts, in front of Folger's coffee cans full of paintbrushes, wearing sweaters and spectacles, New York academics and intellectuals who go to poetry readings, listen to Public Radio, and fret about the fate of the Rosenbergs. He's a world traveller, so he has other types of people, too, but he seems to know all of them personally, and doesn't just paint anonymous models. Though his work is a little tame compared to the kind of entertainment industry stuff I'm interested in, commercial illustrators could learn a lot from Silverman's penetrating eye and calm, balanced judgement.
Rating:
Summary: One man's journey
Review: Most people who would buy this book are already familiar with Burton Silverman's paintings. The book is no disappointment; the reproductions are large and sensitive to color nuances, on heavy paper, and there are a lot of them. There are short essays by Silverman about each painting which show an honest, contemplative mind at work. It's not a how-to book; there's no pedantic bloviating, just a humble, intelligent man describing the circumstances behind each picture. At first I pegged Silverman as one of those East Coast types who paint their Greenwich Village friends sitting still with expressionless faces and vacant stares. It all seemed too academic, lacking action and vigor, like most modern art. But his understanding of color and composition is undeniable, and the personalities he depicts grow on you. They are of the type of person who can be found in artist's lofts, in front of Folger's coffee cans full of paintbrushes, wearing sweaters and spectacles, New York academics and intellectuals who go to poetry readings, listen to Public Radio, and fret about the fate of the Rosenbergs. He's a world traveller, so he has other types of people, too, but he seems to know all of them personally, and doesn't just paint anonymous models. Though his work is a little tame compared to the kind of entertainment industry stuff I'm interested in, commercial illustrators could learn a lot from Silverman's penetrating eye and calm, balanced judgement.
Rating: 
Summary: To emphasize the visual qualities of the book
Review: Perhaps what has been overlooked -or rather not adequately noted - in the Reviews and jacket commentary is the the veery powerful impact of Silverman's paintings. They are direct representations of a visual world that is are at once beautiful and thought provoking. They do not need crtical commentary to be viewed by the reader and yet they inspire immediate and touching emotional responses; in short the paintings evoke the way we experience everyday life without trivial or repetetive visual recreations of that life. The reproductions of the paintings are equally beautiful and the artist took special pains to oversee the accuracy of the color. His comments on the paintings in the full catalog of the book are particulalry appealing, since the language he uses is clear, straightfoward and, like his work, insightful. We feel this book to be an eye opener with respect to the pictorial riches in it and in contrast to much of what passes for "high art" these days. We are extremely proud to be a part of this volume.
Rating:
Summary: A must have
Review: Rarely do I come across an art book with both stunning visual imagery and insight into the state of representational art. The artist provides a clear, beautifully written essay for all of us confused about "modern" art, his paintings statisfy the thirst for imagery that moves and enhances our humanity. BEAUTIFUL book!
|
