Publications received
Flowers From a Painter's Garden: The
Watercolours of Paul Gell
(Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1983. $42.95).
This
collection of sixty-eight Watercolour flower-paintings from an English garden
evokes a European nostalgia for the vibrant seasonal changes which we do riot
experience here. Each sensitive watercolour has accompanying notes from the
artist's diary, as well as botanical notes by Ronald King, the Secretary of the
Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.
The High Kings: Arthur's Celtic Ancestors, by
Joy Chant.
(Allen & Unwin, 1983. $39.95).
This richly-illustrated story
book bridges the gap ill children's reading between childhood and adolescence.
The legends are written in a sophisticated manner, and the proliferation of
excellent coloured illustrations makes the information accessible as vvell as
exciting. The book begins with a discussion of the verbal tradition, and goes on
to look at the historical precedents for these legends.
ABC. A New Way of
Seeing, by Arlene Alda.
(Celestial Arts, 1983.)
Arlene Alda is probably
better known to us as the wife of Alan AIda, the actor. She is a professional
photographer, and is interested in children's books. This little book tells the
story of the alphabet in everyday things. 'O' is the headlamp of a car, 'R' is
the coil in a hose, L is the shape of a road. In colour, and in a compact
paper-back format, this book would bean ideal addition to any pre-schooler's
library.
The Erotic Arts, by Peter Webb.
(Seeker& Warburg, 1983. $25.75)
First printed in 1978, this new edition in paperback covers the
history of erotica in art from the ancient and primitive to eroticism in the
twentieth century. There is a discussion on film censorship, and illustrations
from the restricted collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum as new
additions. The book is lavishIy illustrated in black-and-white.
Byker:
Sirkka-Liisa Konttinen.
(Jonathan Cape, 1983 $13.75.)
John Wesley apparently
exclaimed, in 1790, that the English village of Byker was his vision of
paradise. The photographer/author of this account of Byker today may well be
giving its a version of modern paradise! The photographs are a documentary
account of a working class suburb, filled with turn-of-the-century semi-detached
houses and tenements.
The Great Photographers Series. Cecil Beaton, Julia
Margaret Cameron, Ernst Haas, Thomas Hopker, Donald McCullin, Man Ray, Peter
Turner
(Collins, 1983. $12.95 each)
In this series we are given a range of
photographs since the nineteen-twenties. These are inexpensive and well printed
paperbacks on the lives of great photographers. Where colour is required, colour
is used, and each has an accompanying introduction about the life and work of
the artist.