3 art books are works of beauty
CONTEMPORARY QUILT ART, by Kate Lenkowsky, Indiana University Press, 304 pages, 142 color photographs, $34.95
SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN JEWELRY: CRAFTING NEW TRADITIONS, by Dexter Cirillo, Rizzoli International Publications, 240 pages, 220 color and 25 black-and-white illustrations, $55
Regarded as one of the great masters of Santa Clara Pueblo pottery, Margaret Tafoya (1904-2001) is known for her trademark large black polished ceramics, decorated with traditional imagery of rain clouds, water serpents, bear paws and other symbols.
In "Born of Fire," writer Charles S. King, a recognized expert in the field of pueblo pottery and owner of King Galleries of Scottsdale, Ariz., offers an insightful biography along with a detailed, color photographic catalog of 75 works, photographed by Duane Reider.
The book also features family photographs from the unpublished personal collections of the artist's descendants. King interviewed many of these individuals who are masterful artisans themselves; they recount in interesting detail the events of Tafoya's life and her art.
As with all publications coming out of the Museum of New Mexico Press, this book is masterfully designed, solidly stitched and printed on excellent stock, which allows the color photographs to sing.
It is a definite keeper and can be found in bookstores after June 10.
• In quiltmaker/author Kate Lenkowsky's "Contemporary Quilt Art," she educates readers with remarkable verbal and visual dexterity; she alters our perception of quilts, converting us to the religion of quilts as art.
It is a revelatory experience.
In her preface she queries, "Why choose cloth and quilts over paint, stone or metal, the artistic media that fill our art museums and galleries?"
An excellent question that is skillfully answered as she escorts us through the life and work of 19 contemporary quilt artists.
The accompanying vivid color photographs of the artists' quilts is enough by itself to make you want to own this publication: Each photograph vibrates with crispness and saturated color. Indiana University Press deserves praise for what it has put together.
After the section on the artists, Lenkowsky gives readers an overview of exhibition and marketing opportunities, lists of art quilt organizations, a lengthy guide for quilt buyers and collectors, how to commission a quilt, how to hang a quilt, appraisals, insurance and more.
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