Reviews for Tropical Birds: Stencil Designs

The average rating for Tropical Birds: Stencil Designs based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-06-30 00:00:00 Bryan Cline This anthology of essays on art, artists and art movements provides a set of interesting interpretations of Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and modern arts from a feminist perspective. The essays reflect the richness and variety of feminist theory and its approach to arts and culture. Essays address the cultural depiction of women, critique masculine assumptions about what constitutes art, who belongs in the canon and the hidden assumptions that criticism has had in taking up art and artists. As a consequence, we get readings on the implications of misunderstanding the matrilineal secession of Pharoah's in ancient Egypt, the role of women in the ancient Roman marketplace and the depiction of women in Degas' paintings. In addition several essays examine the treatment women artists and the significance of their contributions to art history and its significance for how women are depicted and understood. A superb overview of art history and an excellent set of essays.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-09-19 00:00:00 JANE BROWN It took me a while to get through, but it was worth the effort. Some of the chapters made mediocre arguments, probably due to length constraints; however others were utterly fascinating, giving me new perspectives. I write "new" although the book is from the early 1980s- just before I started taking art history classes. One chapter, "Degas' Misogyny" was particularly enlightening. The author argued with wit and practiced academic writing that Degas, while irascible, did not hate women. Indeed, in the 90s and perhaps the 00s, Degas was still considered a misogynist. The book makes me want to rush down to the Metropolitan Museum and look at some of their paintings in a new way. While I'm quite sensitive to (and angry about) the continued overwhelming bias towards male artists in museums (and art criticism in general), looking at the work that is there in a new way will keep my head fresh and my heart open. Read it.