Houses of the Berkshires, 1870-1930 (The Architecture of Leisure)

Product Description

"Houses of the Berkshires" surveys 35 of the most renowned resort estates of Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts, designed by nationally-known firms, including McKim, Mead & White, Carrere and Hastings, and Frederick Law Olmsted. The client list included lawyer and Ambassador Joseph Choate, inventor George Westinghouse, and novelist-social observer Edith Wharton. Illustrated with over 300 archival photographs and floor plans, the book uniquely chronicles a distinctive social and literary colony and now vanished way of life.

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful book.......2007-07-24

A beautiful book, beautifully written, about a memorable part of American history, architectural and otherwise.

BERKSHIRES.......2006-05-06

Acanthus is the gold standard publisher of books of this kind and their latest book does not disappoint. Mr. White does a supurb job of selecting wonderful images of these amazing estates and his research is scholarly and highly informative. If you appreciate beautifully crafted books on Gilded Age residential architecture, then I can't imagine you not loving this book. I have never had the pleasure of visiting the Bershires, so I guess this will have to be the next best thing to experiencing in person.

Rebuttal to Mr. Millen.......2006-04-20

Mr. Millen brings up some criticisms that are valid but are misplaced. This is not an ENTIRELY fresh view of the Berkshires but local authors Gilder and Jackson bring to light much fresh architectural and social history. Also, they have found a number of previously unpublished photographs that delight, such as the early view of Naumkeag that appears inside and on the back cover. Ms. Owen's work was groundbreaking, but this work supercedes it, particularly in the great production values for which this publisher is famous.
Most curious about Mr. Millen's criticism is his desire to see the houses in mid-century ruin. There is romance in ruin, but this exquisite book's goal was to show these great estates in their glory days. Perhaps he should approach the publisher to produce his very own "Berkshires in Ruins" volume. That might indeed be a charming tome and one I would consider buying.
I highly recommend this book as an intelligent and distinctive coverage of the great houses of Lenox and Stockbridge and environs.

Well done but not an entirely fresh view of the Berkshires.......2006-04-20

I found this to be a well researched and mostly through book covering a wide selection of architectural examples from the Berkshires. It has a good mix of numerous previously published historical photos (the Lenox Library put out a photography book of note, too) but also many photos I have not seen before. While many of the properties are still standing today few of the photographs used are current, which is a shame, and fewer still are from the middle of the last century.

The title is more sterile in comparison to the almost Bible-like reference on the Berkshire estates, Carole Owens' "Berkshires Cottages: A Vanishing Era" from 1984. The Owens title came out when architecturally the "Inland Newport" was just starting to awaken from years of abuse and neglect of many of these delightful white elephants of the Gilded Age. Now this title, "Houses of the Berkshires", is being released when the area couldn't be any more desirable and vibrant with almost none of the remaining and covered Berkshires `cottages' in any state of disrepair. A large exception is the in-restoration Rotch & Tilden designed Ventfort Hall. It would be nice, as a means to better appreciate these homes, to also share in such a book as this the state to which many of these homes sank before they rebounded to the condition they are in today.

The book is more brief then I'd prefer on some homes, but often those noted residences have been far better covered in books devoted to the architect or the family. Case in point, Elm Court was best detailed in the 1991 book "The Vanderbilts and the Gilded Age: Architectural Aspirations, 1879-1901" and High Lawn in the 2003 title, "The Architecture of Delano & Aldrich". Although the latter seems to be a place forever cloaked in mystery matching its beautiful fa?ade and vast feudal landholdings.

Published by Acanthus Press who republished the brilliant architect Harrie Thomas Lindeberg's 1940 original "Domestic Architecture" as well as an assortment of reflective regional focused titles with areas of wealth and architectural significance. Among those titles is the delightful "The Main Line: Country Houses of Philadelphia's Storied Suburb, 1870-1930". This book is recommendable for those who enjoy grand domestic architecture mated with true landscaping skill which should be preserved and harkens back to a time when having money did result in good taste - at least for the Berkshires.

Book Description

By the 1990s, public art had evolved far beyond the lonely monument on an open plaza. Now public artists might design the entire plaza, create an event to alter the social dynamics of an urban environment, or help to reconstruct a neighborhood. Dialogues in Public Art presents a rich blend of interviews with the people who create and experience public art -- from an artist who mounted three bronze sculptures in the South Bronx to the bureaucrat who led the fight to have them removed; from an artist who describes his work as a "cancer" on architecture to a pair of architects who might agree with him; from an artist who formed a coalition to convert twenty-two derelict row houses into an art center/community revitalization project to a young woman who got her life back on track while living in one of the converted houses.

The twenty interviews are divided into four parts: Controversies in Public Art, Experiments in Public Art as Architecture and Urban Planning, Dialogues on Dialogue-Based Public Art Projects, and Public Art for Public Health. Tom Finkelpearl's introductory essay provides a concise overview of changing attitudes toward the city as the site of public art.

This book includes interviews with Vito Acconci, John Ahearn, David Avalos, Denise Scott Brown, Rufus L. Chaney, Mel Chin, Douglas Crimp, Paulo Freire, Andrew Ginzel, Linnea Glatt, Louis Hock, Ron Jensen, Kristin Jones, Maya Lin, Rick Lowe, Jackie McLean, Frank Moore, Jagoda Przybylak, Assata Shakur, Michael Singer, Elizabeth Sisco, Arthur Symes, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Robert Venturi, and Krzysztof Wodiczko

Customer Reviews:

Good overview.......2000-06-10

Although Finkelpearl is simply wrong about the web and his setting up of an antithetical relationship between the city and its suburbs is, well, dated... his book is really one of the best collection of contemporary public art interviews and ideas out there. Finkelpearl's hands-on involvement with NYC public art programs gives him a level-headed, understated, and pragmatic interview style which avoids too much theoretical diddling and agenda-pumping. Smart, clear, well organized... anybody interested in contemporary public art should own this book.

Advances in Natural Multimodal Dialogue Systems (Text, Speech and Language Technology)

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Advances in Natural Multimodal Dialogue Systems (Text, Speech and Language Technology)

Manufacturer: Springer
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Communications | Skills | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Social Sciences | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Linguistics | Words & Language | Reference | Subjects | Books

Systems Analysis & Design | Computer Science | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 1402039344

Book Description

The main topic of this volume is natural multimodal interaction. The book is unique in that it brings together a great many contributions regarding aspects of natural and multimodal interaction written by many of the important actors in the field. It is a timely update of Multimodality in Language and Speech Systems by Björn Granström, David House and Inger Karlsson and, at the same time, it presents a much broader overview of the field. Its 17 chapters provide a broad and detailed impression of where the fairly new field of natural and multimodal interactivity engineering stands today. Topics addressed include talking heads, conversational agents, tutoring systems, multimodal communication, machine learning, architectures for multimodal dialogue systems, systems evaluation, and data annotation.

This title will prove very valuable to scientists, researchers and practitioners working in the fields of natural interactive systems, multimodal systems, conversational agents, spoken dialogue systems, natural language processing applications, advanced human-computer interfaces, analysis of multimodal data, evaluation of multimodal systems, and educational systems.

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Dialogues: Women Artists from Ireland
Katy Deepwell
Manufacturer: I. B. Tauris
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | History & Criticism | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Women's Studies | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This illuminating book brings together interviews with sixteen contemporary women artists whose work was exhibited in Ireland in the 1990s, a significant decade for art in Ireland with the opening of new art museums and galleries and an appreciable rise in the numbers and visible presence of women artists. Each of the interviews covers a decade of art production and exhibition in the life of each artist. While the artists interviewed live and work internationally-in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Belgium and the US--each of the artists has an individual and complex relationship to Ireland. Ireland is also a problematic locus for a wide range of concerns: motherhood, sexuality, concepts of home and family, a place of estrangement and dislocation, migration and return. An equally wide range of strategies in the making of contemporary art are discussed, including drawing, painting, installation, sculpture, performance, and public art projects.

Paul Klee: Dialogue With Nature (Art & Design)

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Paul Klee: Dialogue With Nature (Art & Design)
Paul Klee
Manufacturer: Prestel Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Artists, A-Z | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Switzerland | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 3791311417

Fresh Dialogue Five: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)

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Fresh Dialogue Five: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)

Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

CAD | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Graphic Design | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books
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Fresh Dialogue Four: New Voices in Graphic Design
Fresh Dialogue Six: Friendly Fire: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue/New Voices in Graphic Design)
Fresh Dialogue 3
Fresh Dialogue 1, New Voices in Graphic Design
Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)

ASIN: 1568985150

Book Description

Five years ago, the American Institute of Graphic Arts launched Fresh Dialogue, a series aimed at bringing together emerging design talent and providing them with an open forum to discuss their own work and the direction of the field.

Book Description

This book addresses the lively artistic dialogue that took place between Russia and the West--in particular with the United States, Britain, and France--from the 1860s to the Khrushchev Thaw. Offering stimulating new readings of cross-cultural exchange, it illuminates Russia's compelling, and sometimes combative, relation with western art in this period of profound cultural transformation.

Russian Art and the West breaks new ground in the range of its material and its chronological span. Attending both to vanguard tendencies and to the official artistic institutions and practices of the tsarist and Soviet eras, it casts light on seminal developments little studied in western scholarship, while also providing new contexts for, and fresh insights into, the avant-garde of the early 20th century.

The book's eleven essays by leading experts on Russian art and design explore painting, architecture, and the decorative arts, considering not only the objects but also the patrons, audiences, exhibitions, and critical readings that together shaped national culture in an international context. Written in an accessible style and encompassing a variety of approaches, they collectively rethink conventional polarities and influences, and unpack the myths of separateness and isolation so often associated with artistic endeavor in late imperial or Soviet Russia.

This illustrated volume will appeal to students, scholars, and general readers seeking to understand the fuller context of Russian artistic culture during a remarkable century of social and political change.

Revelation, Truth, Canon, and Interpretation: Studies in Justin Martyr's Dialogue With Trypho (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, 64)

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Revelation, Truth, Canon, and Interpretation: Studies in Justin Martyr's Dialogue With Trypho (Supplements to Vigiliae Christianae, 64)
Craig D. Allert
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

General | Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

History | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9004126198

Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)

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Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)
Kevin Lyons
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Architecture | Professional & Technical | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Fresh Dialogue 3
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Fresh Dialogue Five: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue)
Fresh Dialogue Four: New Voices in Graphic Design
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ASIN: 156898264X

Amazon.com

Each year, the New York chapter of the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) holds an evening of talks featuring emerging innovative designers. Fresh Dialogue 2: New Voices in Graphic Design reflects the batch who made their presentations on May 10, 2000. They included Kevin Lyons, One9ine partners Warren Corbitt and Matt Owens, and Susan Parr of ReVerb. This book re-creates the experience using transcripts of conversations with each and is illustrated with generous color images from their bodies of work.

Kevin Lyons's clients include Adidas, Nike, and Urban Outfitters, and his designs incorporate graffiti and rotoscoping-style techniques in textured, multilayered compositions. He casually and openly discusses his education (undergraduate studies in film at RISD, graduate work at CalArts), his work process ("My process is to wait until the last second and then go crazy..."), and appropriating street culture or hip-hop to make a design relevant. One9ine partners Corbitt and Owens discuss how being a relatively small studio makes them a good choice for small budgets, despite the fact that the rich designs they produce for such clients as the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and MOMA show no sign of limited funds. "Honestly, good things come from smart people working in a small group making smart decisions." And Parr and her ReVerb cofounders Somi Kim and Lisa Nugent discuss their process for creating branding solutions, whether for the retro-hip Avalon Hotel, Metrius, or Nike.

The dialogues don't address the clients and projects in great detail; this book isn't about how they arrived at specific designs. It's more about the overall process of starting a career, tapping into creative inspirations, and finding novel solutions. The voices are open and frank and fun. Reading Fresh Dialogue 2 is like dropping by three hip studios, checking out the work, and then relaxing in a coffee shop afterward for a friendly chat. --Angelynn Grant

Book Description

Shopping for the freshest new design talent? You'll find them here in Fresh Dialogue 2, the latest entree from the American Institute of Graphic Arts. Showcasing three exciting new voices--Warren Corbitt and Matt Owens from One9ine; Kevin Lyons; and Susan Parr from ReVerb--Fresh Dialogue 2 presents their design ideas and practices through discussion and vivid color images. One9ine is a design company specializing in visual communications for print, broadcast, and interactive media. Corbitt and Owens share a broad and in-depth knowledge ranging from editorial redesign to brand identity and website development. Their current client roster includes Wieden and Kennedy, MoMA, I.D., and Bartle Bogle and Hegarty. Kevin Lyons has worked for Urban Outfitters, Nike, Jordan Brand, Stussy, and the Spike Jones-owned Girl Skateboard Company. He was recently named one of the "top forty designers under 30" by I.D. Magazine. ReVerb is a design consultancy, research bureau, and trend-watching agency. Led by Somi Kim, Lisa Nugent, and Susan Parr, the 10-year-old company has evolved from an experimental design collective to a hybrid team that provides an integrated approach to the design, messaging, and execution of communications in diverse media.

The Literary Microcosm: Theories of Interpretation of the Later Neoplatonists (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition)

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The Literary Microcosm: Theories of Interpretation of the Later Neoplatonists (Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition)
J. A. Coulter
Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

General | Interior Design | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books

Greek | Classics | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Greek & Roman | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Ancient | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9004044892

Fresh Dialogue Six: Friendly Fire: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue/New Voices in Graphic Design)

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Fresh Dialogue Six: Friendly Fire: New Voices in Graphic Design (Fresh Dialogue/New Voices in Graphic Design)
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
Manufacturer: Princeton Architectural Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Design & Decorative Arts | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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Fresh Dialogue 3

ASIN: 1568985827

Book Description

The AIGA’s Fresh Dialogue series brings together emerging designers in annual roundtable discussions, providing them with a forum to talk about their work, thoughts, and ideas. Fresh Dialogue 6: Friendly Fire bridges the divide between high and low tech by focusing on two studios standing at opposite sides of the field of designed objects and social responsibility. The 62 is a Brooklyn-based design and art collective that works with designers, artists, and social and not-for-profit organizations on projects that involve a vision of sustainable culture within a contemporary urban environment. Crye Associates design, engineer, and fabricate everything from light switches and handheld PCs to handgun components and GP racing motorcycles. As lead contractors on the U.S. military’s Project Scorpion they are reinventing everything worn or carried by a soldier.

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