Blows and Bombs: Antonin Artaud, the Biography

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Mediocre

Blows and Bombs: Antonin Artaud, the Biography
Stephen Barber
Manufacturer: Creation Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Artaud: The Screaming Body

Antonin Artaud: Selected Writings

Watchfiends & Rack Screams

Anthology

Heliogabalus: Or, the Crowned Anarchist

ASIN: 1840680822

Book Description

The only biography of avant-garde Surrealist artist, filmmaker and theorist Antonin Artaud is now re-published in a new, expanded and updated edition. Spanning his involvement with the Surrealist movement, the seminal Theatre of Cruelty and his 9-year asylum incarceration, this is the definitive biography on this legendary figure of 20th century culture.

Stephen Barber is a noted cultural historian and the leading authority on Artaud. Previous publications include: The Burning World (Edmund White biography), Caligula and Artaud: The Screaming Body (Creation).

Customer Reviews:

Mediocre.......2004-06-16

After reading this my first thought was: "Well, maybe some day they really will come out with a definitive biography of Artaud."
Antonin Artaud, the enigmatic and crazed King of Modern Poetry, is ripe for a huge biography detailing his childhood, the intricacies of his tremendous psychological difficulties, his revolutionary approach to theatre, etc. Maybe Barber does his best with the nearly incomprehensible subject he chose--blurbs about his drug use, his migraine filled childhood, and the standard boring crap about his disagreements with and eventual expulsion from the surrealist movement. The analysis of his 'poetry' is pedestrian, nothing special. I gave it three stars because there are some amusing stories and hitherto untold tales about Artaud's bizarre exploits toward the end of his life. All in all, though, a disappointment.

Average customer rating:

Excellent bio.

Antonin Artaud: Blows and Bombs
Stephen Barber
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0571172520

Customer Reviews:

Excellent bio........2006-01-13

Stephen Barber, Antonin Artaud: Blows and Bombs (Faber and Faber, 1993)

When I grew up, I wanted to be Antonin Artaud. I first discovered his early poetry in Michael Benedikt's must-own anthology The Poetry of Surrealism early on in my high school career, discovering his late work and film work in college. Artaud's expressive, antagonist writing style captured me from the beginning, and the surface details of the tortured artist were immensely appealing. It is only now (I'd flirted with this book for some time, but didn't get round to picking it up until after seeing it receive the greatest acclain Clay Eshleman could give it-- he used it as a reference in the introduction to the English-language version of Artaud's Watchfiends and Rack Screams a few years later) that I get the full story. I still want to be Antonin Artaud when I grow up, but there are some pieces of his life I'd rather avoid, if possible.

Barber's biography, weighing in at less than two hundred pages, is like to be looked on by some folks as spare-- after all, we live in an age where some folks get biographies that are longer than L. Ron Hubbard's never-ending Mission Earth. And to some minor extent, those folks do have a point; there are some odd omissions here (Barber never even glosses over, for example, the commonly-levelled charge that Artaud was "abandoned" at Ville-Evrard, and the privations which followed-- not even to say "these allegations cannot be confirmed or denied," or to refer to the sources of those allegations in Artaud's own work). That said, the amount of space given seems otherwise just enough.

Barber is presenting a "just the facts, ma'am"-style biography here, with only as much cultural context as is necessary to explain Artaud's actions every now and again. Because of this, the reader familiar with the actions and lives of the main characters of the surrealist movement, especially Andre Breton, are likely to be able to mentally fill in some gaps that others will probably notice. Having been relatively immersed in the life and culture of the surrealists for two decades, it's hard for me to look at this and see it as someone who'd only heard the name and seen, maybe, a few of the paintings would approach it. I do think, however, that Barber's sparse prose style will make for a readable, if somewhat dry, biography even for those without much experience of the life and times of its subject before they pick it up.

Not something I'm now aching to have go into my permanent collection, but I'll likely pick it up again at some point. Antonin Artaud's life is a stunning mass of contradictions, and they're well-presented by Barber; a good book about a great artist. *** ½

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Ipek: The Crescent & the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets

Average customer rating:

Clothes as High Art
A must for any textile lover

Ipek: The Crescent & the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets
Nurhan Atasoy , Walter Denny , Louise Mackie , Hulya Tezcan , Turk Ekonomi Bankasi , Walter B. Denny , and Louise W. Mackie
Manufacturer: Azimuth Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1898592195
Release Date: 2002-01-02

Book Description

Status symbols, diplomatic gifts, artistic mediums, and economic treasures--figured silk fabrics were among the most powerful and most characteristic artistic products of the Ottoman Empire. Wars were fought for control of silk revenues, and governments devoted major bureaucratic efforts toward the organization, regulation, and taxation of silk production. Ipek: The Crescent & the Rose is the most comprehensive and magnificently illustrated overview of Ottoman silk textiles of the 16th and 17th centuries. Its lavish, full-bleed, six-color reproductions of fabrics from the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, and from lesser-known ecclesiastical treasuries in the Balkans, Sweden, Poland, and Russia, demonstrate the creativity of Ottoman weavers in rich detail, and will appeal to anyone with an interest in design or a general appreciation for visual delights. Accompanied by scholarly essays that shed light on the different historical, legislative, economic, and technological factors that determined the history of these textiles.

Customer Reviews:

Clothes as High Art.......2002-06-06

The silks and velvets featured in Ipek are amazing in their detail, brilliant color, and craftsmanship. I found it particularly interesting that Ottoman textile and Iznik tile designs were often identical - although not even Iznik tiles can compare with the textiles in Ipek.

One caveat: The essays are well researched and have interesting themes, but are as dry as July in Tucson.

A must for any textile lover.......2002-04-18

This is an outstanding book, an art object by itself and a serious scientific monography on Ottoman silk textiles of XVI to XVIII cent. CAUTION : no carpets, kilims or embroidery !Marvellous full-page color photos of about 150 silk specimens from the leading world collections plus many more b/w photos; all with descriptions. Very nice text, easy to read by non-professionals : history of Ottoman silk production, techniques, trade, history etc. etc. The only book matching the high standard of the " Ipek" seems to me " Seidengewebe des XVII jahrhunderts : Bizarre Seiden " by H.Ch. Ackermenn, Abegg_Stiftung, Bern, Switzerland.
The IPEK book is a jewel in my collection of textile books. I recommend it, the only flaw is that it does not show vestments or costumes in full, only close-ups.
Piotr P. Stepien, Warsaw Poland

Flowers of Silk & Gold: 4 Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery

Average customer rating:

well written and photographed

Flowers of Silk & Gold: 4 Centuries of Ottoman Embroidery
Sumru Belger Krody
Manufacturer: Merrel
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Ottoman Embroidery

ASIN: 1858941059

Book Description

Until now, the rich textile tradition of the Ottoman Empire has rarely been been given the detailed consideration it deserves. Sumru Belger Krody here examines the practice of the intricate art of embroidery, which united the various ethnic and religious groups of the empire under a single aesthetic and gave rise to flowers of silk and gold that still enchant our imagination.

The Imperial City of Istanbul was the seat of power of the Ottoman Empire for nearly five hundred years, and like most imperial capitals it was a center for trade. The bazaars of this cosmopolitan, ethnically diverse city were famous for the embroidered textiles produced both by men in the city's workshops, and by women in the seclusion of the harems. In the decoration of their homes, the Ottomans mirrored the colors and abundance of their astonishing gardens; the wall hangings, cushions, and divan covers of the private houses of the city, products of the most exquisite design on the finest and rarest of cloth, combined to give an impression of opulence and luxury to astonished Western eyes. Embroidered textiles served as furniture and ornament in daily life and during rites of passage, while their production and sale provided an income for their makers, who occupied every level of Ottoman society up to the Palace harem and court workshop.

The Textile Museum's renowned collection of Ottoman embroidery began with a single purchase by its founder, George Hewitt Myers, in 1915. Flowers of Silk and Gold introduces this little-known but highly important collection for the first time. Examining the history of the various stitches, fabrics, and designs employed during Ottoman rule in Europe and Asia, as well as the social, political, and economic factors influencing their production and consumption, Flowers of Silk and Gold combines perspectives to give an engrossing insight into the glorious works of art of an unfamiliar, much-fantasized world.

Customer Reviews:

well written and photographed.......2006-11-27

If you're interested in the what and how of Ottoman embroidery, this is a good place to start. In addition to cultural and historical background, the book gives information on how the pieces were made, to what uses they were put, and influences on design and style. It's well illustrated throughout with not only photos of extant needlework, but on Ottoman style and culture. Many of the embroidery photos are detailed enough to see individual stitches.

The main chapters/sections are
A Brief History of the Ottoman Empire
Makers and Methods
Designs and Functions
Glossary
Catalog
Catalog has color photos and detailed information for 56 pieces from the 17th-19th centuries with a few pieces from the 20th. Includes info on stitches, technique, and thread count and spin of the ground fabric.

There is also a very good bibliography for those wishing to dig deeper. Another good book you might like is Ottoman Embroidery by Ellis and Wearden (NOT the one with the same title by Taylor).

The Legacy of St. Vladimir: Byzantium, Russia, America

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The Legacy of St. Vladimir: Byzantium, Russia, America

Manufacturer: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0881410780

Silk and Empire (Studies in Imperialism)

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Silk and Empire (Studies in Imperialism)
Brenda M. King
Manufacturer: Manchester University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0719067006
Release Date: 2005-08-11

Silks, Spices and Empire. Asia Seen through the Eyes of Its Discoverers

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Silks, Spices and Empire. Asia Seen through the Eyes of Its Discoverers
Owen and Eleanor Lattimore
Manufacturer: Delacorte
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000IXWDHW

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Silks, spices, and empire;: Asia seen through the eyes of its discoverers
Owen Lattimore
Manufacturer: Dell Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
ASIN: B0007EUB9O

Visiteurs de l'Empire celeste: Musee national des arts asiatiques-Guimet, 18 mai-29 aout 1994

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Visiteurs de l'Empire celeste: Musee national des arts asiatiques-Guimet, 18 mai-29 aout 1994

Manufacturer: Reunion des musees nationaux
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Byzantine silk weaving: AD 400 to AD 1200

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Byzantine silk weaving: AD 400 to AD 1200
Anna Muthesius
Manufacturer: Fassbaender
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 3900538506

Les empires du mirage: Hommes, dieux et mythes sur la Route de la soie

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Les empires du mirage: Hommes, dieux et mythes sur la Route de la soie
Francois-Bernard Huyghe
Manufacturer: R. Laffont
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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ASIN: 2221072448

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