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Books 277 reader a feelfor the problemsand makes him aware of the need for competent legal counsel in many situations. Perhaps the most valuable section, at least in termsof the tangibleeffectit can have on the artist’s lifestyle,isTaxProblemsof the Artist. Thefluctuatingincomeof the artist createsuniquetax problems, but it appears,from aperusal of the chapter on Tax, that there are severalwaysto dealwith this problem and some honest devicesto save a few hard earned dollars. The sub-section on Estate Taxes and Planning raises questions in a field with which the average creator of artworks has little familiarity but is of enormous importance considering the nature of hisproduct, that is, a workthat passesfrom age to age and hand to hand. It is satisfying, indeed, to find so much practical information crammed quite painlessly into a neat 100 pages. The second book, on the other hand, is an ambitious 582 pp., chronicling over 5000 years’ incidents of ‘suppression, restriction and restraint of visualcommunicationof the plasticarts’. Limitations on art critics, art museums and galleries, art sellers and art viewers, as well as famous art controversies and causes ce72bres are considered. It would seem that Clapp was interested in numbers rather than depth. The hundreds of incidents are reported in ‘factualand anecdotalform’, though the indexdoesprovidereferencesourcesfor moredetail. The value of this collection, therefore, is more as a reader’s guide than as an informational source. Certainly, the appetite is only whetted for information in the brief paragraphs and sometimes single sentences the author employs to describe each incident. No opinion is put forth and no judgment is made and, though this may be admirable, it does make for dry reading. The areas covered by the collection are Art and State and Politics; Art and Society; Art and Law; Art and Religion; Art and Aesthetics; and Art and IndividualRights. Thoughallthese areas are covered , the overwhelmingmajority of the book relates incidences of restraint in the area of obscenity, pornography or the judgment of works of art as such. And thoughthistomeisrather repetitiousand redundant, one must assume that it was conceived as a tool for the scholar-researcher, not the bedtime reader or student of life. While their goals are different, it can be said that both ‘The Visual Artist and the Law’ and ‘Art Censorship’ meet their objectives. Certainly both have a rightful place in space and time. Practical Gemstone Craft. Helen Hutton. Studio Vista, London, 1972. 105 pp., illus. f2.60. Reviewed by Jehangir S. Bhownagary* A well organized introduction to the lapidary’s craft, a useful glossaryat the beginningof the book *97 Rue Gallieni, 921oo-Bodognesur Seine, France. and the first chapters on the nature of rocks and minerals whet the appetite, are sound, clear and ‘down-to-earth’. Hutton has no illusions about the difficultiesfacing the amateur lapidary. ‘One must appreciatethe variouspropertiesand characteristics of minerals in order to bring to life their finest qualities. There is frequently a bewildering difference of colour occurring in the same species, while diverse stones sometimesresemble each other quite closely. Identificationcan be quite difficultwithout guidelines.’ These guidelines she proceeds to give (no mean task) to the best of her ability perhaps at timesa littleskimpily. Shequiteclearlybelievesthat nothing can replace joining a lapidary club and going on ‘fieldtrips with experiencedcompanions’. It is one of the book‘s meritsthat it makes one want to do just that. We are beholden to the author for eschewingthe terms ‘rockhounds’or ‘pebblepups’. Her use of words, such as ‘densely-feltedtexture’, I like. Tactile sensations are not readily put into words. Her chapter describing gemstones and decorative stones shows a level-headed approach and the notes on ‘working’ each type of stone are particularly helpful, as are the points made at the end of each chapter. The survey of lapidary equipment and its uses is wide-ranging-the most completeIhaveseento date. Herinstructionson cutting a cabochon are disappointingand not as clear as the rest of her writing. The photographs on grinding dopped stones do not really bring understanding. The unequal quality of the printing of the illustrations and the printer’s ‘boob‘ opposite p. 63, inverting captions and photographs, somewhat let down the usual Studio Vista standards. Chapter 8, on what to do with stones and the use of...

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