ART Bibliographies MODERN, Vol. 5, No. 2, 1974 ed. by Peter Fitzgerald, Art Design Photo, No. 2, 1973 by Alexander Davis (review)

172 Bo0X.v This book is concerned with the assembly of television pictures from the studio floor as directed from the television control room. The central aspect treated is the visual work of directors. vision-mixers and cameramen. Problems of lighting, sound and scenery design are touched upon and the last chapter briefly treats the essentials of video-tape recording and filming. The book is written as a code of practice. commencing with four conventions to do with the Cut, Mix. Fade and the meaning of Left and Right: these the author seesas inviolate.There follow 63 concisely written Rules, Hints and Tips. each printed in bold type and accompanied by a good explanation and diagram. It is an excellent reference book for those contemplating or studying for acareer in TV production.The author, aware of the dangers of prescribing rules to artists, promotes a basically good technique. which he treats as a 'grammar' for use by aspiring producers or directors to adapt into an individualized language of expressive values. Speaking about a Code for Television Production, the author says that 'content is conditioned by presentation and cannot exist independently' and concludes that 'the television producer must never allow his mind to become so filled with considerations of method and technique that those of content and interpretation are forgotten'. The book is physically small enough to carry as a guide. Although the Rules, etc. are printed in bold type and are sequentially numbered, the inclusion of an index or the printing of the subject heading at the top of each page would greatly facilitate its use. Health Hazards Manual for Artists. Michael McCann. The Foundation for the Community of Artists, New York. 1975. 27 pp., illus. Paper. $2.00. Reviewed by George A. Agoston* McCaiin's . M t r t ~ t c d opens with: 'Are the materials you arc working with slowly killing you?Or maybe they arejust going to make you chronically ill. Scarey? I hope so, because many ofthe materials artists are working with are much more dangerous than iscommonly believed.' With this said, he proceeds to outline how chemicals in artists' materials can harm the human body. The hazardous products discussed include: solvents; aerosol sprays; acids and alkalis; paint pigments and vehicles; ceramic clays, pigments and glazes; lithograph chemicals and photographic processing chemicals. Dangers are pointed out in connection with the grinding of stone, the sanding of wood. metal casting. welding. soldering, brazing. the casting and laminating of synthetic resins. silk screening. photo litho, photo etching. and photo silk screening. The hazard in using ultraviolet lamps is not specified. but the dangers of ultraviolet exposure are mentioned in the discussions of welding and the photo techniques. Helpful information is provided on preventative measures, ,tudio ventilation. solvent storage, the use of respirators and the protection of skin. face, eyes and ears. Included are recommended sources (U.S.A.) of supply of protective equipment. Also given is a list of recommended books and articles. The National Safety Council, the American Industrial Hygiene Association and the Manufacturing Chemists' Association offer. at nominal cost, data sheets for a host of hazardous materials [I]. McCann cites only three data sheets. I believe that a listing of all the available data sheets on hazardous materials used by artists would be helpful. I object to several of McCann's statements. He states: 'An important safety rule with acids is to add the acid to the water. not the other way around.' Yes, this rule applies to concentrated sulfuric acid, whose density exceeds that ofwater and which has a high heat release on mixing with water. But there are scores of other acids and I doubt that the rule applies to many of them. He writes: 'Cobalt linoleate is the safest drier.' The use of the word 'safest' seems inadvisable in a safety manual, unless an authority is cited or the driers with which cobalt linoleate is compared are indicated with sufficient clarity. He claims: 'The resins [acrylic, acrylic/vinyl and vinyl] themselves arc nontoxic and. except for the pigments. so are the *4 rue Rnmbuteau. 75003 Paris, France. ~ - ~~ ~ready -to-use polymer colors (wateremulsions).'In a letter to the editor of Lronortlo. I...