Books Received

Books 333 eloquent spokesman of modern architecture and the challenges and opportunities of this age.Thisinterviewalone makesthe purchaseof the book worthwhile. Gehry, who receivedrecognitionrather recently, may well be the architect who is more closely identified with the art community than the others in this book, yet he has equally strong ties with the building industryand appreciatesthe role of construction. Heis also the most reticent. The highly visible younger architects emerged with the polemics on Post-Modernism and are in oneform or another associated with it. They are represented here by Charles Gwathmey, Richard Meier, Michael Graves and Robert A. M. Stern. Gwathmey epitomizes a disciplined professional, responsible and rigorous. Meier comes across as much more vulnerable and is perhaps a bit more on the spot. Graves is articulate and less flippant than at other times. The interview provides much insight into his controversial work. Stem is a good choice for the book's ending. He has a knack for touching upon everything that has been important during this period. Stem may well be more convincing as a spokesman than as an architect. Absent are such key American architects as Philip Johnson, Gunnar Birkerts, Peter Eisenman, Romaldo Giurgola, Robert Venturi, Kevin Roche, Paul Rudolph, the officesof SOM and Murphy and Associates, to name but a few of the more apparent omissions. The title of this valuable book is unfortunate and misleading. It implies that the interviewed architects represent not onlya cross-section of American architecture, but that they have influenced its course. A good third of them may not havehad much impact beyondarchitectural journalism. All but one are or consider themselves East Coast (U.S.A.) architects. There is no talk to speak of on the relationshipof American architecture to that of the rest of the world. One gets a sense of insularity. Yet many of these architects speak an international language and have contributed significantly on a world scale. The interviewer is somewhat preoccupied with the currently vogue and the New York scene. The book is a valuable document of interviews with 14 architects practicing during a turbulent time. It should not claim more than that. As such it may interest many of Leonardo's readers. BOOKS RECEIVED American Prints: Process and Proofs. Exhib. Cat. Judith Goldman. Whitney Museum of American Art and Harper & Row, New York, London, 1981. 176 pp.. illus. €15.00. ISBN: 0-06-433261-6. Burne-Jones Talking: His Conversations 1895-1898 Preserved by His Studio Assistant Thomas Rooke. Mary Lago, ed. John Murray, London, 1982. 211 pp., illus. €12.50. ISBN: 0-7195-3891-2. Canadian Review of Art Education Research. Vols 6 and 7 (in French and English). Elisabeth J. Sacca, ed. Canadian Society for Education through Art and Concordia Univ. Publ. Montreal, 1981.201pp.. illus. Paper, both vols. $7.50. The Contemporary Oil Painter's Handbook. A Complete Guide to Oil Painting:Materials, Tools,Techniques, and Auxiliary Services for the Beginning and Professional Artist. Clifford T. Chieffo. Van NostrandReinhold , Wokingham, England, 1980. 130 pp.. illus. Paper, €5.90. ISBN: 0-442-21492-8. Controlled Painting: A Sound Approach to Realistic Painting in O i l and Acrylic. Frank Covino. Van Nostrand-Reinhold, Wokingham, England, 1982. 159 pp.. illus. €19.15. Paper, €12.70. ISBN: Creative WatercolorTechniques.Yvonne du Moulin.Van Nostrand-Reinhold, Wokingham, England, 1981. 80 pp., illus. Paper, €6.75. ISBN: 0-442-21876-1. Diderot Critique &Art: II. Diderot, les salonniers et les btheticiens de son temps. Else Marie Bukdahl (in French). Jacques Piloz, transl. from Danish. Rosenkilde & Bagger, Copenhagen, 1982. 393 pp. Paper, D.Kr. 195.00. ISBN: 87-423-0426-1. The Experience of Motivation: The Theory of Psychological Reversals. Michael Apter. Academic Press, London, New York, 1982. 378 pp., illus. €16.80, $34.50. ISBN: 0-12-058920-6. FreehandDrawing. Philip Thiel. Van Nostrand-Reinhold, Wokingham, England, 1981.127pp., illus. Paper, Metaphor: New Projects by Contemporary Sculptors. Exhib. Cat. Howard Fox. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1982. 76 pp., illus. Paper. Notes on Interior Design. Information Design Associates. William Kaufmann, Los Altos, CA., 1981.46pp.. illus. Paper, $3.95. ISBN: 0-86576-021-7. Russian and Greek Iconsfrom the Charles Pankow Collection of Russianand Greek Icons Thirteenth through the...