Thursday, October 22, 2009

Name That Style: All About Isms in Art, by Bob Raczka

Name That Style: All About Isms in Art, by Bob Raczka. Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2009. 32 pp. ISBN-13: 9780822575863


“Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso began taking things apart in their minds. Then they put the pieces back together on the canvas in an abstract form. Rather than showing one side of a thing, which is the way our eyes see, the Cubists wanted to show all sides of a thing at once.” p. 21

Reader's Annotation
Intrigued yet mystified by art styles and artists? Bob Raczka has the answers, and in two pages each on fourteen different art styles, he tells us the key facts about each style’s characteristics, techniques, and artists and their motivations.

About the Author
As a boy, Bob Raczka loved to draw, and eventually studied art in high school and college. When he had his first child, Raczka rediscovered children’s books and decided to try writing books about art for children. After five years of writing, he published the first of several art books. He has also written on other topics. He lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, with his wife, three children, and dog, Rufus.

Genre
Nonfiction (visual art)

Reading Level/Interest Age
Ages 9-11

Content Summary
This book discusses fourteen art styles chronologically, from the fifteenth through the twentieth centuries, including: Naturalism, Mannerism, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Pointillism, Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Op Art, and Photorealism. In Raczka’s introduction he discusses the fact that “-ism” can refer to an artistic style or movement, and that in his book, he hopes to make the ideas behind the fourteen art styles understandable. On each two-page spread, Raczka shows a work of art representative of a certain style on the left side, and a summary of key points about that style on the right side. Each style summary begins with a short description of the style, its history, how it relates to previous styles, and the philosophy of its artists. Following this are a few lines about when and where the style was popular, usually with more historical notes. Then Raczka lists the name, country, and birth and death dates of a few of the more well-known artists of that style. He then gives a bullet-point summary of some of the most dominant characteristics of the style. The last section discusses why the work of art shown is a good example of the style, and the techniques that the artist used. Finally Raczka defines any difficult or unusual terms that he’s used in his summary.

Critical Evaluation
This book is an excellent summary for both tweens and adults alike. I feel that I’ve come away with a solid grasp of what each style looks like, what motivated artists of that style, and the techniques they used to create the interesting effects of each style. And all without having to experience the esoteric information overload that can scare non-artists like me away from art books. The word I would use overall to describe Raczka’s presentation is “succinct”. Many of his sentences are fairly short and he only makes one key point in each, not rambling on. His notes on the history of each style, its artists, and the exemplar works of art are clear and interesting, including comments such as: “But they [the Impressionists] weren’t interested in unpleasant things. They wanted to capture a moment, or a quick impression of a scene” (p. 15) and “So why did Matisse paint this woman with such strange colors? Maybe they are the colors of love, since this is a portrait of his wife, Amelie” (p. 19). One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Raczka describes the key characteristics of each style in short bullet points, and doesn’t bury this information in lengthy description. And it is a beautiful book, as the background of each two-page spread is a different color, with the left and right pages being different hues. Against these complementary backdrops, the works of art truly shine, encouraging a new generation of art lovers.

Booktalking Ideas
• Show several of the works of art in the book, asking the audience how these make them feel, and then sharing the common themes often associated with paintings in these styles.
• Very briefly summarize about seven of the styles discussed in the book, noting how they relate to each other chronologically.
• Talk about and/or demonstrate some of the unique techniques used by some of the highlighted artists.

Curriculum Ideas
• Art: Over the course of several weeks, students create artwork in each of the fourteen styles.
• History: Students study the historical periods and events surrounding the art styles discussed.
• Literature: From among the art styles which were associated with literary movements, students read a novel associated with their favorite art style.

Potential Challenge Issue & Defense
I do not foresee any challenges to this book, but if any were to arise, the following steps could be taken in defense:
• Become familiar enough with the book’s content to promote its literary and artistic merits.
• Refer to library’s collection development policy.
• Refer to book reviews from authoritative sources such as ALA, School Library Journal, etc.
• Obtain book reviews from tweens who have read it.

Why I Chose This Book
I discovered Bob Raczka through the American Library Association’s Building a Home Library (Ages 8-11) list of recommendations, and chose this book to fill in the gaps in my own knowledge of painting/art styles.

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