Life Is Paradise: The Portraits of Francesco Clemente

Rating:
Summary: Artist Is A Great Talent But His Publisher Is A Butcher
Review: This is wonderful painting and you will find yourself sighing over what should have been. I must agree with the other reviewers at Amazon, who say this is the worst designed book they've ever seen. It's too true. Yes, the dead center, binding portion of the book (called the gutter) is where you'll find the crucial part of many of the portraits! To say this hinders the viewing experience is about as mild a statement as one can make. If I were Clemente, I would want this book recalled as a defective product and the manufacturer (publisher) made to come up with a new one, just like with a defective automobile (The Lemon Law). So why am I giving it a 3 star rating? Clemente's art works are a 5 star event. Seeing them under these circumstances is better than not seeing them. The gorgeous cover portrait is representative of Clemente's work shown in this book. The color reproductions themselves seem quite fine; it is solely an issue of design placement of the images. I'm not sorry I bought it; I do wish I had gotten it at half price though!

Rating:
Summary: Artist Is A Great Talent But His Publisher Is A Butcher
Review: This is wonderful painting and you will find yourself sighing over what should have been. I must agree with the other reviewers at Amazon, who say this is the worst designed book they've ever seen. It's too true. Yes, the dead center, binding portion of the book (called the gutter) is where you'll find the crucial part of many of the portraits! To say this hinders the viewing experience is about as mild a statement as one can make. If I were Clemente, I would want this book recalled as a defective product and the manufacturer (publisher) made to come up with a new one, just like with a defective automobile (The Lemon Law). So why am I giving it a 3 star rating? Clemente's art works are a 5 star event. Seeing them under these circumstances is better than not seeing them. The gorgeous cover portrait is representative of Clemente's work shown in this book. The color reproductions themselves seem quite fine; it is solely an issue of design placement of the images. I'm not sorry I bought it; I do wish I had gotten it at half price though!

Rating:
Summary: Cozy paintings
Review: When I was a kid Francesco Clemente lived in my building on Broadway in NYC and my father would take me downstairs to where his studio was. I was awe-stricken by the size of his huge paintings next to my 5 year-old body. For years I had the memory of his beautiful oversized interpretations of people's faces in my head and when I saw Great Expectaions I couldn't believe my eyes. His art is one of a kind and I recommend this book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Cozy paintings
Review: When I was a kid Francesco Clemente lived in my building on Broadway in NYC and my father would take me downstairs to where his studio was. I was awe-stricken by the size of his huge paintings next to my 5 year-old body. For years I had the memory of his beautiful oversized interpretations of people's faces in my head and when I saw Great Expectaions I couldn't believe my eyes. His art is one of a kind and I recommend this book to everyone.