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Making a Mark
MAKING A MARK was written in order to answer the author’s teenage grandson’s questions about art (What is Cubism? Who is Cézanne?). It starts with the first known cave paintings, and progresses through the great artistic periods and movements in the western world until the 21st century. Written in a highly accessible style by a painter and illustrator, the book is an excellent basic introduction to the history of European painting for someone of any age, curious about the subject and wanting to understand how and why it has developed as it has over the centuries.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 2, 2023
For some reason the first part of the book was not as impressive to me as the last 3/4s. I think part of this is that a lot of this part was old news for me. It could have been I was just feeling grumpy. The last 75 to 80% was quite interesting though. Some I knew but learned new stuff about that too. And after taking university art history, that's pretty darn good.
December 10, 2016
When it comes to art and the history of art I am ignorant and felt it would be appropriate for me to assess the content of Making a Mark from that aspect.
Having read Making a Mark I can now say I have a much greater appreciation of the evolution of art and how it was influenced by history, religion and governments. I believe it would also be of interest to both art and history students. The inclusion of short bios of famous artists and notes on terminology assists with the understanding of the subject.
Making a Mark covers the history and description of European art from ancient times to the 21st Century. It came about when the author’s grandson, out of the blue, asked “What is cubism?”. The question was followed by the firing of more questions as each was answered and explained.
I found the book to be well researched and written in language someone lacking in subject knowledge like myself can understand.
It is a shame that the variations of eBooks and eBook readers make including pictures so difficult. At the end of each section the author does recommend some paintings to research and I did look up each of them on the Internet but I can imagine some readers would not bother with this exercise. I am sure the inclusion of photographs would make a magnificent printed book.
I have given Making a Mark 3* but this is due to the absence of photographs. The inclusion of appropriate graphics would certainly make it worthy of 4* if not 5. It deserves to be published in print format.
I received a free copy of Making a Mark in return for an honest review.
This review is also posted on my website www.pam.id.au
Having read Making a Mark I can now say I have a much greater appreciation of the evolution of art and how it was influenced by history, religion and governments. I believe it would also be of interest to both art and history students. The inclusion of short bios of famous artists and notes on terminology assists with the understanding of the subject.
Making a Mark covers the history and description of European art from ancient times to the 21st Century. It came about when the author’s grandson, out of the blue, asked “What is cubism?”. The question was followed by the firing of more questions as each was answered and explained.
I found the book to be well researched and written in language someone lacking in subject knowledge like myself can understand.
It is a shame that the variations of eBooks and eBook readers make including pictures so difficult. At the end of each section the author does recommend some paintings to research and I did look up each of them on the Internet but I can imagine some readers would not bother with this exercise. I am sure the inclusion of photographs would make a magnificent printed book.
I have given Making a Mark 3* but this is due to the absence of photographs. The inclusion of appropriate graphics would certainly make it worthy of 4* if not 5. It deserves to be published in print format.
I received a free copy of Making a Mark in return for an honest review.
This review is also posted on my website www.pam.id.au
December 24, 2016
I received a review copy of this book from LibraryThing.
The intended audience for "Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting" by Marjorie Ann Watts is a teenager interested in the history of painting. Watts provides information about each era, and discusses representative works for Paleolithic, Egyptian, Greek and Roman arts. She gives brief biographies and art notes on individual artists beginning with the fifteenth century up to contemporary times. The book offers a good overview of the forces at work on the arts and artists throughout various eras. It covers a lot of ground, tracing connections between artists wherever possible.
"Making a Mark" is only available as an ebook. At the very beginning of the book the publisher explains they have omitted reproductions of the paintings because most people still read ebooks on a black and white only device. The book is text only with a list of representative paintings at the end of each chapter. I wrote to the publisher to ask if a version with active links for the images was available and was told that most people don't have wifi available while reading so active links were not included.
The publisher's note in the book ends: "We hope that you enjoy the interactive reading experience." This ebook does not provide an interactive reading experience. Interactive ebooks provide readily available links to additional information. Enhanced versions of ebooks also offer embedded links to video content.
To complete what the publisher deemed an interactive reading experience I tracked down every image listed. For chapter three the reader is directed to nearly forty paintings. The long process of seeking out the images makes it difficult to recall the author's conclusions while viewing the relevant image. The ebook "Art: Over 2500 Works from Cave to Contemporary" by Iain Zaczek and Mary Acton offers text and images together for immediate visual reinforcement of the ideas presented in text. For those who have easy access to the internet, a truly interactive learning experience is offered by Khan Academy. A free course covers the history of art in depth. Captioned videos, still images and text support a more complete learning experience. The lack of readily available links or images included with the text in "Making a Mark" creates a barrier that some adolescents will not be willing to overcome.
Another barrier for adolescents might arise when the author refers forward to artists who have yet to be discussed. For instance, in paragraphs devoted to Velazquez this sentence appears: "Unfussy yet sumptuous, elegant in design and composition, all his paintings have an unobtrusive and relaxed mastery which anticipates Manet and Degas two hundred years later." Sixteen-year-old readers may not have ready reference in their minds for Manet and Degas. A limited experience of art can make this sentence, and others like it, meaningless.
Watts sometimes offers personal opinions without adequate explanation or acknowledgement that her opinion may be singular. She writes: "In spite of his magnificent draughtsmanship and his wonderful appreciation and facility with paint in all its forms it is easy to find some of Rubens 'fat flesh' paintings gross and overpowering." Here, she doesn't define which paintings she finds objectionable, or why she would find it gross. As this is a book targeted to teens, it seems unwise to connect 'fat flesh' with the term 'gross' which reads as an insult. Overweight teens (and adults) are subject to bullying and discrimination based solely on prejudices about weight.
In her opening chapter the author avoids any direct discussion dissecting "art" to establish a working definition. Watt suggests that art includes both beautiful paintings and a shark submerged in formaldehyde, but doesn't lay out a definition. Although she provides theories about why "cave art" existed, she seems unaware of works considered art that existed in Africa 100,000 years ago. She didn't grapple with the questions raised by a 400,000 year old zig zag etched by homo erectus (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/ne...). Even without establishing parameters for "art" she is passively dismissive of Andy Warhol's contributions. She writes: "Considered by buyers and collectors as 'Art', Warhol's prints sold for large sums of money and he became one of America's richest and most influential artists." Watts leaves the distinct impression that Warhol's works aren't 'Art', but, doesn't offer a supporting analysis. Is this book is about the history of "art" - a vast subject that includes sculpture, architecture, performance works, and audience perceptions? Or is it about "painting" - applying pigment to a substrate? Defining "art" and "paintings" more closely at the outset of the book would have provided a clearer focus for the reader.
Despite the fact that it covers a lot of material, I cannot recommend this book. The lack of images, or readily available access to images; a focus that isn't clear; and the ways in which it presents barriers for every reader, and especially teenagers, means it is not a useful introduction to the history of European painting.
The intended audience for "Making a Mark: Letter to a Grandson on the Story of European Painting" by Marjorie Ann Watts is a teenager interested in the history of painting. Watts provides information about each era, and discusses representative works for Paleolithic, Egyptian, Greek and Roman arts. She gives brief biographies and art notes on individual artists beginning with the fifteenth century up to contemporary times. The book offers a good overview of the forces at work on the arts and artists throughout various eras. It covers a lot of ground, tracing connections between artists wherever possible.
"Making a Mark" is only available as an ebook. At the very beginning of the book the publisher explains they have omitted reproductions of the paintings because most people still read ebooks on a black and white only device. The book is text only with a list of representative paintings at the end of each chapter. I wrote to the publisher to ask if a version with active links for the images was available and was told that most people don't have wifi available while reading so active links were not included.
The publisher's note in the book ends: "We hope that you enjoy the interactive reading experience." This ebook does not provide an interactive reading experience. Interactive ebooks provide readily available links to additional information. Enhanced versions of ebooks also offer embedded links to video content.
To complete what the publisher deemed an interactive reading experience I tracked down every image listed. For chapter three the reader is directed to nearly forty paintings. The long process of seeking out the images makes it difficult to recall the author's conclusions while viewing the relevant image. The ebook "Art: Over 2500 Works from Cave to Contemporary" by Iain Zaczek and Mary Acton offers text and images together for immediate visual reinforcement of the ideas presented in text. For those who have easy access to the internet, a truly interactive learning experience is offered by Khan Academy. A free course covers the history of art in depth. Captioned videos, still images and text support a more complete learning experience. The lack of readily available links or images included with the text in "Making a Mark" creates a barrier that some adolescents will not be willing to overcome.
Another barrier for adolescents might arise when the author refers forward to artists who have yet to be discussed. For instance, in paragraphs devoted to Velazquez this sentence appears: "Unfussy yet sumptuous, elegant in design and composition, all his paintings have an unobtrusive and relaxed mastery which anticipates Manet and Degas two hundred years later." Sixteen-year-old readers may not have ready reference in their minds for Manet and Degas. A limited experience of art can make this sentence, and others like it, meaningless.
Watts sometimes offers personal opinions without adequate explanation or acknowledgement that her opinion may be singular. She writes: "In spite of his magnificent draughtsmanship and his wonderful appreciation and facility with paint in all its forms it is easy to find some of Rubens 'fat flesh' paintings gross and overpowering." Here, she doesn't define which paintings she finds objectionable, or why she would find it gross. As this is a book targeted to teens, it seems unwise to connect 'fat flesh' with the term 'gross' which reads as an insult. Overweight teens (and adults) are subject to bullying and discrimination based solely on prejudices about weight.
In her opening chapter the author avoids any direct discussion dissecting "art" to establish a working definition. Watt suggests that art includes both beautiful paintings and a shark submerged in formaldehyde, but doesn't lay out a definition. Although she provides theories about why "cave art" existed, she seems unaware of works considered art that existed in Africa 100,000 years ago. She didn't grapple with the questions raised by a 400,000 year old zig zag etched by homo erectus (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/ne...). Even without establishing parameters for "art" she is passively dismissive of Andy Warhol's contributions. She writes: "Considered by buyers and collectors as 'Art', Warhol's prints sold for large sums of money and he became one of America's richest and most influential artists." Watts leaves the distinct impression that Warhol's works aren't 'Art', but, doesn't offer a supporting analysis. Is this book is about the history of "art" - a vast subject that includes sculpture, architecture, performance works, and audience perceptions? Or is it about "painting" - applying pigment to a substrate? Defining "art" and "paintings" more closely at the outset of the book would have provided a clearer focus for the reader.
Despite the fact that it covers a lot of material, I cannot recommend this book. The lack of images, or readily available access to images; a focus that isn't clear; and the ways in which it presents barriers for every reader, and especially teenagers, means it is not a useful introduction to the history of European painting.
December 11, 2016
MAKING A MARK: LETTER TO A GRANDSON ON THE STORY OF EUROPEAN PAINTING by Marjorie Ann Watts was sent to me by Crux Publishing in exchange for an unbiased and honest review. This title was part of Library Thing’s Early Reviewers Program. Thank you.
Ms. Watts takes a very long, detailed and complicated history of western art and consolidates it into a very well-organized, extremely readable and understandable narrative.
The book is divided into 8 parts or chapters with a publisher’s note, preface, introduction and an ‘about the author’ piece.
The parts progress chronologically. Part I - The Ancient World; Part II - From the Book of Kells; Part III - A Brief History of Paints and Pigments; Part IV - Spain and Northern Europe; Part V - The Enlightenment; Part VI - Beginning of the Modern Age; Part VII - Modernism; Part VIII - Pop Art, Figurative Painting and the 21st Century.
Each part ends with a ‘paintings and things to look at’ list. Each item on the list corresponds with paintings, sculptures, artifacts, locations, temples, etc. discussed in the chapter.
I made several notes to myself as I read (which is a handy part of an ereader. I use a Kindle) and revisited those passages or artists or locations or items again when I finished.
I found Part II - A Brief History of Paints and Pigments to be most interesting.
I like the cover, which is the ‘Mona Lisa’ holding a letter in her hand. Clever. I think a book’s cover can be a great introduction to a book and an enticement to open it up and begin reading. (I often think it is a bit of a ‘forgotten art’ and is overlooked when publishing.)
I did write to the publisher (Crux Publishing) with some questions. They answered instantly, cheerfully and to the point. I was very impressed with their answers.
Questions: Is the book published only in ereader format or will it appear in print, also? and Will links to the list of ‘paintings and things to look at’ list be included at some point? (I said that while it isn’t ‘difficult’, it does break one’s concentration to put the ereader aside and then access a computer to look at images.)
Answers: The book is only in ebook format. There are no links because the book was designed for the lowest common denominator kindle, which is black & white with no wifi access. (I must agree that art images lose a lot of impact in black & white.) No links “sidesteps the swamp of getting permissions to include images.” This format also “encourages the reader to explore online image archives.”
The publisher thanks readers for their feedback. It is warmly received and noted. They are looking at adding links to free sources of online images.
The author’s main objective was to “try and explain the history of European painting to people who feel ignorant on the subject.”
Ms. Watts has achieved her objective. This is an extremely readable, informative narrative and I would strongly recommend it to professional and novice alike.
Ms. Watts takes a very long, detailed and complicated history of western art and consolidates it into a very well-organized, extremely readable and understandable narrative.
The book is divided into 8 parts or chapters with a publisher’s note, preface, introduction and an ‘about the author’ piece.
The parts progress chronologically. Part I - The Ancient World; Part II - From the Book of Kells; Part III - A Brief History of Paints and Pigments; Part IV - Spain and Northern Europe; Part V - The Enlightenment; Part VI - Beginning of the Modern Age; Part VII - Modernism; Part VIII - Pop Art, Figurative Painting and the 21st Century.
Each part ends with a ‘paintings and things to look at’ list. Each item on the list corresponds with paintings, sculptures, artifacts, locations, temples, etc. discussed in the chapter.
I made several notes to myself as I read (which is a handy part of an ereader. I use a Kindle) and revisited those passages or artists or locations or items again when I finished.
I found Part II - A Brief History of Paints and Pigments to be most interesting.
I like the cover, which is the ‘Mona Lisa’ holding a letter in her hand. Clever. I think a book’s cover can be a great introduction to a book and an enticement to open it up and begin reading. (I often think it is a bit of a ‘forgotten art’ and is overlooked when publishing.)
I did write to the publisher (Crux Publishing) with some questions. They answered instantly, cheerfully and to the point. I was very impressed with their answers.
Questions: Is the book published only in ereader format or will it appear in print, also? and Will links to the list of ‘paintings and things to look at’ list be included at some point? (I said that while it isn’t ‘difficult’, it does break one’s concentration to put the ereader aside and then access a computer to look at images.)
Answers: The book is only in ebook format. There are no links because the book was designed for the lowest common denominator kindle, which is black & white with no wifi access. (I must agree that art images lose a lot of impact in black & white.) No links “sidesteps the swamp of getting permissions to include images.” This format also “encourages the reader to explore online image archives.”
The publisher thanks readers for their feedback. It is warmly received and noted. They are looking at adding links to free sources of online images.
The author’s main objective was to “try and explain the history of European painting to people who feel ignorant on the subject.”
Ms. Watts has achieved her objective. This is an extremely readable, informative narrative and I would strongly recommend it to professional and novice alike.
December 18, 2016
To start - this is a very good book of art history that hits the right balance between being informative but not too scholarly. It is very easy to imagine this being written for an inquisitive 14 year old, which is who the author claims set her on the path to writing it in the first place. However I can also imagine adult writers getting a lot from this book, or it being used as the 'spine' of an art history course for younger students. It is a very good starting point for a review of European art history.
However it is not a great book for a few reasons. The main one is, as others have pointed out, it doesn't contain images. I don't know why, and I have read many ebooks that have them. Maybe the author was unable to secure the rights to the images they wanted, but that is a problem the author and publisher has to overcome if they want to put out a top rate book. There are lists of images at the end of each chapter, but an art book without pictures, especially one aimed at beginners who might not have the visual 'memory bank' to imagine what is being written about is going to face stiff competition from other books in this market.
Note: I was given a copy of the ebook version in return for a fair and honest review.
However it is not a great book for a few reasons. The main one is, as others have pointed out, it doesn't contain images. I don't know why, and I have read many ebooks that have them. Maybe the author was unable to secure the rights to the images they wanted, but that is a problem the author and publisher has to overcome if they want to put out a top rate book. There are lists of images at the end of each chapter, but an art book without pictures, especially one aimed at beginners who might not have the visual 'memory bank' to imagine what is being written about is going to face stiff competition from other books in this market.
Note: I was given a copy of the ebook version in return for a fair and honest review.
December 9, 2016
I received an e-reader edition of this book in reaturn for an honest review.
The reason for a 3 star and not a 5 is simply because the photos of the artwork were unable to be included. Websites and were given, but that very combersom.
I would love to see this book make it to print. I'm sure my rating will jump to 5 stars. The author did a great job covering, introducing and explaining the vast world of art. Perfect for one who is fairly unfamiliar with artist and their history. But for this book to really make a mark, I recommend a print copy with photos of the artwork.
Thank you for the copy.
The reason for a 3 star and not a 5 is simply because the photos of the artwork were unable to be included. Websites and were given, but that very combersom.
I would love to see this book make it to print. I'm sure my rating will jump to 5 stars. The author did a great job covering, introducing and explaining the vast world of art. Perfect for one who is fairly unfamiliar with artist and their history. But for this book to really make a mark, I recommend a print copy with photos of the artwork.
Thank you for the copy.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews