Published by Princeton Architectural Press Review by Lesley Finlay
Some books, unveiled from their bubble wrap, emerge screaming and yelling: ‘Open me, read me, now!’ Such is the case with Patricia Geis’s wonderful pair of books Meet the Artist! Featuring the life and works of Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder. As an introduction to the artists they are invaluable and are great, simple-to-use reference book for a quick overview of their work.
Using a range of tactile devices, the story of each artist is told uniquely: in the Picasso we have pop-up flaps (one is never too old for popup flaps), cards to pull out from picture frames, and a mirror with a fold to illustrate Cubism. In the Calder volume, there are brightly coloured speech bubbles (life the flap again), a circus stage with figures you can play with and a chain to practise wire sculptures.
The narrative is simple, giving brief biographical details, as well as the historical context and a journey through both artists’ considerable experiments with different art forms.
One for the library, without a doubt, as well as an end of term gift for yourself. Hours of inspiration.