THE LURE OF PERFECTION: FASHION AND BALLET; 1780-1830 offers a unique look at how ballet influenced contemporary fashion and womens body image; and how street fashions in turn were reflected by the costumes worn by ballet dancers. Through years of research; the author has traced the interplay between fashion; social trends; and the development of dance. During the 18th century; women literally took up twice as much space as men; their billowing dresses ballooned out from their figures; sometimes a full 55 inches; to display costly jewelry and fine brocade work; similar costumes appeared on stage. But clothing also limited her movement; it literally disabled them; making the dances themselves little more than tableaux. Movement was further inhibited by high shoes and tight corsets; thus the image of the rigidly straight; long-lined dancer is as much a product of clothing as aesthetics. However; with changing times came new trends. An increased interest in natural movement and the common folk led to less-restrictive clothing. As viewers demanded more virtuosic dancers; women literally danced their way to freedom. THE LURE OF PERFECTION will interest students of dance and cultural history; and womens studies. It is a fascinating; well-researched look at the interplay of fashion; dance; and culture-still very much a part of our world today.
#3078867 in eBooks 2005-07-08 2005-07-08File Name: B000PSJ9D6
Review
56 of 56 people found the following review helpful. A great introduction to modern cartooningBy David Gordon DuckerModern Cartooning is as suggested by most reviewers a beginners book. The confusion seems to be which beginner. I would suggest there are five types of beginners when it comes to drawing: 1) the three/four year who is exploring the use of crayons on paper and walls; 2) the ten year old who likes to draw people; pets; houses; cars and trees; etc.; 3) the junior high or high school student who is thinking about a career in art because family and friends are constantly complementing them on their art; 4) the college art student developing an interested in comics and animation; 5) the 30; 40 or 50 year olds who never went beyond high school art but wants to explore their creativity by drawing and painting. If you like to draw and fit into one of the last three categories of beginners then this book is for you.The problem for the ten year old is less the drawings and more the reading level of Chriss written instructions. I suspect that younger beginners such as the ten year old would end up just looking at the pictures and hopefully doing the step-by-step drawings. They would be better off with one of Chriss good step-by-step drawing books; such his books "The Cartoonists Big Book of Drawing Animals". However; if they have their heart set on Modern Cartooning and have a parent willing to work together it just might work. If the parent reads and discusses Chriss written instructions and both draw the cartoons; it could be a very positive experience. This all assumes the parent is confident enough in their own drawing skills.Drawing is really about observation. It requires the ability to judge shapes and their placement. Is the body large enough? Is the head positioned correctly? Are the eyes too large; too far apart; or too high or low on the face? Chriss step-by-step drawings are a great help in developing these observational skills. The step-by-step drawings are large; clear and simple enough that each step is easy to follow. It is hard to say how easy or difficult you will find it to draw the cartoons. Id say they are very easy; but then Ive been drawing for more than 60 years and am confident enough is my own drawing skills that I teach kids art. I think these are great drawings for a beginner; the shapes are clear and the steps logical and complete. As long as you follow the steps in order and not just attempt to copy the finished cartoon you should be successful. Remember you will need to practice and draw each cartoon over and over again. You wont become a cartoonist by just reading the book. But repeatedly drawing of each cartoon and reading Chriss comments should result in a noticeable improvements in your cartooning skills.Cartooning is all about the observation of people and their foibles. Chris is a great cartoonist because he combines both keen observation with a quirky sense of humor. The stereotypical characters he creates are instantly recognizable and outrageously funny. Chris is an excellent teacher for beginners because of his willingness to not only explain what to draw but also point out why. One of the great strengths of Chriss teaching style is he goes beyond just showing what to do. He also shows the design process by including a number of rough drafts that led up to the characters design. This is reinforced in Chriss videos were he is constantly erasing and redrawing while explaining all his reasoning for the changes.Chris covers the basic of character design; starting with the face. A large part of the book deals with the modification of the face and body to get more individuality from the characters. These changes are mostly quite simple; such as making the body taller than the legs. Chris is the expert at taking such simple changes and creating new; unique; but easily recognizable cartoons types. Chris at one point takes this to an extreme and demonstrates how to create an entire cartoon from a single shape. There is a good mix of ages - from babies to seniors; as well as attention paid to both sexes and difference in body types. The emphasis is constantly on creating something new; unique and fun. There is a steady stream of ways to modify the character. This should be encouragement to go back and take now familiar toons and create something new. After each new concept is introduce Chris has a series of step-by-step drawings that illustrate the new ideas. There is a lot here and the beginner cartoonist will benefit from repeated reading and study of Chriss suggestions as they draw and then adapt each character to create something uniquely their own.As mention Chris has a YouTube channel. These step-by-step videos greatly enhance the value of Chriss books such as Modern Cartooning. Similar cartoons are constructed from basic shapes and then refined while you watch. The entire time Chris is explaining and demonstrating the drawing process. Even kids who might find Modern Cartooning a too difficult read would be able to enjoy these videos and draw the cartoon characters. Chriss channel is suitable for student cartoonist of all ages.Recommend; both the book; Modern Cartooning and Chriss YouTube channel.I am a retired school teacher and potter. My work can be seen at davethepotter.ca. I teach kids art classes and summer art camps that usually include drawing; painting; paper macirc;cheacute; and clay. I make good use of Chriss many how-to-draw art books in my teaching and in my own work.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. the wonderfully imaginative and whimsical artist who drew the pictures as ...By Ray StaarIf youre curious about cartooning but thought you had no gift; take Hart; Christopher Hart; that is; the wonderfully imaginative and whimsical artist who drew the pictures as well as the gifted instructor / cheerleader who wrote the text. He doesnt spend much time droning on about technique and theory (as in; no time at all) he just gets down to the business of showing you how to draw funny stuff and telling you why stuff is funny. If you have a kid whos into drawing; definitely put THIS BOOK into his or her stocking over the holidays. He or she will thank you forever; even if they never say so.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Wonderfully Amazing!By Tarek TahaIt is an amazing book; it covers everything you need to know about cartooning! It is absolutely wonderful; as someone who is starting out in cartooning it helped me get far; but it may not be enough information to be a really good cartoonist; but it is great for just starting!