The following books are available for check-out from the cage:

Featured Books

The Critique Handbook by Kendall Buster and Paula Crawford offers an excellent introduction to the process of critique. Its uniqueness and universal application in visual arts curriculum make The Critique Handbook an excellent introduction for beginners and a valuable resource for more experienced students. This text was written to address an existing gap in the literature pertaining to the study of art. Although the critique is central to all art programs, there have been no textbooks or comprehensive guides that deal with this important instructional tool. The Critique Handbook fills the need for such a book.

Visual Grammar by Christian Leborg is a clear and concise manual that will help you speak and write about visual objects and their creative potential, and better understand graphics. It is both a primer on visual language and a visual dictionary of the fundamental aspects of graphic design. Dealing with every imaginable visual concept from abstractions such as dimension, format, and volume; to concrete objects such as form, size, color, and saturation; to activities such as repetition, mirroring, movement, and displacement; to relations such as symmetry, balance, diffusion, direction, and variation this book is an indispensable reference for beginners and seasoned visual thinkers alike.

Launching the Imagination by Mary Stewart offers a framework for learning about creativity in Two-, Three-, and Four-Dimensional design. The book includes 600 examples drawn from traditional and contemporary sources and profiles with interviews of artists and designers discussing their working processes, career choices, and criteria for excellence. Some copies of the book include a CD-ROM companion, “Core Concepts in Art,” that presents elements and principles of art through interactive exercises.

Books about Art & Design Fundamentals

Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice 11th ed. by Otto Ocvirk et al. (McGraw-Hill, 2009)

Graphic Design: The New Basics by Ellen Lupton and Phillips Jennifer Cole (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008)

Basis Visual Concepts and Principles by Charles Wallschlaeger and Cynthia Busic-Snyder (McGraw-Hill, 1992)

Books about Books

Every spring many Visual Language II students choose to make a book. Available from the Studio Foundation Cage are several titles that will help you with your book project. Your teacher may recommend one or more of these, some are available from the library, others are not. All of the books on this list are available from the cage, and we have multiple copies of popular titles, e.g. Making Books by Hand. Links:

Making Books by Hand: A Step-by-Step Guide
Mary McCarthy and Phillip Manna (Quarry Books, 2000)
Links: Google Books | FLO Catalog
This book presents an illustrated, step-by-step guide through twelve book-making projects including helpful hints gleaned from years of experience. Highly recommended as a starting point for your Visual Language II book making project.

Structure of the Visual Book
Keith A. Smith (Keith Smith Books, 2005)
Links: Google Books | FLO Catalog
In contrast to the other books on this list, this book offers you ways to think and analyze what a book is, and how to make your book a more engaging experience for the reader. A valuable contribution to any artist’s library and a good companion to Making Books by Hand.

The Essential Guide to Making Handmade Books
Gabrielle Fox (Fox Park Books, 2000)
Links: Google Books
This book will show you how to make books by hand through eleven projects that start with the basics and move to more challenging bindings and formats. Each project includes complete step-by-step instructions, a materials list, and ideas for uses and variations, along with a bit of history, culture and lore of book and paper making.

The Bookbinding Handbook: Simple Techniques and Step-by-Step Projects
Sue Dogget (Chartwell Books, 2008)
Links: Google Books
Sue Dogget presets clear, step-by-step instructions for creating a variety of books, pamphlets, albums, journals and diaries.

Creating Handmade Books
Alisa Golden (Sterling Publishing, 1998)
Links: Google Books
Alisa Golden’s meticulously constructed creations are intricately folded, cleverly cut, and carefully bound. She will take you through a journey of discovery from inception to finished book through well written directions and detailed diagrams that will teach you how to make cut and folded books, sewn and/or glued structures, soft and hard cover bindings, and variations such as portfolios, presentation boxes, and Jacob’s ladder books.

Book Works: books, memory and photo albums, journals, and diaries made by hand
Sue Doggett (Watson-Guptill, 1998)
Links: Google Books
Provides you with a comprehensive introduction to the craft of bookmaking. Doggett takes you through all the necessary materials and basic techniques, from accordion folds to Japanese stitching, with lots of examples that will fire your imagination. The final section covers ten unique projects that use the techniques developed in the book.

Books, Boxes, and Portfolios
Franz Zeier (Design Press, 1990)
Links: Google Books | FLO Catalog.
Franz Zeier, a Swiss designer, has written a popular introduction to the techniques of bookbinding. He guides you step-by-step through projects for making a variety of boxes, portfolios, book covers, photograph albums, mats, and sewn and adhesive-bound books.

Books on Mapping and Time-Based Media

Film Art: An Introduction, 9th ed. by David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson (McGraw Hill, 2010)

The Shut up and Shoot Documentary Guide by Anthony Q. Artis (Focal Press, 2008)

Apple Pro Training Series: Final Cut Express 4 by Diana Weynand (Peachpit Press, 2007)

The Map as Art by Katharine Harmon (Princeton Architectural Press, 2009)

Cartographies of Time: A History of the Timeline by Anthony Grafton and Daniel Rosenberg (Princeton Architectural Press, 2011)

Books about Teaching

Teaching Motion Design by Steven Heller and Michael Dooley, Eds. (Allworth Press, 2008)

The Reflective Educators Guide to Classroom Research, 2nd ed. by Nancy Fichtman Dana and Diane Yendol-Hoppey (Corwin Press, 2009)

Inside Outside: Teacher Research and Knowledge by Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan L. Lytle (Teachers College Press, 1993)

We have more titles available than appear on this list. Come by the cage and the Cage Monitor can show you what’s available for check-out.