Arts & Culture

Library Books at Home 3

Look what I got from the library this month. Isn't this an inviting pile of books?

High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky is a complete history of New York's most recent public park -- the enourmously successful High Line.

American photographer Joel Sternfeld took these pictures when the High Line was still an abandoned railway line.

This elegant park has become a magnet for both tourists and locals. Expect a crowd.

Being one story above street level makes all the difference. It gives one a feeling of being connected to the city and yet removed from it -- contemplating it in tranquility.

I noticed Be Your Own Decorator on my last visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario's gift shop. I wrote down the title, put in a hold at the library and here it is. Let's have a look.

I was pleased to recognize the Erwin Olaf photograph over the fireplace on the right. I know it from the front cover of this book.

Designers: Stephen Shubel on the left, Eric Cohler on the right

Here's another view of that Shubel room. I like those two couches pushed together and I like all the tables and the low mirrors. This would be a great room for a party.

Designers: Annie Brahler on the left, Alex Papachristidis on the right.

Darryl Carter, another designer in the book, has some decorating advice: "It's...about buying the things you love and making sure they don't match." Pretty funny!

Looking through The Sacred Image in the Age of Art: Titian, Tintoretto, Barocci, El Greco, Caravaggio made me want to learn a lot more about Renaissance painting. I find I can start reading on almost any page and the writing draws me in.

And the design is superb. Look at this chapter opening -- with that gorgeous Bellini on the left. Don't you want to know more about "The Dilemma of Naturalism"?

Who could look at this double page spread and not want to know more about "Michelangelo's Last Judgment and the Failure of the Sacred Image at Midcentury".

What a stunning Titian: a detail from his Christ Carrying the Cross, 1575. The text says this was in Titian's studio at the time of his death.

One more treat. Do you know the boxes and assembliges of Joseph Cornell? Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination is the perfect introduction to his work.

I've never seen this piece before. It's Untitled (Porthole Cage) from 1949. I find it mysterious and haunting.

Cornell did many different versions of what he called Medici Slot Machine. They are among his most popular works.

Look what a master artist can do with a piece of wood, a map and three little toys! Cornell makes being amazing look easy.

Such a nice set of books. What a satisfying way to spend an afternoon!

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More: Library Books at Home and Library Books at Home 2.

Good News for Lovers of Italian Mysteries.

In an earlier post I've praised the international bestselling novels of Andrea Camilleri. I didn't know then that Italian television (RAI) has been producing them for broadcast since 1999.

These Italian-language programs are now available on DVD with English subtitles under the name Detective Montalbano. They are great fun and will thrill all lovers of Italian mysteries. The library has just bought the first six sets (three discs per set).

I must warn you that each episode is more enjoyable, more addictive than the last.

I think this is because we get to know the appealing characters better each time and look forward to meeting them all again.

Italian actor, Luca Zigaretti, is unforgetable as the brilliant, unpredictable, impulsive Salvo Montalbano. His team of detectives all have their own quirks, weaknesses and strengths. Appearances by Montalbano's resourceful, intuitive girlfriend, Livia, are always a treat.

If you're interested in the language and culture of Southern Italy take these programs as a kind of Italian-immersion. They are filmed in the Sicilian town of Ragusa with it's Baroque buildings, sunbleached squares and rugged surroundings. The art direction of the costumes and interiors is first-rate.

This well-edited broadcast-annoucement by MHz Worldview is the best online introduction I've found to these fiendishly-intricate, humorous, sentimental mysteries. Take a chance on Detective Montalbano!