Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Tantalizing at first glance, this wide-ranging treatment of color does not live up to its dust jacket description as a "comprehensive, illustrated encyclopedia entirely devoted to color." Overstatement appears in the prefatory pages and in many entries. To point to a "revolutionary and phenomenal expansion of color usage in everyday life in the twentieth century" (p.vii) confuses the use of color in communication technology with the very existence of color in the real world itself. Although the statement would justify attention to color, and to books on color, it cannot be substantiated. The same criticism applies to much of this text. The work consists of entries in alphabetical order--an arrangement that may lead to the claim that the work is encyclopedic. Although some topics clearly deal with color, others are questionable. Consider, for example, the first four entries: "Aalto, Alvar," "Aberration," "Abraum," "Absinthe." Some articles, e.g., "Conservation of Color in the Fine Arts" or "Genesis of Color," are entered under unexpected key words. Some entries are essays in themselves, and are labeled as such. By and large, these extended treatments are thoughtful and well written; among the best is "Fashion and Clothing Color." The book concludes with sources of historic colors derived from unnamed works of art. Without evidence, and without a thorough discussion of fading and uneven deterioration of pigments and materials, the visual data in this section are highly questionable. The list of organizations provided is very useful, but the bibliography is cluttered with many works of tangential connection to the main topic. The work is highly uneven in quality and unclear in focus. All in all, interesting browsing, but the work cannot be recommended with enthusiasm for art libraries that must choose their collections for reliable content and lasting value. -D. C. Stam, Syracuse University