- Hardcover: 224 pages
- Publisher: Smithsonian (July 6 2009)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1588342646
- ISBN-13: 978-1588342645
- Product Dimensions: 28.5 x 2.5 x 26.1 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.7 Kg
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#246,454 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #60 in Books > Science > Astronomy > Star-Gazing
- #63 in Books > Outdoors & Nature > Ecology > Star Gazing
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“These paintings capture the spirit of our highest hopes and aspirations. As a nation we set our sights to accomplish a near-impossible goal of walking on the moon. Only one artist was present to bear witness and tell the story.”—Buzz Aldrin
“Alan Bean and his astroartistry recreate the drama and excitement of man's exploration of the moon as could only be chronicled by one who had been there.”—Neil A. Armstrong
“What one must understand about Al Bean is he is the only artist to have ever walked on the moon. No poet has ever been to the lunar surface, nor any journalist, architect, nor songwriter. In the realm of the arts, it has fallen upon Bean to be the one moonwalker to turn hard data brought back from the moon into something other than numbered photographs. The images that Al has committed to canvas, then, are important, inspiring, and priceless works of art. Not only has he painted the moon, he has been there.”—Tom Hanks
“Alan Bean and his astroartistry recreate the drama and excitement of man's exploration of the moon as could only be chronicled by one who had been there.”—Neil A. Armstrong
“What one must understand about Al Bean is he is the only artist to have ever walked on the moon. No poet has ever been to the lunar surface, nor any journalist, architect, nor songwriter. In the realm of the arts, it has fallen upon Bean to be the one moonwalker to turn hard data brought back from the moon into something other than numbered photographs. The images that Al has committed to canvas, then, are important, inspiring, and priceless works of art. Not only has he painted the moon, he has been there.”—Tom Hanks
Product Description
Alan Bean, Painting Apollo: First Artist on Another World captures humankind's adventure in space through the eyes and emotions of the only artist who has ever been there. Through a brilliant display of color and craftsmanship, Alan Bean shares his unique perspective, conveying what only eleven other humans have experienced, in a way that only he can. As Alan Bean writes, “The art I make now is the beginning of a new category in the progression of art history, art of human experiences off our home planet, Earth. I have the honor and responsibility of being first.”
Featuring 120 of Alan Bean's luminous paintings in a starkly dramatic presentation and paired with quotes from some of the most brilliant and adventurous minds throughout history, the book explores the majesty of humanity's near spiritual drive to explore the limits of our imagination and technical capabilities. Flight manager extraordinaire Gene Kranz of Apollo 13 fame recalls the historical drama of the Apollo era from his unique eyewitness perspective on the ground. Legendary art critic Donald Kuspit places the work in the context of contemporary art and landscape painting. Finally, author William Fox, an expert on the dynamics of art and cognition, places Alan Bean in a long lineage of artists and explorers, from Thomas Moran and Ferdinand Hayden in Yellowstone, to Edward Wilson alongside Robert Falcon Scott in the Antarctic. But Alan Bean, our first ever guide to a wholly other world, is artist and astronaut in one.
Featuring 120 of Alan Bean's luminous paintings in a starkly dramatic presentation and paired with quotes from some of the most brilliant and adventurous minds throughout history, the book explores the majesty of humanity's near spiritual drive to explore the limits of our imagination and technical capabilities. Flight manager extraordinaire Gene Kranz of Apollo 13 fame recalls the historical drama of the Apollo era from his unique eyewitness perspective on the ground. Legendary art critic Donald Kuspit places the work in the context of contemporary art and landscape painting. Finally, author William Fox, an expert on the dynamics of art and cognition, places Alan Bean in a long lineage of artists and explorers, from Thomas Moran and Ferdinand Hayden in Yellowstone, to Edward Wilson alongside Robert Falcon Scott in the Antarctic. But Alan Bean, our first ever guide to a wholly other world, is artist and astronaut in one.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Starry Night, July 19 2009
By dream factory - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Alan Bean: Painting Apollo (Hardcover)
..Van Gogh 'Starry Night' 1889..Klee 'Moonrise' 1915
..Ernst 'Petrified City' 1935
..Pollack 'Moon Woman' 1942
.. Chagal 'Blue Circus' 1950
Many an artist has been inspired by the moon hanging silently overhead. But one artist has a unique perspective on this eternal muse. Alan Bean has walked on it's ghostly landscape. Felt it's pull below his feet. Closed his eyes and felt it's sweet caress. Looked up to see the Earth hanging silently 230,000 miles overhead.
Al Bean was different from most of the other astronauts. They lived for speed and adventure. They liked to hunt or fine tune their sports cars. Bean liked to paint. Never mind that Florida Gold corvette he had. A happy joking gentleman renowned for toasting the Apollo 12 camera. He accidentally pointed it directly at the sun. The camera's delicate receptor tube fried instantly. Ruining it for the rest of us stuck down here. Then later he spent some 54 days up in skylab.
But he really wanted to paint. So paint he did. Realistic and imaginary scenes from various moon missions. Mostly his own (Apollo 12):
'Helping Hands'. He and Conrad dismantle some core tube. 'Home Sweet Home' a sweeping moonscape of the Ocean of Storms with moonlander. A moon self portrait showing himself loping across a crater. 'Houston, We Have a Problem' debris streaming away from the blast. A beautiful 'In Flight' showing Shepard driving a golf ball on the moon. I don't think it went quite that high. But a wonderful moon scape with lander, flag, and craters galore.
And indeed Bean proves to be quite an accomplished artist. His works posses a great feel about them. Good technique, good light adaption. Great color balance (well only he would know that for sure!).
Bean has added an angle to most of his paintings. He has ground up some space suit material and has incorporated it into the paint. The premise being that there is moon dust in the suit and therefore in the painting. He has been known to use a moon pick as one would use a palette knife. And he even imprints his moon boot sole onto the canvas primer. His art does have alot of texture
What can you say. If Pollack could leave his cigarette butts. Then why not moondust.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Alan Bean's unique view, Dec 25 2009
By Margaret R. Gill "phish" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Alan Bean: Painting Apollo (Hardcover)
As one of the few people to ever have the opportunity to set foot on another world, it is lucky that Alan Bean was able to find his talent for painting.Many times the images we have of those remarkable missions show a relatively bleak and nearly monochromatic moonscape. Bean is able to show us the subtile colors and shades that were not tranferable to the image making of the late 60's and early 70's. He is also able to take us on the flights of fantasy that only the men of his unique calibre are able to ingage. He also tries to share his spirital and personal changes in his visual world.
The paintings are reproduced in a high quality printing, with the colors and images coming through in a vibrant and pleasing way.
All in all an excellent book from a man with a very unique talent and viewpoint.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Man on the Moon, Aug 1 2009
By Lawrence M. Russo II "Stargazer" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Alan Bean: Painting Apollo (Hardcover)
I am an artist and I can say as fellow artists know - observation and experience add so much to the artwork one creates.... To view a persons work that has been on the Moon and an artist is such an inspiration for me as my passion for astronomy is equal that of art.This is a wonderful book of observations, feelings and a product of one very talented, fortunate man - and Astronaut and Artist - WOW !!! how unique!!!
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z
- Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Themes
- Books > Outdoors & Nature > Ecology > Star Gazing
- Books > Professional & Technical > Professional Science > Astronomy > Astrophysics & Space Science
- Books > Science > Nature & Ecology > Star Gazing
- Books > Science > Physics > Astrophysics
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
