cover image Art In Action

Art In Action

Maja Pitamic, Barron's, $14.99 paper (96p) ISBN 978-0-7641-4440-0

Each of the 24 step-by-step art projects in this collection integrates a specific stylistic or thematic element as exemplified by a particular work. Cubist artist Juan Gris's Nature Morte; violon et vere appears in a section on shape, and, in response to Gris's painting, readers can construct a "theme box," decorated and filled with objects like stuffed animals. Among other projects, readers are also invited to make rudimentary prints out of rubber bands (inspired by Albrecht Dürer's printmaking) and reinterpret a geometric painting by Kazimir Malevich as a mobile. Much of the writing will be too advanced for young readers ("In Zucchi's pergola fresco you can see a combination of the different artistic influences he encountered"), but with parental guidance and collaboration, kids should find much to appreciate. Also available: Art in Action 2. Ages 5–8. (July)