Walton Foundation, Crystal Bridges add art books to library
The Garland County Library has been included in a list of libraries statewide to receive a donation of 22 art books from the Alice L. Walton Foundation, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the Arkansas State Library.
Adam Webb, the library’s executive director, said after looking at the books donated, he is “very pleased” with the selections, which include topics ranging from Primitive American Art to Modern
Art and everything in between.
“I think there’s something for everybody in there,” Webb said. “Some of them are introduction books, and others are a little more in-depth. But art books are always a wonderful thing to check out because they’re usually in large format, the printing on them is of top quality, so you really get great representations of artwork in these larger format books.”
With art books generally priced from $60 to $100, Webb said it’s a generous gift to be added to the library’s permanent collection.
The books will be displayed through April among the library’s art wall that features monthly painting collections coordinated by Emergent Arts.
“A good library is a reflection of their community and Hot Springs is an art community and so we try to be supportive of folks who either are starting out or that are professional artists, so we like to have not just art books that show different pieces of art, but books on technique, DVDs, that sort of stuff,” Webb said.
“We also do a lot of programs for different types of art; every year or so we do a watercolor class. We’ve done other ones like Ukrainian Egg Painting and all sorts of stuff like that,” he said. “The children’s department has a continuing series called Amazing Makers, which features a maker of some kind. Pretty often it’s an artist of some medium and that’s to introduce kids to artwork and there’s a craft or project that goes along with it.”
The titles included in the book donation are as follows:
• “Warhol’s Nature,” by Dustin Chad Alligood.
• “Men of Steel, Women of Wonder: Modern American Superheroes in Contemporary Art,” by Benedetti, Alejo, et al.
• “Native North American Art,” by J.C. Berlo and R.B. Phillips.
• “Art for a New Understanding: Native Voices, 1950s to Now,” by Mindy N. Besaw, et al.
• “Extra/Ordinary: Craft and Contemporary Art,” by Maria Elena Buszek, (ed.)
• “Women, Art and Society,” by Whitney Chadwick.
• “Outliers and American Vanguard Art,” by Lynne Cooke, et al.
• “Art: The Definitive Visual Guide,” by Andrew Graham Dixon.
• “American Art of the 20th21st Centuries,” by Erika Doss.
• “African American Art: A Visual and Cultural History,” by Lisa Farrington.
• “What Are You Looking At: The Surprising, Shocking and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art,” by Will Gompertz.
• “Crystals in Art: Ancient to Today,” by Lauren Haynes and Joachim Pissarro.
• “History of Design: Decorative Arts and Material Culture, 1400-2000,” by P. Kirkham and S. Weber.
• “Makers: A History of American Studio Craft,” by Janet Koplos and Bruce Metcalf.
• “A Shared Legacy: Folk Art in America,” by Richard Miller.
• “American Photography,” by Miles Orvell.
• “Framing America: A Social History of American Art,” by Frances K. Pohl.
• “American Architecture: A History,” second edition, by Leland Roth and Amanda Roth Clark.
• “Native American Art in the 20th Century,” by Jackson Rushing (ed.)
• “Shadow Patterns: Reflections on Fay Jones and His Architecture,” by J. Shannon and E.F. Jones.
• “Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art,” by E. Carmen Ramos.
The books are currently available for check out by library members. To become a member is free and easy, Webb said.
“You can register online if you have home internet access,” he said. “Go to our website and there’s a button that says my account. You can also come in the library. It’s a very painless process and takes about two minutes, you just have to be a Garland County resident … and we’ll get you hooked up. It’s free. Best value in Garland County.”