Defining edges : a new look at picture frames / W.H. Bailey ; foreword by Adam Gopnik.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bailey, W. H.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Picture frames and framing.

Physical Description:

136 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New York, N.Y. : Harry N. Abrams, 2002.

Summary:

The choice of a frame affects the way we view a work of art multiple ways, even when we are not aware of it. In this stimulating and truly original book, W.H. Bailey, an artist, designer, and frame consultant, shows how the frame is a vital part of viewing pictures and integral to their presentation. He shatters preconceived notions of borders and changes the way we see and understand art.

Bailey examines 56 paintings -- including some well-known masterpieces -- to explore how their frames, many designed by the artists themselves, relate to the pictures they surround. As The New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik says in his foreword: "Bailey views the act of framing not as a decorative act but as a meaningful one ... a vindication of the purely visual, of seeing as a form of thought. A frame can be like a superior detective, come to force the picture to confess its real intentions, saying, as detectives will: 'Come out, come out! You're surrounded!'"

Contents:

Introduction: The Story of the Picture Frame 10

1 The Frame as Altarpiece 18

2 The Frame as Window 30

3 The Frame as Decoration 42

4 The Frame as Content 58

5 Frames Found by Artists 78

6 Frames Designed by Artists 90

7 Frames Made by Artists 112.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (page 133) and index.

ISBN:

0810944898

OCLC:

49530007