Arts & Culture

Look what I got from the library this month. Isn't this an inviting pile of books?

High Line: The Inside Story of New York City's Park in the Sky is a complete history of New York's most recent public park — the enourmously successful High Line.

American photographer Joel Sternfeld took these pictures when the High Line was still an abandoned railway line.

This elegant park has become a magnet for both tourists and locals. Expect a crowd.

Being one story above street level makes all the difference. It gives one a feeling of being connected to the city and yet removed from it — contemplating it in tranquility.

I noticed Be Your Own Decorator on my last visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario's gift shop. I wrote down the title, put in a hold at the library and here it is. Let's have a look.

I was pleased to recognize the Erwin Olaf photograph over the fireplace on the right. I know it from the front cover of this book.

Designers: Stephen Shubel on the left, Eric Cohler on the right

Here's another view of that Shubel room. I like those two couches pushed together and I like all the tables and the low mirrors. This would be a great room for a party.

Designers: Annie Brahler on the left, Alex Papachristidis on the right.

Darryl Carter, another designer in the book, has some decorating advice: "It's…about buying the things you love and making sure they don't match." Pretty funny!

Looking through The Sacred Image in the Age of Art: Titian, Tintoretto, Barocci, El Greco, Caravaggio made me want to learn a lot more about Renaissance painting. I find I can start reading on almost any page and the writing draws me in.

And the design is superb. Look at this chapter opening — with that gorgeous Bellini on the left. Don't you want to know more about "The Dilemma of Naturalism"?

Who could look at this double page spread and not want to know more about "Michelangelo's Last Judgment and the Failure of the Sacred Image at Midcentury".

What a stunning Titian: a detail from his Christ Carrying the Cross, 1575. The text says this was in Titian's studio at the time of his death.

One more treat. Do you know the boxes and assembliges of Joseph Cornell? Joseph Cornell: Navigating the Imagination is the perfect introduction to his work.

I've never seen this piece before. It's Untitled (Porthole Cage) from 1949. I find it mysterious and haunting.

Cornell did many different versions of what he called Medici Slot Machine. They are among his most popular works.

Look what a master artist can do with a piece of wood, a map and three little toys! Cornell makes being amazing look easy.

Such a nice set of books. What a satisfying way to spend an afternoon!

_______________________________________________

More: Library Books at Home and Library Books at Home 2, Library Books at Home 4.