I finished Amazing Art Adventures in three days, give or take. These topics and I, we mix a lot, and I was curious to see what Yolanda Zappaterra had in store for us. Her book promised me a full immersion in all things art, with a touch of culture and awareness, highlighting important subjects such as climate change and past artifacts appropriation.
A perfect mix. Let’s see how it went.
**
Amazing Art Adventures offers us art and culture as an experience both within and beyond the gallery, opening a door to unexpected adventures – art fairs, festivals, installations, art trails, galleries, art islands, monuments, sculpture parks and museums.
Aimed at all of us who travel to learn about new places and cultures, the book gathers together hundreds of unforgettable art experiences around the world, acting as an inspirational travel guide for anyone interested in art. From the Lightning Field in New Mexico to an art island in Japan, expert guide Yolanda Zappaterra leads us on a comprehensive, worldwide tour of bucket list destinations for every season.
Divided into sections by continent, the book is a thrilling cultural journey, an insider’s guide to the visual arts that suggests different ways to experience art beyond the usual galleries and institutions, leads readers to art in unusual places, creates trails that will give insights into the lives of famous artists as well as putting the spotlight on more interesting and unknown works in well known museums.
288 pages
Art/travel
Quarto Publishing Group – White Lion
Goodreads
**
Cover: Uh. I’m not that impressed? Blame my predilection for fine art, I guess. One day I’ll try to analyze why (almost) everything that steers from Aristotle’s theory of art leaves me meh.
Not today, tho.
Yay!
- Amazing Art Adventures does indeed feature a lot of amazing art. Zappaterra put together a comprehensive book featuring a lot of different installments, museums, and exhibitions. Doubling down as a travel guide, it touches every continent and showcases many of the best art pieces worldwide.
- Every section talks about a different place–as I said, it’s divided by continent–and the small blurbs structure is ideal for a compact book, one that’s easy to carry around and browse on the go. I also like the fact that Zappaterra chose lesser known locations. As much as I love the British Museum, finding it featured in every travel guide under the sun kinda waters down the excitement, I mean.
- My Kindle doesn’t do real justice to some pictures, I’m afraid, because I found a few that are spectacular. A couple of times I got lost in the details.
Special mention:
- Erawan Museum, Thailand. The decorations are sublime.
- Itchiku Kabota Art Museum, Japan. I love it because it mixes art and nature.
- The Sumida Hosukai Museum, Japan. I had the chance to see some of his works a couple of years ago. Awesome doesn’t even begin to cover it.
- Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine, Japan. The colors!
- Vank Cathedral, Iran. Frescoes, I can’t resist frescoes.
- Church of Saint George, Ethiopia. Monolithic cave church, I mean.
- The Statues of Bratislava, Slovakia. Awww.
- Brancacci Chapel, Italy. Fine art, remember?
- Ghent Altarpiece, Belgium. Jan Van Eyck is one of my favorite painters.
- Plaza Botero, Colombia. The statues and the Municipal Palace.
- Museum of Glass, USA. So interesting!
Nay!
- The format. The format makes me despair, because on average, there are two pictures per page vs a lot of blurbs without pictures. I mean, we’re talking about artistic installations, museums, and exhibitions here. A mere description is not gonna cut it, it only deprives me of half the experience I was hoping to get. For this very reason, I’m disappointed.
TL;DR
3 stars on GR.
Bookshelves & Teacups 