Asian Art

Reviewers of this book have alrady excoriated it for lousy pictures, and while this does not destroy the book's good value, these complaints are valid. The picture of Mohenjo-Daro's "High Priest" statue is heavily shadowed, and many of the black-and-white photos simply do not do justice to the material. Even if the publisher refused to suck it up and splurge on more color, shots with a better layout and lighting would do wonders.

Another gripe is more technical, but could really confuse someone who is not familiar with Chinese names. La Plante, as a preface to his section on China, notes that he uses the Pinyin system of transcribing Chinese sounds into the Roman alphabet. For the most part, yes, he does use Pinyin, but he isn't entirely consistent. The great historian of China, Sima Qian, is spelled "Sima Chien", where "Sima" is in pinyin but "Chien" uses another transcription system. There are several other similar glitches. It's a silly mistake to make, and could throw off a student who is probably already intimidated by Chinese pronunciations.

The book does an excellent job of teaching you about different civilizations' artwork, especially considering the immensity of the cultures that are discussed and the relative thinness of the book--I just wish that some of these quirks would get ironed in the next editions, because then this book would really shine.


Has potential, but...   April 20, 2001
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

This has the potential to be a much-needed alternative to the classic introduction to Asian art by Lee, but the text is quite sketchy - it almost seems a write-up of LaPlante's lecture notes - and the illustrations are dreadful, certainly not anywhere close to the standards of contemporary art publishing. There are surprising gaps; there is no mention of Tori Busshi as the sculptor of the Shaka Triad at Horyu-ji, for example. Some line drawings are gawd-awful. With better editing and good pictures, this would be an excellent text.


Excellent Alternative to Sherman Lee   March 1, 2001
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

This text offers a basic survey of Asian Art history. Unlike A History of Far Eastern Art, by Sherman Lee, which is disproportionately weighted towards Chinese painting, La Plante is careful to balance between the three major art historical traditions of Asia (India, China, Japan). The author also covers developments in contemporary Asian art, as well as often neglected Islamic traditions in India. unfortunately, the book is not lavishly illustrated, but this is reflected in the reduced price, which makes the book more affordable for many students.


Interesting, but where are the pictures?   April 5, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

La Plante gives a great historical context to the art he describes. This helps to make the subject of Asian Art accessible and alive for the western reader. However, there is a surprising lack of visual images, considering the book's art-related content. And, most of the images are small black-and-whites. There are only a few select color photos. This makes it hard for the reader to fully appreciate and enjoy this subject. The book is organized chronologically by country and covers India, China, and Japan. Painting, architecture, sculpture, and ceramics are the main types of art discussed. La Plante defines obscure terminology at the end of each chapter, which is helpful. Altogether, a fine read for contextual information, best if paired with a good source of visual images of arts from ancient Asia.