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Abstract City (2012)

by Christoph Niemann(Favorite Author)

4.15 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

1419702076 (ISBN13: 9781419702075)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

Harry N. Abrams

review 1: I can't begin to describe how much I loved this book. I plan to purchase it so that I can look back though it and enjoy it again and again. Christoph Niemann is a designer and writes a visual blog for the New York Times, and this book is sort of a compilation of his work. I "read" it in just two nights, with "read" being the key word because the work is mostly visual, with each page consisting of a drawing or visual creation of Niemann's, along with a short bit of text to accompany it. The creations and text are hilarious, and I even laughed so hard over a few of them that I cried. Art is arranged into chapters that cover a range of topics such as things that keep him awake at night, his little boys' love for the NYC subway, small talk about the weather, and the Berlin Wal... morel. He uses such interesting mediums, including legos and dough, but my favorite medium was a chapter about coffee in which Niemann created his designs on paper napkins and drew with coffee (or using the ring of coffee from the bottom of his mug!). My very favorite chapter was called "Good Night and Tough Luck." There is definitely a theme running throughout about New York City, where the artist lived for many years, but I really think the book can be enjoyed by anyone. Many thanks to my friend April for alerting me to this very fun book!
review 2: I found this book randomly at the library, and it wasn't what I was hoping for: a complete abstract view of a city. It was, however, a look at the experiences of living in a city; joyful through the eyes of a child engaging the transit system, thoughtful through the perspective of living next to the history of the Berlin Wall, petty caginess for moving through the city, mundane and hectoring for everyday worries, and most importantly whimsical and visually clever through a wide variety of visual textures. Overall, there were some things I liked very much and some things I didn't care for. A person coming to his work looking for brilliant visual skills or with a previous familiarity with "Abstract City" will find much to enjoy, and a person who lives in a large city with a number of small children should relate well to this text. less

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