Book of the Week

ANDO: Complete Works
by Philip Jodidio

Glass. Concrete. Metal. Glass. Concrete. Repeat. Here is the apparent mantra of architect and minimalist extraordinaire Tadao Ando. A likely accompanying mantra might be Light, Air, Water...the seeming antitheses that are immediately signified by the preferred material elements composing Ando's magnificently simplistic structures. Structures that are somehow inexplicably tied to their oppositional natures, somehow creating unity between the strong, manufactured and monumental with the flexible, organic and protean. The result is a fluid marriage of time, space, form, and nature - yielding serene, meditative environments. Core ideas of Japanese tradition are inherent in Ando - Zen's quiet paradox, Shinto's reverence of nature - but they are translated into the contemporary, urban context of modernist works. And here is the staggering volume detailing these works.

In all unlikelihood, Ando, himself, embodies some of this contradiction. He is a self-taught architect who never received formal training. Yet he had seen the world through a number of contexts that informed his creative perspective, including stints as a truck driver and a boxer. Nevertheless, years of deliberate, focused vision and work have built an unparalleled portfolio of exquisite built space across an international stage - yielding broad critical acclaim as well as a Pritzker Prize. Detailing each project with essays, large format photography, and architectural drawings and plans, Ando: Complete Works [OVERSIZE NA 1599.A5 A4 2006] invites you to share this vision and work in all it's simplicity and complexity.

Book of the Week

The Haunting of Hill House
by Shirley Jackson
The Art Institute's fall break is upon us, so this is an excellent time to relax with a good novel. One of my all-time favorite books is Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House. It's scary!

The first time I read this, I picked it up after a long day day of moving into a new apartment. Even though I was exhausted, I could not put it down, and read it straight through in one sitting. I think the fact that this was my first night in my new place, which was in a very old, haunted-feeling building, made it even scarier.

Here is the set-up: four young people help an "occult scholar" find solid evidence of paranormal events. They agree to spend a couple weeks living in Hill House, which has a bad reputation. Lots of weird things start to happen and it's difficult to tell how much of it is the nuttiness of the people involved, and how much is the house and the evil-ness within.

There have been two film adaptations of The Haunting of Hill House, both called The Haunting. I highly recommend the one from 1963 - it is one of the very few movies that I think is as good as the book. DO NOT see the 1999 version; it's one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Not scary at all.

At the front of the library are a few revolving racks of fiction and classics. You can find The Haunting of Hill House there - its call number is PS3519 .A392 H3 1984. If you read it, let me know what you think!

Book of the Week

Recreation: American Photographs 1973-1988
by Mitch Epstein













Every time I've seen this book in stores, I've been drawn to it. So, I was pretty happy to see it come into the library.

I find myself completely absorbed by every image in this book. Some of the photos are interesting to me simply because I grew up during this time. Seeing the totally ordinary details of people's hair and clothing styles, and even the cars they drive, brings back memories (I hope feathered hair never comes back in style).

Other images, I am just amazed that such normal-looking people, doing such ordinary things, seem so freaky. I think Mitch Epstein has something in common with Diane Arbus - they both have the ability to capture the bizarre essence of everyday life.

These photos help me remember to look at the world just as it, so that I can see how weird and interesting everything really is, no matter how routine my life becomes.

Right now you can find Recreation in the "New Books" area at the front of library (unless it gets checked out), then, in October it will be shelved in the stacks. Come see it - the call number is TR654 .E677 2005.

Get a Job

I want to tell you people who are looking for jobs in advertising about an excellent resource that you can get to through the library. It’s called Advertising Red Books, and it’s a database that includes lots of useful information about ad agencies and advertisers all over the world.

It’s really easy to find lots of information – you can look up agencies and advertisers by name, location, sales, number of employees… the list goes on and on.

I know this is a useful site because I happen to live with a graphic designer who wants to work for a small agency here in Seattle. He has used this site to target the agencies that seem just right for him. This way he doesn't have to waste a lot of time sending resumes to places where he wouldn’t be happy. No doubt it can help you, too.

You can get to this database from the AiS Library’s page called “Databases & Other Resources.” Click the link on the left called Advertising Red Books.

You can access this and other databases from the library, and also from home. This is a very good thing for people like me, who feel most inspired to work in the middle of the night.

You will need passwords to access databases off-campus. Instructions on how to get them are on the Databases page mentioned above.