Sunday, August 3, 2008

Musing: Taschen Books...a show of hands, please...

(A) If I were a book, truth be told, I suppose I'd really want to be a Taschen book. How does Taschen do it? The books are so beautiful, and so perfectly designed, and often quite reasonable. I'm so smitten with Taschen books that I may very well have to add a stronger subfloor (how's about a warmboard radiant heated one, whilst we are at it?) to my living room to help support the groaning bookshelves. But it's worth it. Auch, no big surprise here, Taschen hails from Germany...somehow, an awful lot of what we love in this household seems to have something of Deutschland in it's origin. 

(B) I found, as I wandered through the Met last month, that I was completely taken with hands. Hands in painting, Hands in the Asian Art wings, Hands above, Hands everywhere. They say so much about soul, somehow, don't they? Let's see a show of Hands for all who agree. An artist who is able to render a hand with great beauty is gifted beyond measure. 

(C) If I don't get off the computer and finish unpacking (my least favorite thing to do, as I would naturally rather be on the road going somewhere with dust on my shoes and a few pennies in my pocket), it isn't going to be pretty. So long, farewell, auf weidersehen, goodbye! (And here, of course, we have another show of beautiful hands courtesy of the von Trapp children.)