The Twins, Two by Two

This is an excellent concise clear explanation of the links between modern art and modern music. Many of the early abstract painters were also musicians. They were searching for a way to express color especially in sound or sound in color. This book is a great overview of what they were trying to do. It is not so technical that a non-musician or non-artist would have trouble understanding it, but it provides a lot of food for thought, listening and looking.

In a brief but satisfying small volume, the author describes the fascinating relationship between early modern music and the origin of nonobjective painting. From Claude Debussy's "juxtaposed fields of contrasting tone color", to Schoenberg's concepts of dissonance and polyphonal compositions, the essence of the synesthetic experience became incorporated into a new vision of art, championed best by Kandinsky : "colors and forms could have an intrinsic effect, independent of objects, and that like the tones in music they were capable of engendering reverberations in the mind and soul of the viewer". Well researched and supported by beautiful reproductions, The Sound of Painting compellingly relates an aspect of Modern Art History that is neglected in the "standard" art history tomes. The only weakness of the book is that the author tries (?for completeness) to discuss other aspects of music in painting of the late twentieth century, but it has little of the significance and intrigue of the early twentieth century story told in the first two thirds of the book. A great companion book with a focus on synesthesia, is Kevin Dann's, Bright Colors Falsely Seen.

This is a beautifully illustrated book about two little children and the games they play to put off going to sleep. It is great for little kids who love animals and who love playing pretend. This book reminds me of how much fun little children can have sharing a room. I also liked the fact that the little girl was the one to be brave and "rescue" her frightened brother.

Wonderful book for very young children. Minnie and Max have great bedtime fun pretending to be different animals. The ending is a fun way to end bedtime reading.