Spectrum 4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art
The Spectrum awards fill an important niche in the art world, by  recognizing the often-overlooked contributions of fantasy artists.Spectrum  4: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Artincludes all the juried work from  the Spectrum awards for 1996--and if this collection was any indication, it was  a banner year. The book itself has an excellent, art-centered layout that keeps  commentary to a minimum and lets the individual pieces speak for themselves.Expect to be dazzled repeatedly by the sheer variety and quality of the work  anthologized here.Spectrum 4does a fine job of demonstrating how much  variety exists in fantasy art. Alongside the ever-present fantasy standards  (dragons, fairies, vampires) you will find highly original, challenging works of  often-extraordinary breadth. Highlights include brilliant pieces from James  Gurney'sDinotopia,  Rafael Olbinski's hauntingCalendar, and this year's Grand Master Award  winners Leo and Diane Dillion. This book is sure to satisfy art lovers craving  the bizarre, the terrifying, and the spectacular.--Brendan J. LaSalle