Images from the World Between: The Circus in Twentieth-Century American Art
The ethereal chink between reality and fantasy, prosaic and  performed, and mundane and metaphorical once again reveals  itself in this perceptive work, another entry in the swelling  list of circus titles. This visually splashy tome accompanies an  eponymous traveling art exhibition curated by Gustafson,  director of exhibitions at the Hunterdon Museum of Art and  former chief curator of exhibitions at the American Federation  of Arts. Gustafson's trenchant text illuminates the history of  the American circus using over 90 paintings, prints,  photographs, and other more contemporary media such as video and  installations. The rest of the volume is given to four essays by  noted curators and academics that examine specific aspects  (e.g., Karal Ann Marling's "Clowns with Bad Attitudes") of the  intersection between art and the circus. More than 100 other  images are used in conjunction with these subsequent essays.  Though this visual high-wire act tilts more to academic  institutions, the copious and beautifully presented  illustrations make it appropriate for more advanced art,  theater, circus, pop culture, and performance art collections in  public libraries. Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TXCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theHardcoveredition.