Customer Reviews

Ed Hardy Art for Life: Pop Culture

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As someone who has an interest in tattoo's, I was disappointed with the content of this book.

In my opinion, this is for someone who has prior knowledge of Ed Hardy's work, as the book is short, with alot of the text in a foreign language with not much explanation or detail to accompany the photo's.

However, from the book it evident that Ed Hardy's work range's from simple pieces to some really intricate detailed work; the book also includes drawings and paintings by the artist.

This is definitely a book for the completist on the subject matter.

I chose this book because I was interested in seeing more tattoo designs and also the methods used by the Ed Hardy brand to translate his tattoo design across many different formats. I was really disappointed with the book because it didn't seem to have very much content - not nearly enough designs and there were hardly an explanations. I think it is a great application for marketing your brand without really giving anything away. This is the book for someone you know who loves Ed Hardy products not someone who wants to be inspired by his work.

I woudldn't so much call this a book as a reference guide that sits on the coffee table.

The colours of Hardy's work is bright, and there's a nice insight into Hardy's early artwork you won't see anywhere else, such as his vase collection, but it's not like you'll read it over and over!

There's not a lot to read aside from the introduction, the rest is just plates with small captions, but great if you're a fan of Hardy's work this is ideal.

This is a good interesting read about the artist. Wonderful collection of highly colourful illustrations that you can return to and study and admire the craft. Great insight into the artist and the evolution of his work. Tattoos are not something that I normally look out for but these are different and appealing. Having said that I still don't think that I would like one myself but for those thinking about it (or not)this book is well worth a read.

Nice little book with classic Ed Hardy drawings, two languages. A bit superficial of you are going for either his life story in depth or a full collection of tattoos or drawings.

I loved this book, it is crammed full of insights into the 'old school' tats, there are lots of gorgeous illustrations of what some might consider crudely drawn 'body art'...but that to me is its' charm...imagine all the old sailors; Marines etc...who would go into a parlour and adorn themselves with a sexy hoolah dancer. It is written by a writer who obviously loves the 'Art' of the old tats...if you are a collector of reference works regarding tats then this would be a great addition. The 'new wave' of body art pushed the limits and should not be compared to these old tats, workmanlike and naive....

For somebody like me who knew nothing about Ed Hardy, this book does not contain enough to fill me in on the subject: just seven pages of biography and lots of pictures. I imagine that for those in the know it does not contain anywhere near enough pictures.

The book is packaged and presented like a fine art book, and much is made of Hardy's diversification into areas like ceramics and paintings, but most of the illustrations are of body art.

As an outsider maybe I would have found it useful to have some context to the illustrations, like examples of the work that was supposed to have influenced Hardy so I could see how he took elements of traditional and contemporary Japanese tattoos and other pictures and what he added to it.

To be fair, this is probably aimed at a niche market which I am not part of. It didn't make me want to rush out and get another tattoo.

"Ed Hardy Art for Life" by Alan Govenar is an excellent book, which provides some wonderful examples of some stunning tattoos. The book provides a written introduction to Ed Hardy and his work but the real magic of this book is in the artwork shown. The tattoos vary greatly from relatively simple pieces to stunningly intricate masterpieces. Additionally, we are introduced to some of Ed Hardy's other artwork, including drawings and paintings.

As someone who has tattoos, I found this an easy book to appreciate; however, for those who don't have tattoos but still admire them, this would also be a wonderful choice. I think it could also be an eye opener for those who think tattoos are ugly. Some of the visuals in this book are so eye-catching and memorable, it's impossible to see them as anything other than beautiful.

This is a really nice title which would be a great coffee-table choice and a must for all tattoo admirers. Absolutely wonderful.

I'm quite a fan of Ed Hardy's work, so I was impressed when I picked up this book. First of all, it is a very hand size, around A5 - so I can imagine myself carrying it around with me for tattoo inspiration. It's quite a nice coffee table book in that it is interesting to leaf through. It's very pictorial, although at the beginning of the book there is a short biography about Ed Hardy. This biography is repeated in several languages, but each version contains new pictures so there is always something to interest the reader on each page. If you've never heard of Ed Hardy, then this is simply a book full of pretty pictures. If you're looking for inspiration for a new tattoo then you can't really go wrong by leafing through the designs in this book. Ed Hardy specialises in bright colourful tattoos which are a pleasure to behold. That said, these designs are nothing you haven't seen before. "Ed Hardy" the brand has become so ingrained in modern culture that almost everyone has seen his work at one time or another, so there is nothing surprising in this book. I'd recommend this book for huge Ed Hardy fans, people getting a tattoo and fans of popular art.

This book showcases the iconic work of the one of the greatest 'oldskool' American tattoo artists. Not just the name behind the gimmicky fashion label, this book displays in its beautifully re-produced images and its words, the passion and innovation that Hardy brought to the craft. I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in tattoo culture and art, a great coffee table book.