Review of Carbon: The Primitivision

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Lucy Vera
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Review of Carbon: The Primitivision

Post by Lucy Vera »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Carbon: The Primitivision" by Lawrence Armando Hodge.]
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5 out of 5 stars
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Carbon: The Primitivision is a collection of different arts over a period of time. This book is a compilation of designs from 1989 to 2021. The artist, Lawrence Armondo Hodge, who I found out is also known as Carbon, informs us that “he has been consistently honing his drawing style since the mid to late 1980s.” In this book, he brought together black and white illustrations, which he mentions were mostly influenced by Beardsley, Wadsworth, and so on. Each page contains a unique representation of a picture in black and white. If you are a lover of psychedelic and pop art, then this book is for you.

This book appealed to me as a lover of art. There were some positive aspects that I noticed. First, the author separated these designs by their years. This was very thoughtful since each design had its unique dates on them. Also, I was impressed by the progressive way he arranged these designs. The book was divided into four parts: 1989-1996, 1997, 1998-2010, and 2010-2021. The author seems to be on a higher level when it comes to designs. While some of these compilations were easily understandable, others made me stop and critically look at them before I could make out what they were.

However, this book has a negative aspect. Although I understand that the author wanted this book only to represent these arts and designs, I felt like a one-sentence description would have gone a long way in helping the readers further understand them or their origins. Since this is a collection, it lacked that thrill of knowing what inspired what I am looking at. For instance, in museums and art galleries, it helps to have someone give a brief description of each painting. Something like that would have been beneficial in this book. Nevertheless, I respect the artist's style, but I feel this would have helped.

This negative aspect isn't sufficient to justify the removal of any stars. So, I will give this book five out of five stars. As you must have guessed, it is exceptionally well edited. The few places where there were words had no errors in them. Also, this book was appealing to me. There were some designs I had to pause and admire their complexity.

This book would be most suited for lovers of abstract designs. Tattoo artists and lovers would also find some designs in this book very appealing. If you are into Vorticism or Aestheticism, then this book would appeal to you too. It is worth noting though that this book is mostly in black and white except for the few places where blue ink was used. If you are one who enjoys designs in color, then I should inform you that the author made it clear that this book is in black and white.

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Carbon: The Primitivision
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