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Maria Lai (Ulassai, September 27, 1919 – Cardedu, April 16, 2013) is without doubt one of the leading figures in the history of contemporary Italian art. Not only on account of the content of her works, but also thanks to the diversity of her artistic approach, ranging as it does across many media – public art, embroidery, weaving, sculpture, drawing, and writing: all are grist for her poetics. The book is published to coincide with the exhibition at the MAXXI Museum in Rome, which is presenting to the general public over one hundred works by the Sardinian artist, from the early 1960s to her very last works, and explores the various themes dear to the artist with the contributions of experts in their fields: the locations, the creation, and publication of art books, her public art events and her relationship with the written word and her own writing. Her entire oeuvre is distinguished by its powerful visual impact, revealing a ‘way of doing art’ that is nothing other than an instrument of thought. The book’s structure reflects the exhibition’s own sections, arranged by theme, whose titles are paradigmatic of Lai’s oeuvre as a whole: Essere è tessere. Cucire e ricucire; L’arte è il gioco degli adulti. Giocare e raccontare; Disseminare e condividere; Il viaggiatore astrale. Immaginare l’altrove; L’arte ci prende per mano. Incontrare e partecipare.

Published to accompany an exhibition at the MAXXI Museum, Rome, 19 June 2019-12 January 2020.

Text in English and Italian.

Art of the Street – London is the first in a series celebrating the phenomenon of street art in the world’s greatest cities. A photographer’s view of London’s transient street art scene shot over a two year period from 2013. Celebrating the vibrancy, creativity and color of the movement and documenting a time and place in its history. Artist’s work include Stik, Thierry Noir, Jimmy C, Alice, Otto Schade and Nunca with many more both celebrated and unknown. These books show the color, detail and skill in these works, showcasing the talents of these contemporary artists.

Manoj Dutta (b. 1956, Kolkata) achieved recognition as an artist in the late seventies despite having no formal art education. His art is rooted in native styles, and looks inalienably Indian more often than not. However, he isn’t simply recycling ideas from the traditional or the Bengal schools of art. While relying on traditional ideas of art for visual meaning— particularly folk art—Dutta integrates a distinct modern sensibility, especially in his treatment of contemporary events.      
                             

Renowned art critic Manasij Majumdar has admired Dutta for many years, and is, the author admits, one of his favorite artists. His work is looks spontaneously home-grown, yet modernist at the same time. The lucidity of his vision finds expression in paintings and drawings that resonate with something that is native to the Indian soil. The works featured here come from collections in both Kolkata and Delhi, as well as the artist’s personal collection. This catalog has been published in association with Sanchit Art Gallery in New Delhi.

In October 2004 the Art Technological Source Research study group held a highly successful symposium at the Instituut Collectie Nederland, Amsterdam: Approaching the Art of the Past: Sources & Reconstructions. Recipe books, treatises and manuals on artists’ materials, tools and methods are of fundamental importance for an understanding of how art objects were made. Historically accurate reconstructions on the basis of these sources provide insight into the original appearance of an object, as well as workshop practices, and provide models for understanding material degradation. The interpretation of artists’ intent rests on this kind of basic knowledge. For example: Van Gogh never intended the blossoms in his series of orchard paintings (Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) to appear quite as pale as they look today. How would they have looked originally? The recipe sources and reconstructions may answer this and help us understand what has happened. The symposium was held to discuss the role of source research and the use of reconstructions in the emerging field of art technological research. The Proceedings of the symposium (edited by Mark Clarke, Joyce Townsend and Ad Stijnman) will be published next year (2005). Table of contents Forward – Henriëtte van der Linden Preface – Alberto de Tagle Introduction – Ad Stijnman and Mark Clarke Chairman’s remarks – Arie Wallert An introduction to source research Ad Stijnman Reconstruction research, some cases and their contexts Ernst van de Wetering Blue and green, understanding historical recipes and phenomena on old master paintings Margriet van Eikema Hommes The Cologne database for Medieval painting materials and reconstruction Doris Oltrogge Levels of reconstruction of black iron gall inks for the InkCor project Ad Stijnman The value of accurate reconstructions to the art historian Lorne Campbell Historically accurate oil painting reconstructions for the De Mayerne Project Leslie Carlyle Cobalt blue, emerald green and rose madder in copal-based media used by the Pre-Raphaelites Joyce Townsend Reconstructions of French 19th-century red lake pigments for the Red Lake Project Jo Kirby When glass is made of plastic : restoration of the model of the Pavillon Saint-Gobain for the international exhibition of 1937 Olivier Béringuer ArTeS database Hayo de Boer Inventory of a pharmacy in Kolberg Andreas Burmester Page-Image Recipe Databases Mark Clarke and Leslie Carlyle 16th century portrait miniatures Alan Derbyshire, Nick Frayling, Timea Tallian Computer reconstruction of the yellow cloak of the Girl at the Virginals by Vermeer Joris Dik, Paul van Alkemade, Valerie Sivel, Jan van der Lubbe, Yuval Garini Sources and preparatory drawing in 15th-19th century Byzantine iconography Vaios Ganitis, Ekaterina Talarou 3D Digital Visualisation and Virtual Restoration of Polychrome Sculpture Angie Geary Whistler’s Correspondence: an artist in the studios Erma Hermens, Margaret MacDonald Reconstruction of recipes for flesh colours in mediaeval artist manuals Kathrin Kinseher Reconstruction of the one of Durer s drawing machines Aurélie Nicolaus, William Whitney Smalt glazes on silver leaf gildings of baroque and rococo polychromy in southern Germany Mark Richter (In)stability of pigment mixtures described in artist manuals Elzbieta Szmit-Naud Import of European painting materials in Havana, Cuba, in the 17th and 18th century Alberto de Tagle Chrozophora tinctoria : mediaeval colourant in the seventeenth century Arie Wallert Exploring Rembrandt s painting materials and techniques: Rembrandt and burnt plate oil Phoebe Dent Weil & Sarah Belchetz-Swenson Imitating ultramarine: artist’s economies reconstructed Sally Woodcock & Libby Sheldon

Desperately Young
introduces the masterpieces left behind by some of the greatest rising stars in fine art – all of whom died before their thirtieth birthday.

Precocious talent seeps from each artist’s work, along with a sense of unfulfilled potential. Informative biographies detail their legacies, while their tragic deaths lead us to wonder what heights they might’ve reached, had their lives not been cut short. Richly illustrated, Desperately Young
presents prime examples of each artist’s work, demonstrating how our cultural heritage is just a little narrower for their loss.

From Europe to America to Japan and the Indian Subcontinent, the mid-14-hundreds to the late 20th century, this book hails the acknowledged greats and introduces those who died before they could leave an indelible mark on history. A compendium of 109 artists who fell prey to sickness, warfare, heartbreak or bad luck, Desperately Young is the only book to provide an in-depth study of artists who died young.

Contents: With works from Tommaso Masaccio, Frédéric Bazille, Thomas Girtin, Egon Schiele, Henri Regnault, Ernst Klimt, Jeanne Hébuterne, Kaita Murayama, Hermann Stenner, Maurycy Gottlieb, Fyodor Vasilyev, Marie Bashkirtseff, Richard Parkes Bonington, Luisa Anguissola, Walter Deverell, August Macke, Pauline Boty and Jean-Michel Basquiat – among many others.

The second book in a series celebrating the phenomenon of street art in the world’s greatest cities. A photographer’s view of Berlin’s transient street art scene shot over a two year period from 2014. Celebrating the vibrancy, creativity and color of the movement and documenting a time and place in its history. Artist’s work include Thierry Noir, Jimmy C, El Bocho, Plotbot Ken, Victor Ash and Alaniz with many more both celebrated and unknown. These books show the color, detail and skill in these works, showcasing the talents of these contemporary artists. Also available: Art of the Street: London ISBN 9780993240706

This volume seeks a solution to the problem of methods of preservation for the rapidly developing and complex field of contemporary and modern visual art. Despite adopting the new concept of heritage, the aims and methods of conservation have remained the same, evolving very slowly by following some changes in the history of ideas, human experience and techniques of conservation. The authors of Innovative Approaches to the Complex Care of Modern and Contemporary Art relate complex conservation practices to an awareness of the need for a multidimensional approach to the care of modern and contemporary art. Maintaining a dialogue with history, they boldly confront the typical patterns and accepted evolution of the theory of conservation by looking at the wider perspective including the most recent history of any work of art – documentation, interviews with artists, records of image, the sound of performance, consent to e-installation, emulation etc. – and bearing in mind as the first principle primum non nocere and various legal issues.

Over the course of six decades, the American artist William Harper (b. 1944) has conjured a body of work unique in the realm of jewelry. Masterfully crafted in enamel and gold, his pieces explore multiple realms – from ancient mythology to personal iconography – and draw on influences such as African sculpture, medieval art, and modernist dance. Harper has nonetheless created an oeuvre that is instantly recognizable, branching into formats including paintings, ornamented casks, artist’s books, and more. Bizarre Beauty, the definitive study of Harper and his work, includes a full biography by co-editor Glenn Adamson, as well as thematic essays and primary texts. A visual feast, the book provides an intimate look at this brilliantly imaginative artist.

The arts of southeast Africa embrace astounding diversity and limitless inventiveness in materials, forms, and styles. Small and portable in nature – snuff containers, pipes, headrests, staffs, clubs, beer vessels, beaded garments – they were created by semi-nomadic pastoral peoples and primarly intended for daily use. Whether figurative or abstract, carved out of wood, ivory, or horn, or made of cloth, glass beads, or clay, most of these works were much more than exquisitely designed functional objects. Some signalled status, gender, or age; others served as symbolic intermediaries between the world of humans and the realm of the ancestors.

The Formula One book. Art of the Race – V18 is book 5 in a series that encapsulates the very essence of Formula 1 motor racing through the lens of Darren Heath, one of the sport’s most celebrated photographers. Art of The Race captures the key moments and rarely seen images of each race as the 2018 season unfolds, culminating in Lewis Hamilton winning his 5th World title. “Formula 1 is the aesthete’s ultimate sport: an intoxicating cocktail of speed, spectacle, competition and power, at the heart of which are the thoroughbred racing machines exquisite manifestations of form following function, driven at dizzying speeds by the quickest-of-the-quick, the best racing drivers on the planet. From a young age I dreamed of one day photographing the sport I adored. My one desire: to demonstrate through this creative art just how beautiful Formula 1 can be. This yearning has never dimmed. I hope you enjoy the pictures that follow as much as I enjoyed taking them.” Darren Heath – Multiple award-winning photographer with an Honorary Fellowship of The Royal Photographic Society in 2005.

“Generous colour illustrations throughout the book, often full-page, complement her elegant text. As an exhaustive guide to the genre’s evolution in Ireland, it merits warm welcome.” —  Apollo Magazine

“…a meticulously researched and beautifully-illustrated publication which is impressively comprehensive in its scope.” — The Irish Times

“Drawn from nature is an illuminating pot-pourri paying tribute to the women and men, few of them professional artists, who have portrayed plants from Ireland and elsewhere since the eighteenth century.” — Archives of Natural History
For centuries, artists of all disciplines have expressed delight in nature through the highly skilled and captivating medium of botanical art.

The distinguished contributions of Irish botanical artists include records of plants from 17th-century Ireland, early illustrated floras and botanical art found in the field of design. Drawn from Nature: The Flowering of Irish Botanical Art also covers the importance of botanical art to the Ordnance Survey of Ireland during the 19th century, as well as the vital plant portraits produced by Irish women. These portraits assisted generations of botanists in understanding and describing the natural world but received scant recognition.

Published for the first time, these outstanding examples of Irish botanical art, from both public and private collections, demonstrate a shared desire by botanical artists to observe, illuminate and record Ireland’s unique flora. This book finally affords them the recognition they deserve.

In five complementary contributions, recognized authors draw a fascinating and complex picture of contemporary jewelry in the twenty-first century. Through a rich palette of themes, works, reports and concepts from current art practices, they illuminate the conditions and interconnections of education, making, presentation, marketing and networking in design and art using the example of the New Zealand Handshake project. This book will enrich and bring pleasure to all who are interested in the visual arts in their broadest sense! Handshake is a unique mentoring programme in the art world, in which established artists spread their knowledge to less experienced protégés. The knowledge accumulated in this exchange, of a relationship based on feedback, is realized in exhibitions and joint projects. Exhibition at The Dowse Art Museum, Lower Hutt (NZ), 5th August to 3rd December 2017. www.http://handshakeproject.com/ https://handshake3.com/”

Munch’s Missing! Find the artist hidden in 12 vibrant illustrated scenes which are inspired by the artist’s life, and the themes in his art. Spot him on the hill where he famously heard that resounding scream; find him hidden on stage amongst actors performing an Ibsen play, and search him out in the forest near his home in Ekely. Every scene is jammed with artists and creatives who have been influenced by Munch.

While the magical illustrations by Celyn Brazier offer a playful introduction to the artist, they are a unique piece of art in themselves. Accompanying text opens up the stories behind the illustrations, and explores further Munch’s life and art, and the influence he had. 

This raucous art journey celebrates the startling relevance of Munch who brought us the selfie and liberated us to scream out!

‘Beauty is the beacon of God,’ said Botticelli. ‘No, it’s not. Love is,’ snapped his sister.

Beauty: Botticelli in Florence imagines what Botticelli was feeling and thinking as he painted. The people he loved and despised, his private struggle between spirituality and sensuality, the tempestuous times he lived through – all come to life in his images…

The novel is a speculation based on the few facts known about Botticelli, informed by his paintings. There are many surprises. The Birth of Venus was a tapestry design. And his famed self-portrait didn’t depict him (as widely believed) but Pierfrancesco de Medici, who sued his powerful cousin Lorenzo for robbing him, abolished Florence’s homophobic witch-hunts, funded Vespucci’s journey to the New World and commissioned Botticelli’s most famous works. There was boiling tension between him and Botticelli.

This is the first in a sequence of illustrated ‘painting novels’ that make sights as telling as words.

This book aims to tell the story of social history through Money. Money and Art have shared a long history. Both words are metaphors derived from Latin terms used over 2,000 years ago. The word Money derives its modern meaning as the general term for all means of payment from its use as the word for coins in the pre-modern period. Particularly since the introduction of paper money, the word was applied to coins because of the name of the place where coins were made in ancient Rome, the temple of Juno Moneta (Juno the Warner), from this name the word moneta came to mean mint in Latin, and later the product of a mint, i.e. coins. The word Art acquired its modern usage, meaning works of art, both singularly and collectively, from the Latin ars meaning a skill, and it has so been used in English to describe any form of skill, but gradually from the nineteenth century, the word came to signify the product rather than the skill, particularly in relation to painting, graphic works and sculpture. This eclectic collection of stories brings together a multitude of perspectives through collections from the Ashmolean and around the world — from Art Nouveau bank notes and global portrayals of prosperity to activist Money Art. Deep dives into compelling stories reveal humor, hidden surprises and a tension between the power of money and the playfulness of art.

This book brings together works from one of the most important private collections of modern and contemporary art, the D. Daskalopoulos Collection with key pieces from the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. Providing a new context for both collections, it specifically focuses on the theme of the body, investigating the many and varied approaches that artists have taken across several decades when dealing with this most fundamental of subjects. Highlighting the work of artists such as Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso, Louise Bourgeois, Joseph Beuys, Robert Gober, Matthew Barney, Marina Abramovic and Sarah Lucas, the publication documents the confrontations and dialogues staged between the two collections, and provides a rich insight into one of the most compelling and provocative themes in twentieth- and twenty-first century visual art.

Desperately Young introduces the masterpieces left behind by some of the greatest rising stars in fine art – all of whom died before their thirtieth birthday.

Precocious talent seeps from each artist’s work, along with a sense of unfulfilled potential. Informative biographies detail their legacies, while their tragic deaths lead us to wonder what heights they might’ve reached, had their lives not been cut short. Richly illustrated, Desperately Young presents prime examples of each artist’s work, demonstrating how our cultural heritage is just a little narrower for their loss.

From Europe to America to Japan and the Indian Subcontinent, the mid-14-hundreds to the late 20th century, this book hails the acknowledged greats and introduces those who died before they could leave an indelible mark on history. A compendium of 109 artists who fell prey to sickness, warfare, heartbreak or bad luck, Desperately Young is the only book to provide an in-depth study of artists who died young.

Contents: With works from Tommaso Masaccio, Frédéric Bazille, Thomas Girtin, Egon Schiele, Henri Regnault, Ernst Klimt, Jeanne Hébuterne, Kaita Murayama, Hermann Stenner, Maurycy Gottlieb, Fyodor Vasilyev, Marie Bashkirtseff, Richard Parkes Bonington, Luisa Anguissola, Walter Deverell, August Macke, Pauline Boty and Jean-Michel Basquiat – among many others.

Contemporary floral design thrills, amazes and delights. It can raise questions, confuse and overwhelm, and at the same time it inspires and motivates. The International Floral Art series is testimony to the fantastic things that can be achieved with flowers. It is state of the art floral design, showcasing endless possibilities, introducing new materials and unconventional techniques and above all celebrating creativity, innovation and fresh ideas. Packed with artful and inventive new designs and showcasing many contemporary styles and techniques, this is a must-have for anyone interested in floral art, from those with fingers itching to create, to those who just want to stand back and admire the incredible talents of others.

The Art of the Architect celebrates the role that drawing and watercolor painting play in architecture. Architectural drawing as we know it dates from the Renaissance, but with the arrival of computer design programs this ancient art—formed of pen, pencil, and brushstrokes on paper—is sometimes regarded as obsolete. The work of Michael G. Imber, whose watercolors and sketches are published for the first time in paperback, shows what a vital contribution they can still make at every stage of an architectural project. His personal example is followed by his colleagues in a visual culture that permeates his practice, Michael G. Imber Architects.

Whatever the place occupied by photographs, simulations, and visual graphics in the design process of today, hand drawing still facilitates a moment of deeper connection between an architect and his environment. Unlike a snap taken on a smart phone, a hand drawing is an active response to its subject: what is understood about a place in sensory terms cannot help but inform the finished design, creating buildings which maintain the balance between the way we live and the natural world around us.

Not only do Michael’s sketches allow him to visualize his environment more clearly, but they provide an immediate visual language with which he can communicate with his team, his craftsmen, and his clients. Pen and wash is a suggestive, selective, and emotive technique. Rich in examples of the art and philosophy that have inspired him over the years, this book is both an ode to a precious art form, and a visual delight to anyone who may turn its pages. Michael’s attention to light, color, line, shape, and space in these “working paintings” reveals a love for the medium that extends from his architectural practice into the time he spends both traveling, and at his summer home on an island in Maine. The beauty of the result will be inspiring to anyone who loves architecture and the attendant arts.

International Floral Art 2021/2022 is an expertly curated collection of floral design showing the bounty of nature in many ingenious and magnificent ways. It is an anthology of floral inspiration, a love letter to nature itself and a testimony to the boundless nature of human creativity.

Over 130 floral designers let their imagination run wild to push the boundaries of the craft and make us revel in the unexpected. Established floral artists as well as the up and coming generation of designers amaze and seduce with spectacular floral creations that reveal a strong artistic vision, great craftsmanship, an enormous degree of commitment and an extraordinary amount of effort.

International Floral Art 2021/2022 is a stunning coffee table book with over 240 designs that will start conversation and spark the imagination.

The Art of the Architect celebrates the role that drawing and watercolor painting play in architecture. Architectural drawing as we know it dates from the Renaissance, but with the arrival of computer design programs this ancient art – formed of pen, pencil, and brushstrokes on paper – is sometimes regarded as obsolete. The work of Michael G. Imber, whose watercolors and sketches are published here for the first time, shows what a vital contribution they can still make at every stage of an architectural project. His personal example is followed by his colleagues in a visual culture that permeates his practice, Michael G. Imber, Architects.
Whatever the place occupied by photographs, simulations, and visual graphics in the design process of today, hand drawing still facilitates a moment of deeper connection between an architect and his environment. Unlike a snap taken on a smart phone, a hand drawing is an active response to its subject: what is understood about a place in sensory terms cannot help but inform the finished design, creating buildings which maintain the balance between the way we live and the natural world around us.
Not only do Michael’s sketches allow him to visualize his environment more clearly, but they provide an immediate visual language with which he can communicate with his team, his craftsmen, and his clients. Pen and wash is a suggestive, selective, and emotive technique. Rich in examples of the art and philosophy that have inspired him over the years, this book is both an ode to a precious art form, and a visual delight to anyone who may turn its pages. Michael’s attention to light, color, line, shape, and space in these “working paintings” reveals a love for the medium that extends from his architectural practice into the time he spends both traveling, and at his summer home on an island in Maine. The beauty of the result will be inspiring to anyone who loves architecture and the attendant arts.

Nineteenth-Century European Painting: From Barbizon to Belle Époque represents a comprehensive guide to the range of stylistically diverse genres of nineteenth-century European painting. Accessible and insightful, this exquisitely illustrated volume presents the historical context behind the century’s essential artistic movements including Romantic Painting, The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, Realist Painting, Academic Painting, and Impressionist Painting. Influenced by an overwhelming wave of political, military and social change, nineteenth-century Europe represented an era more diverse in painterly subjects and styles than any before it. Indeed, it was a period that saw many European painters moving away from the strictures of the academy system, choosing instead to use their training to develop new techniques and traditions. A collection of independent stories, this book also outlines the unique progression between the different movements, exciting and enlightening the reader about the most magnificent period of art the world has ever known. Contents: Foreword; Dr. Vern G. Swanson; Introduction; Author’s Note; STYLES: The Barbizon School; Romantic Painting; Orientalist Painting; The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; Realist Painting; Academic Painting; Impressionist Painting; The Newlyn School; Post-Impressionist Painting; SUBJECTS: Landscape Painting; Venetian View Painting; Maritime Painting; Sporting Painting; Animal Painting; Genre Painting; Cardinal Painting; Costume Painting; British Neoclassical Revival Painting; Belle Époque Painting; Conclusion; Endnotes; Bibliography. Featured works from museums and collections including: Louvre, Paris, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Wallace Collection, London, Fine Art Museum of San Francisco, The Tate Gallery, London, The Schaeffer Collection, New South Wales, The Royal Collection, The Royal Academy of Arts, England, The Musée D Orsay Paris, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Collection), The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, The Hermitage, Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum, Bournemouth, England, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery, Stanhope Forbes, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Pennsylvania, PA, USA, Paisnel Gallery, London, National Gallery, London, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museo e Gallerie Nazionale di Capodimonte, Naples, Italy, Museo de Arte, Ponte, Puerto Rico, Musée Marmottan, Paris, Musée D Orsay, Paris, Auguste Renoir, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, among many others.

Why are these specific artworks the subject of this first monograph? Produced in 2018, the sumptuous paintings, as is the Kulata Tjuta Kupi Kupi installation, are collaborative artworks. They are reminiscent of the collaborative production process of art in Aboriginal Australia. These major works, in which a variety of Dreaming stories that define the region converge, form cornerstones of the collection that lies at the heart of the Fondation Opale. The Fondation Opale, and its founder and driving force Bérengère Primat, has a particularly strong and active relationship with the art centers and the artists of that region of Australia. Several journeys were made to the APY lands in Central Australia. Both paintings, to which respectively several senior women and men collaborated, were commissioned by Bérengère Primat and the painting process abundantly documented. These magisterial paintings are testimony to the continuum of culture and intimate knowledge of the land through art.
Kupi Kupi, an iteration of the ongoing Kulata Tjuta (many spears in the Pitjantjatjara language) initiated in 2010, is a contemporary and monumental art installation consisting of 1500 spears. It is a metaphor for contemporary Anangu society and the unpredictable direction in which it is moving.

All these artworks are testimony to the renewal and relevancy of Aboriginal art in contemporary times.

Text in English and French.

For the first time Katoen Natie, a global logistics service provider, shows its collection of unique modern and contemporary art from Latin America, the biggest collection in Europe. Renowned experts such as Laura Malosetti Costa and Christina Rossi discuss the art history of the continent and the 44 artists from the collection with toppers such as Joaquín Torres García and Diego Rivera. This lavishly illustrated catalogue is a kaleidoscope showing the artistic diversity of a fascinating continent that has been ignored for too long.