Customer Rating: 
Summary: Too Out of Date
Comment: Rawson's "The Art of Southeast Asia" was written in 1967, almost forty years ago. The current edition is a 1990 reissue in paperback; no changes or updates were made to the original text, and therein lies a real problem.In the last three decades, there have been tremendous advances in the study of the art and archaeology of SE Asia. This new knowledge has left Rawson's book sadly out of date. (By the way, this is not a criticism of Rawson's scholarship, just a recognition that time marches on.) Unfortunately many of Rawson's interpretations and identifications, which seemed quite reasonable given what was known in the 1960's, are no longer considered correct. For this reason, the book cannot be recommended for most readers.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Comment: The Good -- Covers a lot of territory in a short space. Rawson points out the most important features of the most significant works, and traces artistic developments leading up to them. For each country, Rawson provides a brief historical overview, running from the earliest known history through the the periods of (in his view) the most significant artistic acheivements. This overview is surprisingly helpful in trying to understand the significance that the works (particularly the monuments) had in the societies in which they were created. Rawson also makes some insightful comments about how religious doctrines have shaped artistic development. If you are going to Southeast Asia, this book will give you a basic idea of what to look for. If you are beginning a serious study of Southeast Asian art, this will give you an overview and a context in which to place further studies.The Bad -- Covers a lot of territory in a short space. As a result, Rawson cannot mention much more than universally acknowledged masterpieces. With the exception of one modern Indonesian painter and a few 14th Century Thai bronzes, one would gather from Rawson that art stopped in Southeast Asia about 1200. This book was originally published in 1967, and a number of Rawson's opinions and his general attitude seem somewhat out of date. Rawson does not like his buildings "overly" decorated, which seems to me a matter of taste -- a taste clearly not shared by most of the societies he describes. He provides almost no description of the "craft" arts, and very little cross-cultural comparison.
The Ugly -- The photographs of the architectural monuments are almost all atrocious. It's conceivable that these were the best available in 1967, but Thames & Hudson should have done something to update them when they reprinted the book in 1993. In addition to simply upgrading the quality of the photographs, some of the monuments have been significantly restored in the intervening years, so more modern pictures would also provide a better of idea of what the buildings were intended to look like. Worst of all, a number of the photographs are split over 2 pages -- the binding down the middle makes it almost impossible to get a decent look at the picture without breaking the book's back.
Customer Rating:
Summary: An authortative and interesting exploration of SE Asian Art
Comment: I actually read a much older edition of this book however I feel sure the contents are much the same.The author certainly has the credentials of a scholar of SE Asian art and having writtten other titles such as "Indian Painting" and "Indian Sculpture" he has deep knowledge of his subject matter as anyone who bothers to read the biographical details and academeic qualifications .
This is not a coffee table type book, however it would genuinely interest anyone who has visited anywhere in SE Asia and seeks a deeper understanding of the many ancient temples and sculpture they will have seen. Certainly a must before visiting any of the great historical sites of Asia such as Angkor Wat or Bodhgaya.
Rawsons text is quite an easy an entertaining read making the sometimes detailed descriptions accessable and interesting.
The book principally deals with the religious sculpture and architecture of the Khmers, Burma and Java and Bali. Vietnam and Thailand receive a fairly brief summary and Laos gets only a brief mention of a page or two. For those readers looking for information on Thailand,Laos and Vietnam the book is still a valuable read because the culture of Cambodia, Burma and Java underpins much of great artistic achievements of SE Asia. Rawson also explains the immense contribution of India to the art of SE Asia and the historical background of the major kingdoms and empires is fascinating.
I would suggest that this book is an ideal beginning for more detailed study of this subject.
I enjoyed this book principally because the authors writng style, the very relevant and numerous illustrations and photographs and of course the wealth of interesting information that has opened up a deeper understanding of this subject for me.
