AIR: 24 HOURS

Artist Jennifer Bartlett's series of 24 paintings, each corresponding to an hour of the day, are shown here in glorious reproductions with commentary by short-story writer Eisenberg (Under the 82nd Airborne, 1992, etc.). The scenes progress from 12 a.m. to 11 p.m., from nighttime horrors through waking, working, and playing. Midnight's somber gray palette gradually gives way to the pinks of dawn (Six a.m.), the clear yellow sunlight of midday (Twelve Noon), the deepening shadows of late afternoon (Five p.m., Six p.m.), and night's cerulean tones (Nine p.m., Ten p.m., Eleven p.m.). Although not terribly obtrusive, Eisenberg's straightforward, unscholarly analyses alongside the works add nothing to the volume; readers would do better to ignore them and form their own conclusions. Far more interesting are the conversations between Eisenberg and Bartlett in the back of the book, where the artist describes her inspirations, methods, and thoughts about each of the paintings. The explanation of the mathematical grids underlying each hour is especially enlightening.