Aptly titled, this splendid tour de force treats readers to multifaceted investigations of memorable objects "shimmering with consequence," from the formally sublimeHarvey Littleton's prismatic glass arcs, Laura Andreson's quixotic luster-glazed porcelains; to the socially portentousJudy Chicago's feminist tableware; the satiricRobert Aronson's ceramic finger-key typewriter; the harrowingJames Surl's cruciform wood mobile, "Needle Man"; the technically awesomeStanley Lechtzin's electroformed silver jewelry; and just plain kitschKenny Scharf's "Van Chrome Television." The authors, curators of the exhibition at Tulsa's Philbrook Museum that formed the basis for this volume, highlight new directions over the last two decades in work in clay, glass, metals, fibers and wood.