RSS FeedTen Cool New Art Books
October 17, 2005
The following are ten new art books that have caught our eye.
1. Self-Taught and Outsider Art : the Anthony Petullo Collection by Anthony Petullo.
The heart of this beautifully illustrated and well-designed book is the art. Organized alphabetically by artist, each entry includes a photograph and brief biography of the artist and full-color reproductions of the art. Although the short biographies generally repeat information readily available in other sources, their presence here provides convenient reference for readers, especially those who have little acquaintance with the world of outsider and self-taught art. The Petullo Collection also offers something of a canonical overview of what other writers, most notably in the journal Raw Vision, have labeled "classics" of outsider art. Kallir's introduction begins with an obligatory recitation and critique of the history of outsider art. Choice May 2002
2. Joseph Beuys : Actions, Vitrines, Environments by Mark Rosenthan, with Sean Rainbird and Claudia Schmuckli.
Controversial and always unconventional, German artist Beuys gained an international reputation as a 20th-century sculptor who frequently combined nontraditional materials such as fat and felt with ritualized processes to create evocative sculpture, environments, and performance pieces. This highly illustrated publication is the catalog that accompanies a major exhibition of Beuys's work held at the Menil Collection, Houston (2004-05) and the Tate Modern, London (2005). Included in this publication is a comprehensive discussion (125 pages) contributed by Mark Rosenthal that looks closely at the pivotal nature of Beuys's work. Broadly staging his life and art against the backdrop of German history, WW II, and Christianity, Beuys expanded into and beyond American pop art and minimalism. Rosenthal examines the evolution and far-reaching influence Beuys continues to have on the art world at large. Choice May 2005
3. Printed to Perfection : Twentieth-Century Japanese Prints from the Robert O. Buller Collection by Joan B. Mirviss... et. al.
The core of this informative and revealing volume, 111 woodblock-printed pictures in sumptuous color faithful to the originals, are a tiny, choice selection from nearly 4,500 images and related objects bequeathed to the Sackler Gallery/Smithsonian Institution by dealer-collector Muller. Though primarily about the images and artists who worked in the late 19th century through the middle decades of the 20th, it is also about collector and collecting, about refined sensibilities--and the daring, and prescience, that fueled the gathering of a large body of work that has reoriented and reconfigured the accepted history of this art genre. Muller was not the only modern collector of Asian art to set conventional scholarship and connoisseurship on its ear, but he was a prime mover in the field of Japanese prints and related materials who forced a dramatic reevaluation of objects like these. Choice May 2005
4. Art of the Warriors : Rock Art of the American Plains by James D. Keyser.
The imagery captured by the photographs is impressive, as is the rock art of the Plains artists. Equally impressive are quotes contributed by individuals. Some tribal cultures instill in children a belief that certain sites are revered and must be treated as such; dire consequences are expected for misuse and abuse of certain revered rock sit... The narratives, photographs, research, and categorization of the rock art are the strengths of this book. Many tribal artists will see these images as inspiration for their art.
5. African Art Now : Masterpieces from the Jean Pigozzi Collection by Andre Magnin... et. al.
This exhibition catalog from the Houston Museum of Fine Arts features Jean Pigozzi's contemporary African art collection, which has been the subject of several exhibitions and publications. This catalog presents 32 artists, most featured in earlier exhibitions. Among the best known are painter Cheri Samba and photographer Seydou Keita. Pigozzi has been somewhat controversial in African art circles because he seeks out untrained African artists whose work represents a "pure" African aesthetic--a preference that seems to perpetuate the exoticism of Africa and African art. This publication acknowledges the debate surrounding Pigozzi and his collection, indirectly through interviews with Pigozzi and directly through an essay by art historian Thomas McEvilley. Choice July 2005
6. In the Realm of Gods and Kings : Arts of India edited by Andrew Topsfield.
This handsome catalog of the Polsky collection of Indian art is noteworthy for the unusual manner in which the paintings and art objects are classified. Whatever their date, origin, or medium, they are considered under one of two Realms: that of the Gods, which includes representations of nature, gods, temples, and worshipers; or that of the Kings, mainly aspects of court life, hunting, and courtly manuscripts... The value of the Polsky catalog is in the text; an undergraduate reading right through it would acquire a fine introduction to Indian art and culture.
7. Eyes, Lies and Illusions : the Art of Deception by Laurent Mannoni, Werner Nekes, Maria Warner.
This handsomely illustrated book examines the art of perceptual paradox and optical wizardry from the 16th to the 21st century. It is an intriguing exploration of the continuing fascination with visual ambiguity in Western art, science, and popular culture in "that country of uncertainty where human perception keeps its precarious existence." The wide range of artworks, media, and devices covered in this volume are drawn primarily from German experimental filmmaker Werner Nekes's vast collection of precinematic optical illusions and inventions. In addition to the Nekes collection, the book contains essays by novelist and cultural historian Marina Warner, explanations of optical devices by Laurent Mannoni, and a thoughtful, illustrated glossary by Nekes himself, as well as relevant works discussing various perceptual phenomena by eight contemporary international artists. The reader is both informed and entertained in lively fashion on such diverse topics as anamorphosis, the camera obscura and camera lucida, thaumatropes, zoetropes, and other conceptual and perceptual toys. Choice June 2005
8. Chicago Painting, 1895 to 1945 : the Bridges Collection / essays by Wendy Greenhouse and Susan Weininger.
Diverse painting styles from Chicago, a "grand polyglot art world," are set forth in this exhibition catalog, whose introduction describes collectors and a collection started in the 1970s as "a purposeful investigation of a place and time through the art of its most ardent innovators." Artists, including many women, who painted mostly realistic scenes of urban life and surrounding countryside, are grouped together in Chicago; most are unknown today except Ivan Albright and Aaron Bohrod. The first essay on painting, on the era 1890-1929, considers the artist's milieu of studios, arts institutions--the Chicago Art Institute had much influence--groups of artists, galleries, exhibitions, organizations, and influential art events such as the 1913 Armory Show. Assimilations of American and European styles and influences are chronicled carefully. The second essay on modernism arriving in Chicago, a "conflicted and fitful development," demonstrates how artists became independent despite conservatism. A detailed reference source, intensely researched with appropriate notes, this work includes a catalog of 78 paintings and checklist of the collection with biographies of the 49 artists featured. Choice July 2005
9. Dan Flavin : A Retrospective by Michael Govan and Tiffany Bell.
"One might not think of light as a matter of fact, but I do. And it is, as I said, as plain and open and direct an art as you will ever find." - Dan Flavin, 1987
Dan Flavin (1933-1996) is considered one of the most important and innovative artists of the late twentieth century. The simplicity and systematic character of his extraordinary work, along with his relentless exploration and ingenious discovery of an art of light, established him as a progenitor and chief exponent of Minimalism. Uniquely situated outside the mediums of painting and sculpture, the majority of Flavin's work after 1963 consists of art made from light. This landmark book-the first retrospective publication of Flavin's art since 1969-includes around 45 of the artist's most important light works, beginning with a pivotal series of constructed boxes with attached incandescent or fluorescent lights, called "icons," made from 1961 to 1963. Works spanning Flavin's career are discussed in depth, including examples that integrate light with the surrounding space and show the particular characteristics of blended fluorescent light, large-scale installations, and constructed corridors. The book also includes reproductions of Flavin's drawings, which show his thought processes and working methods.
New scholarship and interpretation of Flavin's work appears in the form of three critical essays by experts, an extensive chronology, comprehensive bibliography, and exhibition history. In addition, Flavin's seminal text "... in daylight or cool white.' an autobiographical sketch," originally published in Artforum in 1965, is included.
Exquisitely designed and produced, with many new stunning color reproductions, Dan Flavin: A Retrospective captures the brilliance of this artist's contribution to and challenges of the art world and will be the authoritative volume on Flavin for years to come. From the publisher's description
10. Italian Paintings, 1250-1450 in the John G. Johnson Collection and the Philadelphia Museum of Art by Carl Brandon Strehlke.
Philadelphia attorney Johnson was one of the early serious collectors of Italian art in the US. He focused on what was then known as the "Primitives"--they cost less and offered more opportunities for creative connoisseurship. Johnson bequeathed his entire collection to his hometown museum, but it is the great early Flemish and Italian works of the 14th and 15th centuries that are the testimonial to his remarkable eye. This catalog of the Italian portion of the museum collection, including a small number of non-Johnson acquisitions, is masterfully done; it hits the same high standard as recent catalogs in this area from London and Washington exhibitions. Some of the best work of the discipline is now going into these productions. Discussions of subject matter, art historical placement, and circumstances of production are exemplary. Strehlke (adjunct curator, Johnson Collection) works closely with conservator Mark Tucker. Scrupulous attention to condition and technique puts this catalog in a special category, with numerous diagrams and revelatory photographs bringing clarity to complex painting histories. Choice July 2005
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