SOME OF MY FAVOURITE ARTISTS
Jasper Johns: An Allegory of Painting, 1955-1965
Jasper Johns (b. 1930) is one of the most significant figures in the history of postwar art. His work from 1955 to 1965 was pivotal, exercising an enormous impact on the subsequent development of pop, minimalism, and conceptual art in the United States and Europe. This is the first publication to approach Johns' work of this ten-year period through a thematic framework. It examines Johns' interest in the condition of painting as a medium, a practice, and an instrument of encoded meaning through several interrelated motifs: the target, the 'device', the naming of colours, and the imprint of the body. In this handsome book, leading scholars, a conservator, and a contemporary artist consider Johns' activity in this critical decade including many of the artist's iconic paintings, such as "Target with Four Faces" (1955), "Diver" (1962), "Periscope" (Hart Crane) (1963), and "Arrive-Depart" (1963). Their new critical and historical perspectives are grounded in an unusually close visual and material analysis of the work.
The Artist's Reality: Philosophies of Art
One of the most important artists of the twentieth century, Mark Rothko (1903-1970) created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting over the course of his career. Rothko also wrote a number of essays and critical reviews during his lifetime, adding his thoughtful, intelligent, and opinionated voice to the debates of the contemporary art world. Although the artist never published a book of his varied and complex views, his heirs indicate that he occasionally spoke of the existence of such a manuscript to friends and colleagues. Stored in a New York City warehouse since the artist's death more than thirty years ago, this extraordinary manuscript, titled "The Artist's Reality", is now being published for the first time. Probably written around 1940-41, this revelatory book discusses Rothko's ideas on the modern art world, art history, myth, beauty, the challenges of being an artist in society, the true nature of 'American art', and much more. "The Artist's Reality" also includes an introduction by Christopher Rothko, the artist's son, who describes the discovery of the manuscript and the complicated and fascinating process of bringing the manuscript to publication. The introduction is illustrated with a small selection of relevant examples of the artist's own work as well as with reproductions of pages from the actual manuscript. "The Artist's Reality" will be a classic text for years to come, offering insight into both the work and the artistic philosophies of this great painter.
In small, stunningly rendered self–portraits, Mexican artist Frida Kahlo painted herself cracked open, hemorrhaging during a miscarriage, anesthetized on a hospital gurney, and weeping beside her own extracted heart. Her works are so incendiary in emotion and subject matter that one art critic suggested the walls of an exhibition be covered with asbestos. In this beautiful book, art historian Hayden Herrera brings together numerous paintings and sketches by the amazing Mexican artist, documenting each with explanatory text that probes the influences in Kahlo's life and their meaning for her work. Included among the illustrations are more than eighty full–color paintings, as well as dozens of black–and–white pictures and line illustrations. Among the famous and little–known works included in Frida Kahlo: The Paintings are The Two Fridas, Self–Portrait as a Tehuana, Without Hope, The Dream, The Little Deer, Diego and I, Henry Ford Hospital, My Birth, and My Nurse and I. Here, too, are documentary photographs of Frida Kahlo and her world that help to illuminate the various stages of her life.
Jean-Michel Basquiat upturned every aesthetic convention and became a living legend, hailed as a rock star of the art world and sought by collectors worldwide. He expressed and defined his role in the vast and frenzied world of New York's multi-ethnic urban culture in a dazzling and idiosyncratic way. A young rebel, he was able to integrate Afro-American culture, pop culture and the history of jazz by means of an extraordinary visual language. His legacy is a vast body of work with its diversity of themes, materials and quality of painting. This book brings together 110 works, including examples of his collaboration with Warhol and Clemente and interviews with Isabelle Graw and Henry Geldzahler.
Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature
Scottish artist Andy Goldsworthy uses a seemingly infinite array of purely natural materials, from snow and ice to leaves, stone, and twigs in the creation of his one-of-a-kind sculptures. Unlike such artists as Christo and Michael Hiezer, whose works leave definite marks on the landscape, Goldsworthy's approach is to interrupt, shape, or in some other way temporarily alter or work with nature to produce his fragile, mutable pieces. To create "Broken Icicle," for example, Goldsworthy was only able to work on the sculpture in the early morning, when temperatures were below freezing. As with most of his works, ultimately, the materials used to create this piece returned to their natural state, leaving no trace of the artwork's existence save for the stunning photos in this book.
"I wanted to be a painter, and I became Picasso" declared Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) in an apt survey of a triumphant career. He had good grounds for the confidence palpable in his statement, for in the history of 20th century art, his name stands out over all the others. In Picasso's paintings, drawings, lithographs, ceramics, and sculptures, he was tirelessly inventive and innovative, exhibiting an aesthetic bravado that kept him one step ahead of his contemporaries. From subject matter to new forms and techniques to new media, Picasso got there first. The Spanish artist's enormous output, from the eight-year-old's beginnings to the late work of a man of ninety-one, is surely one of the most diverse and creatively energetic in the whole history of art, and it is no exaggeration to see him as the genius of the century. Carsten-Peter Warncke's study is a thorough review of Picasso's entire oeuvre, from the early Blue and Rose Periods, through the analytic and synthetic cubism and classicist phase of the all the way up to the art of the old savage Picasso.
Georgia O'Keeffe: Works on Paper
This ground-breaking volume, the first to consider Georgia O'Keeffe's works on paper, explores the media of watercolour, charcoal, pencil and pastel. O'Keeffe, an artist of immense stature in twentieth-century art, is known primarily as a painter. However, her earliest mature works, which led to her first New York exhibitions and initial acclaim, were works on paper as well, and resumed her intense commitment to drawing and watercolour in the 1960s and 1970s. The works on paper can be viewed in the larger context of O'Keeffe's career as an artist. They move from stylised, flat patterning of the early charcoals to the rhapsodic organic forms and fresh uses of colour in the watercolours to the tighter, more focused compositions of the later pastels, charcoals and pencil drawings. Finally, the works on paper of the 1960s and 1970s are characterised by an extreme simplification and almost decorative flatness. Richly illustrated with 31 full-colour plates and 21 duotones, accompanied by an introduction, critical essay and biographical chronology.
Colin Mccahon: the Man and the Teacher
The life of this iconic New Zealand artist and the influence he had on those he worked with and those he taught.
This work chronicles the life and work of Lee Krasner, one of the most inventive Abstract Expressionist painters. Lee Kranser occupies a special place in Abstract Expressionism as a major female painter in a group of artists known for their macho individuality. Aproaching art-making as a forum for communicating her discoveries about the self, nature and modern life, she turn the process of her painting into a debate with herself and other artists, ranging from Picasso and Matisse to her husband, Jackson Pollock. Often painting in a large scale, she created canvases overflowing with colour and intensely personal content. Fearless in her readiness to explore new styles, she created an extraordinary range of works, from her early Cubist-based abstractions to ambitious late canvases related to the postmodernism of the 1980s. The abrupt changes in her style, coupled with her feuds with powerful critics, delayed critical acceptance of Krasner's art.
Leonardo Da Vinci, the Complete Works
This captivating book provides the reader with a unique insight into the life and work of one of history's most intriguing figures. All of Leonardo Da Vinci's work is presented in this compact volume - from his paintings and frescos, to detailed reproductions of his remarkable encrypted notebooks. As well as featuring each individual artwork, sections of each are shown in isolation to reveal incredible details - for example, the different levels of perspective between the background sections of the "Mona Lisa", and the disembodied hand in "The Last Supper". 640 pages of colour artworks and photographs of Da Vinci's original notebooks, accompanied by fascinating biographical and historical details are here.
In December 2003 the painter Jack Vettriano, a coalminer's son, met his parents off the train from Scotland on his way to collect an OBE. Over the last few years Vettriano has had a meteoric rise to fame -- emerging from the unlikely background of the Scottish coalfields, unknown and untutored, he has become Scotland's most successful and controversial contemporary artist. Appearing on posters and cards, mugs and umbrellas, prints of his work outsell Van Gogh, Dali and Monet and his paintings have been acquired by celebrities around the world. 'The Singing Butler', Britain's most reproduced painting, fetched a record GBP744,800 at auction in April 2004. Vettriano's images have an often mysterious narrative and are a gateway to an alluring yet sinister world. Daylight scenes of heady optimism, painted against backdrops of beaches and racetracks, are counterbalanced by more disquieting canvases of complex night-time liaisons in bars and clubs, bedrooms and ballrooms. Both sexes are clearly styled -- the men hard-edged and mysterious, the women seductive and enigmatic. Yet beneath the confident posturing, Vettriano recognizes our inherent human frailty, that there is no victor in the struggle between duplicity and desire. Men and women are ultimately trapped by the machinations of intense love and passion with little control over their destiny. 'Jack Vettriano' presents about thirty new images, as well as some recently surfaced works, plus the best of the paintings previously published in 'Lovers and Other Strangers' and 'Fallen Angels', also by Pavilion. In March 2004 Melvin Bragg's The South Bank Show broadcast a programme dedicated to Jack entitled Jack Vettriano: The People's Painter. Now reissued in smaller user-friendly format.
An insight into the life and works of 17th-century Dutch artist, Jan Vermeer, this book focuses on life in Vermeer's native city, Delft, a prosperous Dutch seaport. Reproductions of the 35 paintings known to be authentic are included.
Egon Schiele (1890-1918) - along with Oskar Kokoschka - is the painter who had the most long-lasting influence on the Vienna art scene after the great era of Klimt came to a close. After a short flirtation with Klimt's style, Schiele soon questioned the aesthetic orientation to the beautiful surface of the Viennese Art Nouveau with his rough and not easily accessible paintings. Many contemporaries found his expressive nudes and self-portraits, with their strange movements and morbid colours, to be ugly and even morally objectionable - criticism which culminated in criminalizing the painter as "obscene" and resulted in 1912 in an indictment and short jail sentence. However, not even his harshest critics could dispute however the artist's extraordinary drawing talent.
These fabulous, whimsical paintings, created for his own pleasure and never shown to the public, show Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) in a whole new light. Depicting outlandish creatures in otherworldly settings, the paintings use a dazzling rainbow of hues not seen in the primary-color palette of his books for children, and exhibit a sophisticated and often quite unrestrained side of the artist. 65 color illustrations.
Moore (Taschen Basic Art Series)
The sensual, voluptuous shapes in the work of British sculptor Henry Moore (1989-1986) are the sign of his unmistakable signature style. Often depicting human or human-like forms - especially female - Moore's sculptures, with their abstract style, brought a distinctive brand of Modernism to fine art. His cast bronze and carved marble sculptures grace the gardens and galleries of the world's finest museums and have earned him a devoted following. Particularly beloved are his many mother-and-child compositions. Available in over 20 languages, "TASCHEN's Basic Art" series offers budget-minded readers quality books on the greatest artists of all time. The neat, slick format and nice price tag make "Basic Art" books perfect for collecting. Every book in the "Basic Art" series features: a detailed chronological summary of the artist's life and work, covering the cultural and historical importance of the artist; approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions; and, a concise biography.
Rivera (Taschen Basic Art Series)
Diego Rivera - A revolutionary and troublemaker It was as a revolutionary and troublemaker that Picasso, Dall and Andre Breton described the husband of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, but he was also responsible for creating a public art that was both highly advanced and profoundly accessible. From 1910 Rivera lived in Europe where he absorbed the influence of Cubism. After the Mexican revolution, however, he returned to his homeland and harnessed the lessons of the European avant-garde to the needs of the Mexican people. His own murals, and those of the Mexican Muralists who followed his example, presented a utopian vision of a post-revolutionary Mexico. Rivera's historical paintings expressed his interpretation of the revolution and its ideals, in a style that showed him returning to the pre-Columbian roots of Mexican culture, re-inventing a colourfully realistic visual idiom that could appeal directly to a largely illiterate people. This is the first study which, independently of the exhibition circuit, coherently presents the work of this extraordinary artist.
Mark Rothko, 1903-1970: Pictures as Drama
"Phases of Expressionism and Surrealism" led Rothko (1903-1970) to become one of the most outstanding figures of Abstract Expressionism. This work offers an informative overview of this Russian-born American painter.
In June 2006, the Neue Galerie in New York purchased Gustav Klimt's 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I for $135 million. This deposed Picasso's Boy With a Pipe (sold May 2004 for $104 million) as the highest reported price ever paid for a piece of art sold at a public auction. However, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was a controversial figure in his time. Far from being acknowledged as the representative artist of his age, he was the target of violent criticism - his work sometimes being displayed behind a screen to avoid corrupting the sensibilities of the young. Today, Klimt's works are recognized as masterpieces and stand out as some of the most significant paintings ever to come out of Vienna. The Byzantine luxuriance of form, the vivid juxtaposition of colours and the rich symbolism, sensuality and eroticism of his work have made Klimt one of the most popular artists in the world. Arranged thematically, the 130 reproductions of Klimt's most important work are accompanied by Rachel Barnes' expert and insightful commentary on all aspects of the artist's life, influences and paintings - from the inspiration and provenance of each painting, to the technique used to create it and a list of exhibitions. Featuring some of the most iconic, important (and valuable) artworks of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, such as the Judith I, Portrait of Adele-Bloch-Bauer I and II, and The Kiss, this is a book that Klimt enthusiasts and art lovers will cherish.
Though countless books have been written about Van Gogh, no serious, ambitious examination of his life has been attempted in more than 70 years. The authors have recreated Van Gogh's life with an astounding vividness and psychological acuity that bring a completely new and sympathetic understanding to this unique artistic genius. 992 pp.
Sacred Mirrors: The Visionary Art of Alexander Grey
"Mr. Grey's paintings, as detailed and anatomically accurate as medical illustrations, present man as an archetypal being struggling toward cosmic unity--Grey's vision of a flawed but perfectable mankind stands as an antidote to the cynicism and spiritual malaise prevalent in much contemporary art."
Artistic genius, political activist, painter and decorator, mythic legend or notorious graffiti artist? The work of Banksy is unmistakable, except maybe when it's squatting in the Tate or New York's Metropolitan Museum. Banksy is responsible for decorating the streets, walls, bridges and zoos of towns and cites throughout the world. Witty and subversive, his stencils show monkeys with weapons of mass destruction, policeman with smiley faces, rats with drills and umbrellas. If you look hard enough, you'll find your own. His statements, incitements, ironies and epigrams are by turns intelligent and cheeky comments on everything from the monarchy and capitalism to the war in Iraq and farm animals. His identity remains unknown, but his work is prolific. Here's the best of his work in a fully illustrated colour volume - including brand material.
Post-depression America was in desperate need of a defining iconography that would lift it out of the black and white doldrums, and it came in the form of Gil Elvgren's Technicolor fantasies of the American dream. His technique - which earned him a reputation as "The Norman Rockwell of cheesecake" - involved photographing models and then painting them into gorgeous hyper-reality, with longer legs, more flamboyant hair and gravity-defying busts, and in the process making them the perfect moral-boosting eye-candy for every homesick private.