A sophisticated artistic celebration of Blackness.
An art scholar’s reflections on the intersection of race, color, and art.
“Of all the tincts that can fill up a canvas,” Moore emphasizes, “black exudes brilliance.” With a master’s degree in museum studies from Harvard, the Columbia University doctoral candidate in art education has already established himself as one of the most promising young voices in the art world. He expertly balances abstract criticism with pragmatic advice. In this follow-up to his acclaimed guide to art collecting, The Black Market (2020), Moore offers readers astute, thoughtful essays centered around the titular color black and provides logistical advice for Black artists and collectors. Central to the book’s message is a juxtaposition between Western culture’s association of the color white with purity and black with “grief and death.” Although black has long been associated with innocence in African and Asian cultures, these essays aim to challenge Western collectors, critics, and museums, noting, for example, that “White supremacy has…found a warm welcome in museum board seats.” Some pieces move beyond the realm of high art, noting the artistic merit and astute racial commentary found in African American literature, public art, family portraits, and “Visual Albums,” such as Kanye West’s Runaway (2010). The book’s more practical essays provide tips for building a collection, finding mentors in the field, and getting into “the business of art.” Although the wide-ranging nature of the chapters makes for a sometimes-disjointed reading experience at times, each of the essays here offers readers fresh insights into the intersection of art and race. Most importantly, Moore never misses a chance to introduce readers to a wide range of Black artists, from the well known to the up-and-coming. Entire chapters are effectively devoted to “the disruptors” and “the eclectics” who are transforming the art scene in the United States. Overall, this is a learned yet approachable book by an author who’s well versed in art history and theory as well as in the scholarship of W.E.B. Du Bois, Angela Y. Davis, and other Black theorists.
A sophisticated artistic celebration of Blackness.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-955496-23-0
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Petite Ivy Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 3, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
The sub-title of this book is "Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools." But one finds in it little about education, and less about the teaching of English. Nor is this volume a defense of the Christian faith similar to other books from the pen of C. S. Lewis. The three lectures comprising the book are rather rambling talks about life and literature and philosophy. Those who have come to expect from Lewis penetrating satire and a subtle sense of humor, used to buttress a real Christian faith, will be disappointed.
Pub Date: April 8, 1947
ISBN: 1609421477
Page Count: -
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1947
A detailed look at an important chapter in the life of one of the iconic artists of the late 20th century.
Lavishly illustrated volume chronicling Lennon and Ono’s years in New York, leading up to the recording of John’s 1973 album, Mind Games.
The book is organized largely along chronological lines, with photos, interviews, letters, and poems from each period. The photos are the weakest element, with too many minor variations of the same shots. There is a fair amount of material on their political activism, a lot of it in response to Richard Nixon’s 1972 campaign for reelection. At first the couple associated with American radicals such as Abbie Hoffman and John Sinclair, but the attraction wore off when it became clear that they saw Lennon mainly as someone who could help draw attention to the movement. Lennon underwent a protracted battle to avoid deportation, nominally because of his 1970 London arrest for possession of marijuana, but just as likely because of his political activism. There is also a good bit of material on Lennon’s conversion to feminism and his work for women’s rights, on the mystical influences on his and Ono’s work, and on their lives together. The most interesting aspect of the book to students of Lennon’s music is undoubtedly the inclusion of lyrics from his songs of the era, usually accompanied on facing pages by the former Beatle’s handwritten drafts, with guitar chords indicated and his comments on the song’s inspiration. The final few pages are given up to interviews of the backing musicians and recording engineers who worked on the Mind Games album.
A detailed look at an important chapter in the life of one of the iconic artists of the late 20th century.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780500027783
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
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