More Yellow Pages than pocket guide, this book lists the locations of many of the world’s greatest visual art.
Traverso’s (New Directions in Scheduling the Secondary School, 1983) first foray into art history is a vast index of many of the world’s great artists, primarily focusing on where intrepid travelers can view their works. The format is simple: Each entry, listed alphabetically by the artist’s last name, begins with a brief (typically less than half a page) summary of the artist’s style, media and achievements; then, galleries that hold work by the artist are listed—American galleries by state, followed by international galleries by country. Traverso claims that his criterion for inclusion is not based on judgments about the artist’s greatness but rather the artworks’ “accessibility to the general public,” which allows him to include a huge variety of artists. However, this gauge results in a few notable omissions; for instance, Traverso includes neither Matthias Grünewald nor Jan van Eyck, whose few attributable paintings include several indisputable masterpieces. The criterion becomes even more slippery around more contemporary artists; Jeff Koons has no entry, but Richard Serra does. Still, for anyone looking to fully explore an individual artist’s oeuvre, this work could provide a useful tool for trip planning. If Traverso had included lists of titles under each museum, the book might have provided a fount of information for the aware but selective art lover. For novices, some of the descriptions offer great summations of an artist’s concerns, while others are vague and short. Warhol’s entry, for instance, is only three brief sentences. Despite the enormous, impressive amount of labor this work demanded, its usefulness seems limited, since many readers who wish to see specific works might look to the Internet for answers; however, the locations of some hard-to-find works are provided here.
Colossal, but a greater focus on artworks and artist summaries would have proved much more valuable.Pub Date: July 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4759-9310-3
Page Count: 900
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
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A noted critic advises us to dance to the music of art.
Senior art critic at New York Magazine and winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism, Saltz (Seeing Out Louder, 2009, etc.) became a writer only after a decadeslong battle with “demons who preached defeat.” Hoping to spare others the struggle that he experienced, he offers ebullient, practical, and wise counsel to those who wonder, “How can I be an artist?” and who “take that leap of faith to rise above the cacophony of external messages and internal fears.” In a slim volume profusely illustrated with works by a wide range of artists, Saltz encourages readers to think, work, and see like an artist. He urges would-be artists to hone their power of perception: “Looking hard isn’t just about looking long; it’s about allowing yourself to be rapt.” Looking hard yields rich sources of visual interest and also illuminates “the mysteries of your taste and eye.” The author urges artists to work consistently and early, “within the first two hours of the day,” before “the pesky demons of daily life” exert their negative influence. Thoughtful exercises underscore his assertions. To get readers thinking about genre and convention, for example, Saltz presents illustrations of nudes by artists including Goya, Matisse, Florine Stettheimer, and Manet. “Forget the subject matter,” he writes, “what is each of these paintings actually saying?” One exercise instructs readers to make a simple drawing and then remake it in an entirely different style: Egyptian, Chinese ink-drawing, cave painting, and the styles of other artists, like Keith Haring and Georgia O’Keeffe. Freely experiment with “different sizes, tools, materials, subjects, anything,” he writes. “Don’t resist something if you’re afraid it’s taking you far afield of your usual direction. That’s the wild animal in you, feeding.” Although much of his advice is pertinent to amateur artists, Saltz also rings in on how to navigate the art world, compose an artist’s statement, deal with rejection, find a community of artists, and beat back demons. Above all, he advises, “Work, Work, Work.”
A succinct, passionate guide to fostering creativity.Pub Date: March 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-08646-9
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Riverhead
Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
Categories: SELF-HELP | ART & PHOTOGRAPHY
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A Los Angeles–based photographer pays tribute to a legendary musician with anecdotes and previously unseen images collected from their 25-year collaboration.
St. Nicholas (co-author: Whitney: Tribute to an Icon, 2012, etc.) first met Prince in 1991 at a prearranged photo shoot. “The dance between photographer and subject carried us away into hours of inspired photographs…and the beginning of a friendship that would last a lifetime.” In this book, the author fondly remembers their many professional encounters in the 25 years that followed. Many would be portrait sessions but done on impulse, like those in a burned-out Los Angeles building in 1994 and on the Charles Bridge in Prague in 2007. Both times, the author and Prince came together through serendipity to create playfully expressive images that came to represent the singer’s “unorthodox ability to truly live life in the moment.” Other encounters took place while Prince was performing at Paisley Park, his Minneapolis studio, or at venues in LA, New York, Tokyo, and London. One in particular came about after the 1991 release of Prince’s Diamonds and Pearls album and led to the start of St. Nicholas’ career as a video director. Prince, who nurtured young artists throughout his career, pushed the author to “trust my instincts…expand myself creatively.” What is most striking about even the most intimate of these photographs—even those shot with Mayte Garcia, the fan-turned–backup dancer who became Prince’s wife in 1996—is the brilliantly theatrical quality of the images. As the author observes, the singer was never not the self-conscious artist: “Prince was Prince 24/7.” Nostalgic and reverential, this book—the second St. Nicholas produced with/for Prince—is a celebration of friendship and artistry. Prince fans are sure to appreciate the book, and those interested in art photography will also find the collection highly appealing.
A dazzling visual homage to a music icon gone too soon.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-293923-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Amistad/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2019
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