Selections from Kramer's superb ``Letter from Europe'' series in the New Yorker—challenging, informative models of intellectual journalism for the general reader—have been collected in several books (Europeans, 1988, etc.). This single-article reprint launches Public Planet Books, a series edited by Kramer, Dilip Gaonkar (Rhetoric/Univ. of Illinois), and Michael Warner (English/Rutgers) that aims to ``combine reportage and critical reflection on unfolding issues and events.'' This short volume is Kramer's account of the furor provoked by white artist John Ahearn's sculptures of residents of the South Bronx—one of New York City's urban ruins. Kramer's article (originally published in the New Yorker), which prompted charges of racism and stereotyping, touches on the hyper-charged subjects of multiculturalism and political correctness. The author addresses these questions with her customary sensitivity to nuance and the human dimensions of social issues. Rutgers University dean Catharine R. Stimpson (Where the Meanings Are: Feminism and Cultural Spaces, not reviewed) provides an introduction that, while not as elegantly written as Kramer's text, usefully puts the debate into historical context.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1994
ISBN: 0-8223-1535-1
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Duke Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1994
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A probing, dazzling, character-and-fact-chocked panorama of the art market during the past century, by London Observer art-columnist Watson (Wisdom and Strength, 1989, etc.). Watson looks at paintings and, to a lesser extent, books and Oriental art. He covers collectors, dealers, auction houses, and sales, accounting for the impact of personalities as he does that of wars. Into the synthesis of anecdote and analysis go such characters as the Impressionists' ``promoter'' Durand-Ruel, as well as Duveen, Vollard, Kahnweiler, Picasso, and Leo Castelli. Watson portrays the rise of the auction houses—Sotheby's and Christie's- -and reviews controversial transactions and all the spectacular auctions where such works as Rembrandt's Portrait of Titus and Picasso's Au Lapin Agile changed hands and broke records. The author shores up his far-flung narrative with a scaffolding of financial facts and a discussion of art-price trends. (The monetary points are made clear because historical ``numbers'' are translated into current dollars—i.e., ``Raphael's Colonna Altarpiece was sold to J.P. Morgan for a record ú100,000 [$10.4 million now].'') A friendly skeptic, Watson warns of the ``misleading nature of auction success.'' Van Gogh's Sunflowers, for instance, sold for a record ú22.5 million but taxes probably depleted the take to some ú3.5 million. Watson concludes that art is not ``steady and predictable'' like other markets but is subject to swings such as the one created by the Japanese who bought up to 40% of the Impressionist and Modern pictures auctioned in the late 80's, sending prices soaring. Now what? Pop Art and easy-access art, combined with the push of auction houses, increased the art-buying population but narrowed its focus to contemporary stars. ``Art collecting has become a more concentrated, less varied, less adventurous activity,'' Watson says. Watson informs those who know nothing of art and money while asking questions that will rivet and provoke those in the thick of the trade. (Illustrations—52 pp.—not seen.)
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-679-40472-4
Page Count: 532
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1992
Village Voice critic Giddins (Rhythm-a-ning, 1985, etc.) shows his versatility in this large, varied collection of reviews and essays—but the jazz pieces remain far more impressive than the author's writing on literature and show-biz. Although Giddins can get a bit gushy about his enthusiasm for the vocal and instrumental jazz greats (e.g., a self-indulgent tribute to Sarah Vaughan), he's usually persuasive in his mix of extensive knowledge and eloquent appreciation. He uses lesser-known recordings to fashion a balanced assessment of Ella Fitzgerald's uneven yet awesome career; he makes a convincing case for the undervalued Kay Starr (whose ``serpentine portamentos...resemble tailgate glides''). As for Louis Armstrong, Giddins stresses a ``renegade'' quality that was able to transmute racist material. And, combining live-concert reviews with surveys of recorded work (plus a few interviews), he does justice to the distinctive contributions of harmonica-virtuoso Larry Adler, the erratic Miles Davis, sax-man Sonny Rollins (``the most commanding musician alive''), and Dizzy Gillespie—whose Afro-Cuban innovations are highlighted in a close analysis of the landmark composition, ``Manteca.'' Giddins's book reviews—on Vonnegut, Roth, Welty, James M. Cain (``no one squats more imposingly'' in the trashy dominion of ``foul dreams'') and others—are solid but mostly unremarkable. Overviews of the careers of Jack Benny and Irving Berlin are surprisingly bland; Giddins does better with Hoagy Carmichael and Myrna Loy. Least effective of all is an effusive defense of Clint Eastwood's Bird film-bio of Charlie Parker. Not Giddins at his consistent, authoritative best, then, but sturdy, accessible work from a valuable critic.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-19-505488-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Oxford Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1992
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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