Frieda! Sidelines buyer and book cover fanatic since 2009.
I went to art school and it didn't occur to that female surrealist artists were dismissed as muses for the surrealist "men." I'm surprised. These female artists work is amazing. I love Remedios Varo!
All of Ed Templeton's work is rather visionary. His drawings are simple and beautiful. None of the conceptual art gobbledygook even comes close to the work he and his wife Deanna produce. This one is a first edition limited to 2,000.
I had no idea that Kafka did more than write and befriend cockroaches! Max Brod’s collection of his drawings, and writing, escaped the, dare I say, Kafkaesque period in Europe. Kafka’s drawings are artisanal doodles drawn in margins and refined illustrations done on scrap paper. Rather than burn his collection, as Kafka had wanted before his death in 1924, Max Brod saved all he had and transported it to safety before the scourge of fascism took over.
America wasn’t too keen about Picasso, while Europe adored his art. Alfred H. Barr and John Quinn were exceptions. These Americans were obsessed with Picasso, collected his work, and traveled back and forth across the Atlantic, trying to convince art dealers to represent him (they weren’t having it). Barr was finally able to curate Picasso: Forty Years of His Art at the brand new Museum of Modern Art. Picasso’s War is a fascinating read about the art worlds in Paris and New York City.
These artists have been referred to as “outsiders,” “self-taught,” and “visionary.” I was initially dismayed by the word nonconformers because I don’t consider these artists as rebels refusing to conform. They were, and are, driven by creativity, ensconced within their own imaginations, and using the materials at hand. Bill Traylor, Henry Darger, Niki de Saint Phalle, and so many others didn’t require an art education to produce their work. They created.
I've been a little obsessed with surgery, and it's history, for a bit. After reading Empire of the Scalpel, by Ira Kutlow, I jumped into Facemaker. Surgeon Harold Gillies was a hero for those maimed by WW1. He recontructed faces and bodies of men sent home to humiliation and scorn. World War 1 opened the gateway to facial reconstruction long before Jocelyn Wildenstein took the process in a "different" direction
To me, Franzen has always been a fluid read. No showboating. No fancy lingo. He just gets to the story without being pedantic. The Crossroads faith-full family is experiencing, and reminiscing about, the mosaic of growing up. The adults—the father is a pastor, the mother is a mom—”sin,” and then “redeem” themselves, only to “sin” again. The sons and daughter do the same within a winter season in ’70s Chicago. No Bible thumping or preaching. This is a complicated family’s story and a good read.
The History of Bones caught my eye because John Lurie was a teensy weensy part of my cinema and music development. While I hated Stranger Than Paradise the first time I saw it, I caught on by the second time and loved it! Down by Law? Loved it! John’s book is like a non-sequitur-laden diary. Back and forth through time, sharing his life as a musician and actor living in the Lower East Side and everywhere else. I enjoyed imagining the streets where I lived, in Alphabet City, were the same ones where Lurie lurked several years before me.
One thing, among innumerable things, that artists may not tell you is they need encouragement 24–7. Well, I do. Make Your Art … provides ideas and methods you can use to encourage yourself 24–7.
Never thought about the "counter culture" decked out, festooned, with jewelry that made a statement. I love this book. I've made jewelry and art. My paintings, on angry days, are political. I copied Artemesia Gentilleschi
Possibly out of print. Email or call to check availability and price.
I love reading about artists. Ninth Street Women is amazing. Helen Frankenthaler was one of these artists. I'm not a fan of her work being referred to as "feminine". She was an Abstract Expressionist with a vagina.
This book spells out what a f'd up country we are and how the entitled, even if they're not rich, will vote against their own best interest. As long as the people they don't approve of aren't getting fair treatment they're happy to shoot themselves in the foot. Facinating read!
This book is an epic read rivaling my dreams. It's surreal, cultish, Tim Burton's Big Fish mixed with Arkham Assylum mixed with a Mark Ryden painting. It is highly readable, not abstract or high falutin. Fun!
Possibly out of print. Email or call to check availability and price.
