THREE MUST-READ ART BOOKS
by charlotte miller
One of our favorite things to collect is art books.
Instructional and inspirational, art books give a glimpse into the artwork and
lives of the artists that inspire us and the exhibitions that take our breath
away. Plus, a curated stack of books is a perfect home accent. Here are three of our favorites!
A Troublesome
Subject: The Art of Robert Arneson
The first major
monograph of Robert Arneson, A Troublesome Subject: The Art of Robert
Arneson, examines Arneson’s life and oeuvre as Arneson transformed
himself from a high school art teacher into an artist of international
stature. This monograph
studies the relationship between Robert Arneson, the man and the artist, and
his relationship to contemporary culture. Studying the full scope of Robert
Arneson, Fineberg chronicles Arneson’s early roots in Benicia, CA, the
formative years in the 1960's in which he developed his signature style imbued
with humor and irreverence, and Arneson’s post-1970 turn to self-portraiture
and other genres.
The Americans: Robert
Frank
Published in France in 1958 and the United States in 1959, The Americans changed the medium of photography
and is thought of as the most important photography book since World War II. The Americans is comprised of 83
photographs taken in 1955 and 1956 by Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank
as he traveled around the United States capturing the iconography of America.
The book goes beyond documentary photography and reveals feelings of anger, loneliness
and alienation that existed beneath the surface of American culture through
photographing diners, cars, gas stations and other images of American life.
State
of Mind: New California Art circa 1970
State of
Mind: New California Art circa 1970 is the first in-depth survey of Conceptual
art and avant-garde art practices in Northern and Southern California in the
1970’s. The exhibition, which was on view February 29, June 17, 2013 at the
Berkeley Art Museum, included over 150 works of art that demonstrated the
critical role that California played in the development of the Conceptual art
movement by artists such as John Baldessari, Chris Burden, Lynn Hershman, and
Bruce Nauman, to name a few. State of Mind was co-organized by the University of California, Berkeley
Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAM/PFA) and the Orange County Museum of
Art (OCMA). The exhibition was co-curated by Constance M. Lewallen, adjunct
curator at BAM/PFA, and Karen Moss, adjunct curator at OCMA.
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