Meet Me at the Fair
Together with the Olympics, world's fairs are one of the few regular international events of sufficient scale to showcase a spectrum of sights, wonders, learning opportunities, technological advances, and new (or renewed) urban districts, and to present them all to a mass audience. Meet Me at the Fair: A World's Fair Reader breaks new ground in scholarship on world's fairs by incorporating a number of short new texts that investigate world's fairs in their multiple aspects: political, urban/architectural, anthropological/ sociological, technological, commercial, popular, and representational. In taking the measure of both the material artifacts and the larger cultural production of world's fairs, the volume presents its own phantasmagoria of disciplinary perspectives, historical periods, geographical locales, media, and messages, mirroring the microcosmic form of the world's fair itself.
Art as Asset
Whether you've just purchased your first painting or you're building a growing collection, Art As Asset: Preserving Your Investment is your essential companion to caring for the art you love. Written by an accredited conservator with years of experience preserving artworks ranging from centuries-old masterpieces to contemporary works, this accessible and practical guide demystifies the art of preservation for everyday collectors.Reference advice on proper handling, display, and storage of artworks - without needing a degree in conservation. Discover what environmental conditions can quietly damage your art over time, how to spot early signs of trouble, and when it's time to call in a professional. Explore additional provided internet-based resources from a Canadian-centric standpoint.Complete with easy-to-follow advice, images, and insider tips, this book empowers art owners to become confident stewards of their collections. Because good care isn't just about protecting beauty - it's about preserving value, history, and meaning for years to come.Author Bethany Jo Mikelait is a conservator of fine art specialized in paintings, accredited by the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators, and owner of The Art Conservatory Inc., an art conservation practice based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Christl Mudrak: Eros
Two decades of Mudrak's hypnotic yet ephemeral painted room installationsGerman artist Christl Mudrak (born 1972) creates "participatory-performative painting" through painstakingly drawing several series of lines on the floors, walls and ceilings of a room, creating an immersive optical illusion for the viewer to step into.
Arshile Gorky: New York City
Celebrating 100 years since Arshile Gorky's arrival in New York, this illustrated reader unpacks the mutually influential relationship of the young artist and the cityBorn in Armenia, the artist Arshile Gorky (1904-48) immigrated to the United States in 1920 as a teenage refugee. When he finally settled in New York in 1924, he became a central figure of the city's cultural milieu as an artist whose oeuvre straddled the cultural spheres of Europe and North America, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionism. This illustrated biography examines Gorky's life and work in New York in both art historical and sociopolitical contexts, including Tamar Kharatishvili's exploration of forced displacement and self-fashioning and Allison Katz's recollections of her personal encounter with his work when she was an emerging painter. It introduces readers to a lesser-known side of Gorky as a young, self-mythologizing artist on the verge of changing culture forever. With a clean, accessible design, this volume mixes scholarly research with more literary reflections on New York and the immigrants who built it, both culturally and materially.
Art as Asset
Whether you've just purchased your first painting or you're building a growing collection, Art As Asset: Preserving Your Investment is your essential companion to caring for the art you love. Written by an accredited conservator with years of experience preserving artworks ranging from centuries-old masterpieces to contemporary works, this accessible and practical guide demystifies the art of preservation for everyday collectors.Reference advice on proper handling, display, and storage of artworks - without needing a degree in conservation. Discover what environmental conditions can quietly damage your art over time, how to spot early signs of trouble, and when it's time to call in a professional. Explore additional provided internet-based resources from a Canadian-centric standpoint.Complete with easy-to-follow advice, images, and insider tips, this book empowers art owners to become confident stewards of their collections. Because good care isn't just about protecting beauty - it's about preserving value, history, and meaning for years to come.Author Bethany Jo Mikelait is a conservator of fine art specialized in paintings, accredited by the Canadian Association of Professional Conservators, and owner of The Art Conservatory Inc., an art conservation practice based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Things Made Over Time
Things Made Over Time surveys Hylton Nel's ceramics--whimsical plates and insightful sculptures blending history, humor, and critique--with a foreword by Dior's Kim Jones. Essential for lovers of ceramic art. Things Made Over Time is a comprehensive survey of South African artist-potter Hylton Nel's work, spanning his career from the 1960s to 2024. From his early days in Antwerp to his studio in Calitzdorp, Nel's ceramics--plates, bowls, vases, and sculptures--embody a unique voice in contemporary ceramics. Featuring a foreword by Dior Men's creative director Kim Jones and a photographic series by Pieter Hugo, this book explores Nel's vast inspirations, from Staffordshire pottery to Tang Dynasty China, as well as his home filled with objects and books. With insights from Nel's own words and an essay by art historian Tamar Garb, who highlights his whimsical cats as symbolic witnesses, Things Made Over Time captures Nel's blend of humor, critique, and timeless tradition. A must-have for collectors and lovers of contemporary ceramics.
A Coffin for the Killer 3
Classic Italian film poster art is renowned as being among the most accomplished, creative and dynamic of its kind. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Italian artists consistently produced posters with stunning designs and imagery. At the same time, Italian cinema developed a distinct style which produced several unique genres, perhaps most famously the so-called "spaghetti western", a mutant strain renowned both for its violence and its visual invention.A COFFIN FOR THE KILLER 3 is a collection that showcases 100 film poster designs by a wide range of acclaimed Italian artists, all created for western film productions from both Italy and other European countries, a genre collectively known as the Eurowestern. These classic posters, dating from 1963 to 1966, are presented in full-color, full-page images highlighting some of the world's most innovative and evocative promotional art.
Neon Dreams
College of Southern Nevada (CSN) Creative Writing Club Student Anthology Literature and Arts Journal
The Art of the Boy and the Heron
Celebrate the artistry of visionary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki with the official art book The Art of the Boy and the Heron. In Studio Ghibli's Academy Award(R)-winning fantasy adventure film, The Boy and the Heron, young Mahito loses his mother and is plunged into a journey of discovery led by a mischievous gray heron. This gorgeous art book is filled with hundreds of pieces of concept art, storyboards, character designs, backgrounds, key animation, and more that illuminate the inventive vision of acclaimed director Hayao Miyazaki. This book features commentary and interviews from the incredible team that shaped this film and past Studio Ghibli masterpieces. Readers will gain insight into the extensive production process and the painstaking work that went into the creation of this film from supervising animator Takeshi Honda, art director Yoji Takeshige, background artist Noboru Yoshida, and many more. The book also includes the director's original memos proposing the creation of the film, the full script, and many other intriguing details.
Egyptian Art
Unlock the mysteries of ancient Egypt with "Egyptian Art: Studies" by G. Maspero, a timeless masterpiece that has been out of print for decades and is now beautifully restored by Alpha Editions. This collector's item is not just a reprint; it's a cultural treasure, meticulously revived for today's and future generations. Dive into the captivating world of Egyptian art, where every page reveals the secrets of a civilization that has fascinated humanity for centuries. Maspero, a renowned Egyptologist, guides you through the intricate artistry and profound symbolism of ancient Egypt, offering insights that are as enlightening as they are engaging. Whether you're a casual reader or a classic literature collector, this book promises to enrich your understanding and appreciation of one of history's most enigmatic cultures. With its compelling narrative and exquisite restoration, "Egyptian Art: Studies" is a must-have for anyone passionate about art, history, and the enduring legacy of ancient civilizations. Don't miss the chance to own this extraordinary piece of literary and cultural history.
Mary Engelbreit’s Friendship Is a Sheltering Tree 2026 Deluxe Wall Calendar
Anyone who is familiar with Mary Engelbreit knows that the subjects of friendship and nature hold a very special place in her heart and in her charming artwork. This new wall calendar features thirteen new illustrations that are sure to bring a sense of warmth and cheerfulness to your year. The new images featured in Mary Engelbreit's Friendship Is a Sheltering Tree 2026 Calendar reflect Mary's passion for nature and all the comfort and peace it provides to so many of us. It's the perfect addition to any wall in your home or office. Packaged in its own plastic free, decorative envelope, additional features include: Calendar measures 13.5" x 12" (13.5" x 24" open) Printed on FSC-certified paper with soy-based ink Planning spread for September-December 2025 Spans January-December 2026 Generous grid space for events, appointments, and reminders Official major world holidays and observances Moon phases, based on Universal Time Thirteen new, never-before seen images
William Monk
The first comprehensive study on the work of visionary painter William MonkWilliam Monk is a British-born, New York-based artist known for his enigmatic and vibrant paintings that often investigate the same motif or theme in different permutations. Deeply interested in the idea of creating images that are not a direct transcript of the real world but a product of his mind, Monk creates starkly divisional compositions carrying irregular intensities of detail, line, foreground, and background, pushing his work and the foundational elements of painting to the point where model and subject become two separate entities.
Mary Engelbreit’s Do It for Yourself 2026 Monthly Pocket Planner Calendar
Everyone needs the perfect portable planner to help keep their year organized, and what better calendar to have at your fingertips than one by world-renowned artist Mary Engelbreit. Perfect for any busy person on the go, the Do It For Yourself 2026 Monthly Pocket Planner is small but functional, and fits perfectly in any purse or tote. Features include: ​4.5" x 6.5" (9 x 6.5" when open) Matching full-color protective slipcase Printed on FSC-certified paper with soy-based ink 12-month planner: January-December 2026 Grid space for notes, appointments, and reminders Official major world holidays and observances Year-at-a-glance pages for 2025, 2026, and 2027 Perforated pages in the back for notes A full-color Mary Engelbreit character on each monthly spread
Chris Orr
Chris Orr, the well known British painter and printmaker, takes us on a tour of his prodigious and penetrating vision of the world over the last twelve years.
Mission to Kill
Classic Italian film poster art is renowned as being among the most accomplished, creative and dynamic of its kind. Throughout the 1960s, Italian artists consistently produced posters with stunning designs and imagery. At the same time, Italian cinema developed a distinct style which produced several unique genres, of which a popular example remains the Eurospy movie.MISSION TO KILL is a collection that showcases 80 film poster designs by a wide range of acclaimed Italian artists, all created for Eurospy, secret agent and super-criminal film productions and co-productions. These classic posters are presented in full-color, full-page images highlighting some of the world's most innovative and evocative promotional art.
A Glimpse of Me
This book of poetic thoughts blended with the simplicity of Haiku Syllables and Heartspur moments of reflection is intended to provide a glimpse of who resides within my soul. Writing poetry has been my sanctuary for many uninterrupted years, a space where words flowed effortlessly, wrapped in lyrical whispers revealing the depths of my inner world. Yet, in that relentless pursuit of creative expression, I had neglected a crucial aspect of my journey: soulful reflection.
Revisions
The manner in which Bacon's paintings evolved was misunderstood during his lifetime. Since he always painted alone in his studios, there were no witnesses to the emergence of his visceral imagery. His insistence on privacy helped generate considerable speculation about his painting process, most of it erroneous.Bacon did make one clear statement about the genesis of his paintings: "I sketch out very roughly on the canvas with a brush, just a vague outline of something, and then I go to work . . . ". Yet this fundamentally accurate summation of his technique ran counter to the received wisdom and was misunderstood or ignored.Martin Harrison's introductory essay begins by demonstrating exactly what Bacon meant, and what he did: it will show what "rough sketching' signified. It also deploys X-ray and infrared images that reveal under-drawing, and analyzes other features that elucidate Bacon's methodology. Photographs of paintings briefly arrested at intermediate points before completion--taken by the few visitors to the studio allowed the privilege--help to explain later stages in painting process.Sophie Pretorius's survey incorporates every one of the images that have hitherto remained unseen, illustrating the transitional states of all the paintings recorded in photographs, arranged thematically.A reference section includes thumbnail images of all the paintings discussed here, arranged in chronological order. This is consistent with the layout of Francis Bacon: Catalogue Raisonn矇 (2016), to which this volume may be regarded as a supplement, publishing significant new information.
Nat Mayer Shapiro: Joy and Rigor
From optical illusions to genre scenes and dancing kites, Shapiro's protean output defies categorization From the 1950s until his death in 2005, Nat Mayer Shapiro created over 900 paintings, drawings, assemblages and sculptures. Though he drew from modernist movements such as Expressionism, Op art and pure abstraction, his work features Biblical vignettes, dancing kites, anthropomorphic sculptures and views into the fathomless cosmos.
Fran癟ois Le Moyne: Complete Works
The glorious paintings of a Versailles court artist beloved by Louis XVFirst Painter to King Louis XV for only a few months before his death, Fran癟ois Le Moyne (1688-1737) had a career as short as it was prolific. Teacher of Charles-Joseph Natoire and Fran癟ois Boucher, Le Moyne is today recognized as one of the major artists of the 18th century.
Ute Eitzenh繹fer: Subtext
That Ute Eitzenh繹fer's jewelry is related to contemporary phenomena is beyond any doubt. The longevity of precious metals and stones is juxtaposed with the rapid development of social realities -- or with our increasingly overwhelmed perception of them. In particular, our power and powerlessness in dealing with meanwhile highly complex communication are a source of inspiration for her works. The seemingly timeless aesthetics of the minimalist-looking pieces of jewelry nevertheless open up to a variety of perspectives: when worn, they encourage us as wearers or beholders to engage in dialog and bring about an immediate exchange. Text in English and German.
Margit Koppendorfer
During her 40-year career, Margit Koppendorfer has designed costumes for the greats of theater history: characters from Shakespeare, Brecht, and Handke, directed by Berghaus, Peymann, and Tabori, performed in Vienna, Zurich, and Berlin. Margit Koppendorfer: Costume Designs presents Koppendorfer's often life-sized mixed-media design sketches on transparent paper and reveals through these unique illustrations how the costume designer accords identity to the characters. By alienating the real in a visionary way, a latent truth emerges. While author Elfriede Jelinek and actress Maria Happel emphasize in their texts the masterful embodiment of the costumes, and of their characters, Margit Koppendorfer herself says of her work, "I dance into the set with my characters." Text in English and German.
Thomas Putze
For Thomas Putze, performance is a snapshot of a moment, a play on possibilities, and at the same time a well-planned and sophisticated act to captivate the onlooker. Yet above all, it is thinking, drawing, sculpting, and realizing with and through the body, which he treats just as relentlessly as all the other materials in his works. He swings through trees, occupies church facades, and submerges himself in mud; frequently without clothing or scantily wrapped in plastic sheeting, he gauges and challenges the physical and thus social space between us bystanders. Thomas Putze typifies the risk of being human, with all its failings and plenty of humor. He not only holds us to account but rather invites us to do this ourselves: to partake in art and to reflect on the performance we call life. Text in English and German.
Gabi Dziuba & Friends
Gabi Dziuba's jewellery is stringent, laid-back, fragile, minimalist, glamorous, and progressive. Collaboration with close artist associates is characteristic of her work, including those with Gu]nther F繹rg, Hans-J繹rg Mayer, Martin Kippenberger, Heimo Zobernig, Monika Baer, and Alexandra Bircken. Text in English and German. Gabi Dziuba's jewelry is stringent, laid-back, fragile, minimalist, glamorous, and progressive. Blister packs, coins, beans, or letters are turned into wilful creations. Collaboration with close artist associates is characteristic of her work, including those with G羹nther F繹rg, Hans-J繹rg Mayer, Martin Kippenberger, Heimo Zobernig, Monika Baer, and Alexandra Bircken, whose works are included in this monograph. This highlights the openness of Dziuba's artistic approach to new trends - Pop Art, Minimal Art, punk, fashion. A fascinating biography results in which the visual artist, musician, designer, and entrepreneur has freely experimented with the traditional assignment of roles since the 1970s. Gabi Dziuba & Friends is a vivid survey of her extraordinary working methods and the exhibition activities in her Berlin studio. Text in English and German.
El-Gazzar
El-Gazzar, born in 1925 in Alexandria, is a leading figure in modern Egyptian art of the 20th century. He enrolled in the Faculty of Fine Arts in Cairo in 1944 and then joined the Contemporary Art Group founded by Hussein Youssef Amin, his master. With an innovative and unique expressionist style, it portrays the people of Cairo in a folkloric way. Later, he tried his hand at abstraction by representing industrial machines and their effects on humans. Recognized during his lifetime, the production of El-Gazzar was exhibited in France from 1949, at the Venice Biennale in 1952 and at the S瓊o Paulo Museum in 1953. Today, his works are in private collections in Cairo, Alexandria, Rome, Paris and Brussels, but also in major institutions around the world, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York or the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art. This catalogue raisonn矇, published in English, comprises two volumes. The first is dedicated to the artist's paintings and the second to graphic works, archives and photographs. It brings an understanding of the enigmatic work of the artist, but also of modern Egyptian art in general.
How do you survive your fans when you’re famous?
How do you survive your fans when you're famous? That's the question Shawn, a talented young singer and musician, will have to answer more often than he ever thought possible! Come and follow his hilarious adventures with his fans, and join the Mendes Army if you feel like it!
Andrea Blum: Biota
A 40-year overview of Blum's career working at the interface of art, architecture and design, leading up to her focus on our engagement with the natural worldPublished with Hunter College Art Galleries. Andrea Blum (born 1950) is a New York-based artist who has worked at the intersection of art, architecture and design since the 1970s. She has exhibited at a wide range of venues and has built projects in Europe and the United States that include public installations, furniture, exhibition design, libraries and other designs for living. Blum's work considers the relationship of the sociopolitical world to the private psychological one, zooming in and out of the conditions that organize us as a culture, with a focus on the "down time"--when one eats, reads and is in repose--as the time when the border between private behavior and public etiquette is most evidenced.Accompanying an expansive exhibition of the same name at Hunter College Art Galleries, Biota is lavishly illustrated with extensive photography of Blum's early sculpture, public works, exhibitions, installations and propositions of the past 40 years. The book includes new essays and a conversation between the artist and Allan Schwartzman, all of which explore Blum's practice and artmaking philosophy.
Spy X Family: The Official Anime Guide--Mission Report: 221001-1224
Meriem Bennani: For My Best Family
Utilizing mediums as diverse as mechanized flip-flops and animated film, Bennani takes a playful, ultra-contemporary approach to the representation of global cultures on social mediaThis publication documents, analyzes and comments on new works by New York-based Moroccan artist Meriem Bennani (born 1988) in relation to her previous production and the cultural context in which she works. Bennani's works explore the potential of storytelling while amplifying reality through a strategy of fantastical imagery and humor, juxtaposing and mixing the language of YouTube videos, reality TV, documentaries and animation. Throughout her career, she has developed a shape-shifting practice of films, sculptures and immersive installations questioning contemporary society and its fractured identities, gender issues and dominance of digital technologies. Combining a new site-specific, large-scale installation with an art film codirected with Orian Barki, the project documented here, her most ambitious, explores ways of being together in public and intimate sociopolitical settings.
Hellebore: The Art of Missupacey
In this fascinating Art of book, Colorado-born artist Ashleigh Izienicki reveals the process behind how she combines dark, macabre themes with a cute and feminine touch to create incredibly popular art. Ashleigh has accumulated a massive following online under her brand, Miss Upacey. She has over 603K followers on Instagram, a popular Patreon, and a successful online shop selling products such as pins, phone cases, stickers, and stationery. She now resides in California and works in traditional and digital mediums. Her book features tutorials in both, giving fans and art-lovers a glimpse behind the curtain into her process, studio set-up, and inspiration. She also talks about the challenges and joys that come with running an art business, and gives her invaluable advice to aspiring creatives.Miss Upacey: The Art of Ashleigh Izienicki has the unmatched production values that 3dtotal Publishing is known for - high-quality paper and a beautiful hardback cover with special cover finishes. This is a keepsake for Miss Upacey fans, and art fans in general, to display on their bookshelf for many years to come.
Anna Freeman Bentley - Complete Reality
Showcases Anna Freeman Bentley's paintings exploring the tension between reality and fabrication in spaces.Anna Freeman Bentley (b. 1982) is an artist based in London. Her painting practice explores unpeopled architecture and interiors, the objects, decoration, and furniture inviting both narrative and abstruser consideration. This publication, Complete Reality, documents Freeman Bentley's latest series of paintings, which she created after visiting the film set for My Driver & I (2024), a coming-of-age drama set in the port city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.Over the course of the shoot, Freeman Bentley took over two thousand photographs, which she edited and worked from in her London studio. The paintings show lavish rooms, filled with fringed lamps, dusty chandeliers, vast mirrors, and ornate furniture, juxtaposed with the incongruous signs of a film set: screens, leads, computers, and plastic chairs. Exploring the relationship between "reality" and "fabrication", the series continues the artist's interest in spaces that have an inherent tension or transience.Alongside the paintings that comprise Complete Reality, the publication also includes a series of oil studies on paper that explore additional rooms, angles, and spaces from the film set. Installation images of the artist's most recent solo exhibitions - Video Village at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris (2024), make shift at Monica de Cardenas, Zuoz (2024), and Complete Reality at Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles (2024-25) - showcase the works staged in different configurations and gallery environments.In her introduction, Jennifer Higgie considers the interiority of Freeman Bentley's elusive scenes, and her interest in temporary and unreal spaces. The curator and writer Elisabetta Fabrizi interviews Freeman Bentley about the interplay of reality and illusion in her paintings. They reflect on themes of authenticity and narrative tension, and discuss Freeman Bentley's earlier explorations of cinema, particularly Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979). Kathryn Lloyd writes about the conceptual and historical relationships between cinema, photography, and painting. She analyzes how Freeman Bentley forges an interdependence between these three distinct media, creating an unmistakably painterly language that somehow distils the essence of both film and photography.In an interview with Michele Robecchi, the artist discusses her recent solo exhibition in Switzerland, make shift. Freeman Bentley reflects on her personal connections to the work, the significance of the temporary and transitory nature of the film set and her use of triptychs, mirrors, and fragmentation to disrupt conventional readings of space. In her contribution, the film producer Georgie Paget offers a speculative film script based on the exhibition Video Village at MASSIMODECARLO Pièce Unique, Paris.Edited by Matt Price and designed by Joanna Deans, the book is published by Anomie Publishing, London.
Elegies of Love
Never reprinted since their first, posthumous appearance in 1935, these woodcuts were the only printed versions of his work to receive Rodin's full approval. Mostly self-educated, Rodin was a passionate re-reader of his favorite books, and Ovid's Love Elegies occupied a special place in his imagination. These woodcut illustrations were taken from the astonishingly free and improvisatory life drawings he made in his later years. For many people these are the most entrancing manifestation of his genius. Privately published in 1939 in a very strictly limited edition, these 31 beautiful images are very rarely seen. This edition marries Rodin's illustrations to Christopher Marlowe's glittering translation, which was ceremonially burnt by the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1599.
Benjamin West and the Death of a Stag
Benjamin West's The Death of a Stag, a tour de force of pictorial theater and his own unique Scottish masterpiece, has been the focus of high drama for over two centuries. Painted for the Clan Mackenzie in 1786, the gigantic canvas, measuring twelve by seventeen feet, is still the largest in the collection of the National Galleries of Scotland. The painting almost moved to America, but after a successful campaign, it was purchased in 1987. In 2004, the work was conserved in situ in the National Gallery of Scotland and this book tells the story of the picture, both in terms of its history and the conservation process.
Douglas Gordon
This book will accompany the first major solo exhibition of Douglas Gordon's work in Scotland since he presented his now celebrated work, 24 Hour Psycho at Tramway in Glasgow in 1993. Gordon is one of a number of Glasgow-trained artists who came to prominence in the 1990s. He has gone on to achieve huge international recognition, marked by major awards, including the Turner Prize in 1996, and by exhibitions in museums in Europe and America. Gordon works with film, video, photographs, objects and texts, examining issues such as memory and identity, good and evil, life and death. He makes great play with the doubling of images often in positive and negative or in mirrored form. This book will show all the important aspects of Gordon's work, both past and present. In addition, it will be specially tailored to bring out the particularly Scottish nature of Gordon's ideas and practice. The exhibition book will contain essays by the exhibition curator, Keith Hartley, senior curator at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh; Dr Holger Broeker, Kunstmuseum; Dr Jaroslav Andel of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Prague and an essay by the renowned Scottish author, Ian Rankin.
R. Crumb: Existential Comics
This volume brings together twenty-five of R. Crumb's most ambitious, acclaimed, and profound comics. One of the most influential and iconic cartoonists of our time, R. Crumb is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of representation, mass consumerism, and polite society. The comics in this volume exemplify Crumb's creative output over twenty-five years following his early experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s. The comics collected here depict characters searching for an understanding of the world around and within themselves. Through adaptation, autobiography, biography, and short fiction, Crumb--much like his subjects--demands we pay attention to our darkest desires, compulsions, fears, and obsessions. Existential Comics also features a new, introductory comic strip by Crumb, reflecting on his practice in the context of this volume. Editor Dan Nadel's essay further weaves together Crumb's life, career, and influences, delving into the creative environment that informed some of the artist's most outstanding comics.
Brightening Glance
For more than five decades, Pat Lipsky has been a leading figure in American color field painting. In loosely connected vignettes, this extraordinary book looks back on a life starting in 1970s SoHo: from her pioneering days juggling painting and single motherhood in a redesigned factory loft on Wooster Street; to Paris, where an enchanting friendship develops with the former director of the Louvre, Pierre Rosenberg; to her yearslong close friendship with legendary art critic Clement Greenberg; to a marvelous love affair with the charismatic art dealer Richard Bellamy. We glimpse Lipsky's first introduction to C矇zanne as a child in 1950s Brooklyn and her studies with the mythic artist Tony Smith, who would become her mentor. There is a visit with Lee Krasner at her home in Springs and another at Lipsky's Manhattan apartment, late-night, smoke-filled loft parties, and evenings at Max's Kansas City where Lou Reed and Nico sing in the background while rival groups of earthwork artists, pop artists, conceptual artists, and color field painters pretend to ignore each other at the bar. Along the way we experience Lipsky's emergence at the forefront of her generation of painters. Brightening Glance offers a stunningly self-revealing portrait of the struggles and sacrifices, joys and excitement inherent in a modern painter's life, and captures the evergreen allure of New York's art world between 1970 and 2010. In stripped down, elegant prose, Lipsky summons a New York that no longer exists and ponders why we love (and hate) the art world. Ultimately, it's a story of a contemporary woman, a mother, and a painter, who dares a career in a field where only a handful of women have succeeded.
