2 comments about The Societe Anonyme: Modernism for America (Yale University Art Gallery).

1. Here's the story--well told and illustrated--of modernist art in the U.S. Lots of revelations here--the woman who was the driving force behind the movement; the breadth and scope of the many, many artists who were part of it; and the amazing number of talented women who produced some incredible art in this context. The book is well researched and organized and is destined to be an important reference work.



2. I recently attended the Societe Anonyme Exhibition at the UCLA Hammer Museum in Los Angles. The accompanying catalog is outstanding both in terms of the essay material and many photographs. I have a large collection of museum art catalogs and this one rates at the top. For anyone interested in the history of an important era in early Twentieth Century American modern art this monograph is a wonderful place to start.

4 comments about Ghost Towns of the Pacific Northwest: Your Guide to Ghost Towns, Mining Camps, and Historic Forts of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

1. I have had an interest in western ghost towns since the late 1960s and have sought out and photographed many ghost towns over the years. To that end, I have about 30 or 40 ghost town books and I would have to say that this is not one of the best. In my opinion, it is one of the worst. In fact, it's not as good as other books by Philip Varney in the same series. However, as a professional photographer myself, I can say that the photographs by John and Susan Drew are quite good. One problem with this book is that it lacks the depth of most other ghost town books. The information given just skims the surface. It's generally just raw facts such as when the town was founded, etc. Good ghost town books should go into the colorful stories that all these towns have. That's what's so fascinating about ghost towns. Another problem with the book is that it shows too many towns that are not really ghost towns at all but may only have a couple old historic buildings or they may be simply tourist towns. Many of the pictures are not of towns at all but rather dilapidated barns, etc., which can be seen anywhere in the country and are certainly not ghost towns. There is a classification system for ghost towns and not all ghost towns are classic "true" ghost towns, of course, but this book has very few ghost towns that will be of interest to a real ghost town enthusiast. In addition, the text doesn't always clearly specify the status of the towns so a reader may travel far to see a ghost town only to find that it's bustling town with a couple historic buildings, a museum, or it may be just a tourist town. I would like to know the true condition of these towns but Varney is very vague about that. Most of my ghost town hunting has been in the Southwest, California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, and Montana so it is possible that there simply aren't that many good ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest but other books that I have would suggest otherwise. Unlike some other books in this series, the maps do not use symbols that represent that actual state of the towns. For example, a crossed shovel and pick symbol often represents a "true" ghost town. But this book does not follow that useful and helpful practice, which is odd. It almost appears as if Varney simply got lazy in this effort and didn't bother to seek more remote ghost towns or gather more information about he towns he does cover. Good ghost town books should be enjoyable even to the armchair traveler who will never actually go to these towns. To accomplish that, the unique and interesting stories of the towns should be sought out and shared by the author. Florin's books, although dated, are wonderful examples of how ghost town books should be. Fortunately, if and when I do seek out ghost towns in the Pacific Northwest, I have other books that cover that region much better than this one.
   
   One other point: A very interesting and fascinating feature often included in the best ghost town books are "then and now" pictures that juxtapose images of the past and the present of the towns. For example, it's very interesting to see period photographs of, say, the town's main street along side a recent photograph of the same scene. There are a couple old pictures in this book but recent photographs of the same scenes are not included.
   
   All-in-all, I can't really recommend this book to ghost town enthusiasts but I suppose it's a moderately interesting addition to a ghost town book collection. But if you are seeking true ghost towns and interesting information about them, you can find better books to meet those needs.



2. I bought this book as a gift. Since my parent are from that area I thought they'd enjoy it. However after I read the book I found a pretty major mistake. In chapter 3 the writer refers to the Pacific County seat as being "North Bend" when its actually South Bend. One can only hope the writer didn't make any more mistakes.



3. This book covered many of the most popular ghost towns in the Northwest corner of the US and Canada. A myriad of good photos and just enough information to entice you to get in the car and go. I would have liked to have a little more information regarding those obscure ghost towns that are not easily accessed or identified.



4. We have been photographing Ghost Towns for about 30 years now and we must say that this is probably the best book that we have ever seen... and we have seen them all!

5 comments about The Looting of the Iraq Museum, Baghdad: The Lost Legacy of Ancient Mesopotamia.

1. This is a beautifully illustrated, highly informative, and ultimately very poignant book: it has appeal and meaning both for general readers with any sort of interest in archaeology and far places, and for those concerned with what we have done to Iraq.



2. Instead of writing about the looting, what was lost, what has since been recovered and how, the various contributors seem to be very busy tell the reader how they had discovered the various items in the museum. If one were interested in discoveries, there are plenty of places to have read about them previously. The book seems to have been put together with minimum thought, poor photos of items that have already been published in much better form.



3. As discontent over the continued American presence and the mounting loss of lives of not only soldiers from this country but also from other supporting countries and certainly for the countless loss of civilian lives in Iraq, artists and writers are responding in kind to the woe of war. One of the saddest tragedies of the Iraq invasion was the decimation of the Iraq Museum of Baghdad. Many of the rarest of antiquities housed there are now reduced to dust while others suffered irreparable damage.
   
   This fine book provides many illustrations of the collection of the Iraq Museum and with that, naturally, comes a timeline of civilization as we know it. The treasures are/were wondrous and the history as summarized by Milbry and William Polk, Selma Al-Radi, Angela Schuster, Zainab Bahrani, Usam Ghaidan, Anna Paolini, and Donny George in their fine essays should be required reading for all of us.
   
   This fine and beautifully designed book marks a sad moment in our history, but it also provides an invaluable resource guide for those interested in the cradle of civilization that was Mesopotamia - aka Iraq! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05



4. This edited book offers a summary of archaeology in Iraq and some assessment of the damage done by the Iraq war. It will serve as a basic source, which can be amplified by a growing specialist literature. Useful for students and people teaching about conservation and the archaeology of Mesopotamia.



5. This gorgeously illustrated and very detailed guide to the cultural atrocoties committed in April of 2003 is a masterpiece of literature. I am very glad that someone took the time to make a wonderful guide to this event. Flipping through the pages and looking at the many artifacts, one cannot help feeling a sense of melancholy. Looking at the gorgeous photos of the artifacts taken much before the looting occured, admiring them, and knowing that they are now damaged are destroyed is very unsettling, but it is wonderful that many of these brilliant archeologists, curators, and journalists took the time to create such a wonderful book to aknowledge the horrible event and show the world, even just the few people that actually buy the book and spend the time reading it. I truly enjoyed the book, which has so much information not just about the looting, but of the history of Mesopotamian, Persian and Islamic society, and the country of Iraq, specifically Baghdad, a beautiful, but tragic metropolis between the Tigris and Euphrates. The Land Between Two Rivers is brought back to life, for a brief, but beautiful, glimpse.

1 comments about The Art of Joan Brown (Ahmanson-Murphy Fine Arts Book).

1. Lots of people copy Joan Brown, maybe not intentionally, but it happens. Unfortunately she died in a freak accident installing one of her works of art so we don't get to see her next creative incarnation. Her life was exciting and interesting and she embodied what is a true artist. Driven and consumed with creative genius. Read this book, and see what it means (and takes!) to be an artist. Then try and see her works of art in person. I'm thinking the SF Museum of Modern Art SHOULD have her stuff as well as MOMA in NYC. Even if her works aren't there...someone she admired will be. A must read for every young artist.

2 comments about Beer, Art and Philosophy: The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends Is the Highest Form of Art, a memoir by Tom Marioni.

1. As a young kid, I grew up in my dad's studio. I remember various refrigerators with the "FREE BEER" sign on them and his weekly wednesday gathering of friends drinking beer in his studio or at the old San Francisco Breen's Bar on his turf corner at 3rd and Mission. Years later, I would see his refrigerator and a wall of empty anchor steam beer bottles lined up at the SFMOMA and would bring a humorous smile to my face--thinking my dad is the only person I know who could transform beer drinking into art--beer art. Although I am biased, I love my dad's work. There is always a puzzle, a natural beauty and a bit of humor in every one of his works.
   
   My father's book takes a look at the development and history of conceptual art in the 1960's until now through his eyes and his experiences. Many of his ideas and art were very advanced for his time and are very relevant today. If you want to get another perspective on conceptual art, read my dad's book....and have a nice cold beer ready.
   
   disclaimer: my dad did not ask me to write this :-)



2. As the author rightly proclaims, by the nineties "the idea of social interaction in an art context became an art movement," but in 1970, when Marioni performed his signature work, "The Act of Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art," at the Oakland Museum, in which the debris of a drinking session was exhibited, "social artwork" was scandalizing.

   Marioni's memoirs are the closest you get to sharing a drink with a respected artist, regaled with youthful impressions and insider artworld reflections, without the artist being present. Artists Chris Burden, William T. Wiley and Sol Lewitt, who contribute book jacket testimonials, have sat and drank with Tom Marioni. Why not you?

   Since 1995, I've been attending Marioni's infamous weekly Wednesday gatherings that have continued his thirty year commitment in an extended performance involving hundreds of artists and friends. We drink and swap war stories. Some of the yarns in the memoir are familiar, reappearing as good friends, perfectly shaped after repeated telling. It's a blessing to see them gathered in print and paraded before a larger audience.

   There's a reason Marioni's gatherings (and this book) are so successful. He's a perfect host and an entertaining raconteur. Difficult concepts are carefully constructed in terms his audience comprehend. Marioni's art may be challenging, but the ideas expressed are simply stated and make for great reading. His insights into the art of John Cage, with whom he interacted yearly from 1978 to 1992, when Cage would stay with Marioni and his wife Kathan Brown to explore visual art at Crown Point Press are especially moving.

   People ask Marioni what a particular work is about, and as an artist he is loath to answer, knowing how easily mood can be explained away. But Marioni is also a curator, a perfect host and writer, who enjoys recalling the personages and mysteries of art. Art critic, Thomas McEvilley, who contributes an introductory essay, hails Marioni as "Northern California's foremost Conceptual artist." You'll see why after sampling this delicacy. Pull up a chair and get yourself a cool one.

   John Held, Jr., San Francisco, March 2004.

No comments about Curiosity and Enlightenment: Collectors and Collections from the Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century.

No comments about Saatchi Gallery: The Triumph of Painting.

5 comments about Matthew Barney: Cremaster 3.

1. Matthew Barney, Cremaster 3 (The Guggenheim Museum, 2003)

   Matthew Barney's oft-celebrated and yet little-seen Cremaster series of films was finally completed with the release of Cremaster 3 in 2002. As a celebration, the Guggenheim mounted a showing of stills from the five films in early 2003. This is the book printed as a companion to the showing. As should be expected from both Barney and the Guggenheim, it's a sumptuous release.

   The vast majority of the book is nothing but photographs, though a few pieces of text flit in and out. The movies have an almost dadaesque sense of both being rooted in a place and being dislocated; the book, too, bears that same mark. You know, for example, you're looking at a closeup of a Chrysler hood ornament. But why? And what's that in the reflection, so very distorted? What's Barney's fascination with the Chrysler Building, anyway? Why is Aimee Mullins even more gorgeous when made up to look like a leopard?

   Of course, none of these questions actually get answered. But the films, and this book, are about visual experience anyway, unless you want to spend hundreds of hours dissecting the intricate layers of symbolism with which every second of the films are invested. In which case, go to it, and let us know what you find; for most folks, I think the simple beauty of the images will be enough. Either way, it's certainly worth a look. ****




2. As visually beautiful as the movie was it was boring, lack luster and so filled with boring symbolism that it isn't possible to follow without a companion guide. This book isn't that guide. It's a more expensive version than the movie was to see in the theatre but a lot less painful.



3. If you are a Barney fan, this is a must-have companion to the huge Cremaster Cycle "Bible" being sold at the showings and on Amazon. This is basically a book of stills from the film, in the order they occur. Relive such exciting moments as Matthew Barney getting his teeth smashed in at the racetrack! Aimee Mullins walking on creepy Perspex prosthetic legs! and Mathew Barney in the dentist's chair having rectal surgery! He might be a genius, he might be a nut, but he's a damn fine artist, sculptor and filmmaker.



4. I find the responses to Barney's productions amusing because I am aware they represent personal identifications, in spite of the cries of mysogyny, with a typical white masculine ideology rather than critical responses. And that is one of the important aspects of the Cremaster Cycle: a visceral response: a cremaster-kick, if you will. It erupts in your face. Out of Barney, all over you. It is twisted but blunt.

   Many reviews--just browse the Amazon universe--represent the world in dialectical oppositions. Out here we have mostly the following: good Barney/bad Barney; sexist Barney/not-sexist Barney; trash Barney/intellectual Barney. Whatever! We wish it were so simple. No learning possiblein a world where an authoritative voice is deferred to when assigning a positive or negative value to an event or idea or individual. A work of art isn't "bad" because it presents sexist, mysogynistic, repulsive, scrumptious, beautiful, ugly, erotic, pornographic, cannibalistic, testicular, white, racist, nationalistic images/symbols/myths all-together and at once both as aesthetic and poetic--as form and content. We must ask: Who is the art for? What is it supposed to do? Why choose the specific genre? At what is it directed?

   Maybe we can begin accepting that we need art that refuses simple consumption because work that refuses simple consumption refuses to fortify the dominant and oppressive ideological structures in society. So, Barney's public masturbation is a positive act. Particularly funny are the reviewers who discuss the art space of the Gugg in NY more than Barney's work documented in that space.

   That said: I find the Cremaster Cycle pleasing, troubling, and extremely boring at different times. I think it is beautiful. And I find it technically wonderful. Anyways... Better to wallow in complexity than to knee-jerk my way towards over-generalization.

   But, see it for yourself and then discuss your cremaster response publicly. That's the point. Cremaster 3 (and 1 & 2) is being screened around the country right now; some places are showing the entire cycle. Art should intervene and disrupt. And if it cannot irrupt the public sphere, it should erupt all over it.




5. This has as much insight and intelligence as a 10 year old's notebook doodles. The symbols were basic and direct and the artist expects you to see insight in nothing. The actual exhibit at the Guggenheim is worse, proving there really is no central depth of understanding, just another baby boomer mentality running amuck. Maybe if the Guggenheim stopped trying to build fancy buildings and centered on ground breaking art, we wouldn't have to accept such meaningless work as meaningful. Then again, work like this just proves the Guggenheim is a sad institution worth dying. We should congratulate Mr Barney for helping them along.

No comments about Bodies: The Exhibition.

3 comments about Everyday Genius: Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity.

1. A disappointing book that does not cover its title.
   Art is visual, not cerebral.



2. When "Self-Taught Art", "Contemporary Folk Art", "Outsider Art", "Art Brut" or whatever you wish to call (definition of this style is just one section of the book) is finally looked upon as a ligimate movement of Style this book will be a reference that is constantly looked upon to show the difficulties there was and currently is in the acceptance of this Art into the mainstream.
   The chapters and their break up are clearly referenced and the debate that they create is magnificent. I thought it was as simple as "Art for Arts sake" before reading this book but now I know that there is a lot more to this genre of Art.
   Compelling reading that anyone who owns or is looking at venturing into future purchases of "Self Taught Art" should read before opening their wallets.



3. This book addresses everything: the folk art (the term I'm used to) world, the art world and the whole world, because ultimately, any and all worlds are about socio-economic factors. This book is practically a unified theory on socio-economic relationships. If you liked Tom Wolfe's Painted Word, you should read this one.
   
   Everyday Genius does a great job of revealing the insiders' world of folk art, and yes, it addresses the debate over what to call the field.