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Gift Books
Books to Behold
For art lovers, a beautiful selection awaits browsers and buyers
THIS YEAR'S selection of new art books is a glorious one, and bookstore browsers can count on many happy hours among the stacks. Here are just a few of the new releases that caught my eye:
"Odd Nerdrum: On Kitsch," by Odd Nerdrum (Kagge Forlag/D.A.P. $19.50). When this Norwegian artist showed at Seattle's Frye Art Museum a few years back, his angst-laden figurative paintings prompted debates about whether they were fine art, illustration or kitsch. In this manifesto, Nerdrum raises the banner for kitsch, calling it "passion's form of expression at all levels, and not the servant of truth." "On Kitsch" also includes essays on the subject by several critics and the transcript of a speech by Nerdrum titled, "I will now tell you what art is." For some readers, those will be fighting words.
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"Blue: The History of a Color," by Michel Pastoureau (Princeton, $35). From the Medievalist who brought us the fascinating study "The Devil's Cloth: A History of Stripes and Striped Fabrics," a new and equally intriguing book about a subject many of us take for granted: Color. It turns out that blue — the favorite of Western society in modern times — was barely used in ancient European culture, when red, white and black were the basic palette. Not until the 11th and 12th centuries did blue burst from its "second-rate" status to become an aristocratic symbol, and much more. Beautifully illustrated.
"Art: 21. Art in the Twenty-First Century," by Robert Storr, et al., introduction by Susan Sollins (Abrams, $45). This book accompanies the excellent PBS TV series that aired earlier this fall and features many of my favorites: light and space artist James Turrell, the wily sculptor Louise Bourgeois, painter Kerry James Marshall, architect Maya Lin, photographer Sally Mann — the list goes on, including Seattle multimedia artist John Feodorov. Gorgeously designed and produced, this book is a delight.
"Richard Avedon: Made in France," text by Judith Thurman (D.A.P. $75). Master of the jutting hipline, Richard Avedon shot this group of svelte fashion photographs in Paris, during the 1950s, for Harper's Bazaar. Here they're reproduced on their original mounts, with the artist's notations, and typed editorial messages. A sweet reminder of post-WWII fashion and the impeccable style of this great 20th-century photographer.
"Becoming Mona Lisa: The Making of a Global Icon," by Donald Sassoon (Harcourt, $30). How did it happen that one small painting rose head and shoulders above all the rest to become the most famous in the world? Art historian Donald Sassoon walks us through the evolution of Mona Lisa's stardom, including the amazing story of her theft from the Louvre (and eventual recovery), where she now resides in a special concrete container behind two sheets of bulletproof glass.
"The Sport of Life and Death: The Mesoamerican Ballgame," edited by E. Michael Whittington (Thames and Hudson, $50). For your sophisticated sports fan: a look at the origins of ballgames, invented as a Mesoamerican ritual about 1200 B.C. Lavishly illustrated with photographs of superb pre-Columbian artifacts of stone and ceramic, and even a few excavated 3,000-year-old rubber balls. The motivation to win in those early games was great: The loser was sometimes sacrificed to the gods.
"The Pacific Northwest Landscape: A Painted History," edited by Kitty Harmon, introduction by Jonathan Raban (Sasquatch, $21.95). A concept book that takes a quick stab at pinning down the history of Northwest landscape painting, pairing an introduction by Jonathan Raban — the prize-winning author of "Passage to Juneau: A Sea and Its Meanings" — with a whole passel of reproductions, past to present.
"Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters," by David Hockney (Viking Studio, $60). David Hockney gave up painting for two years to track down evidence of the use of optical instruments by Old Masters in creating amazingly accurate reproductions of the human figure and spatial perspective. A lusciously illustrated romp through art history with an artist as guide.
"Gaudi: A Biography," by Gijs Van Hensbergen (Harper Collins, $35). A well-researched study of the mad and wonderful Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of his birth. The visionary architect's exotic, spiraling, colorful forms borrowed from the intricacies of Arab buildings as well as the natural world. Without Gaudi, there'd be no Gehry.
"Hieronymus Bosch: The Complete Paintings and Drawings," edited by Jos Koldeweij et al. (Abrams, $60). Speaking of madness, the fabulous images of this 15th-century European painter still bewilder and intrigue most everybody with their bizarre apocalyptic visions. Bosch's unorthodox imaginings on the nature of good and evil seem especially well-suited to the times we live in.
"Tony Oursler," edited by Elizabeth Janus and Gloria Moure (Ediciones Poligrafa/D.A.P., $45). Multimedia artist Tony Oursler illustrates the soul-ravages of contemporary life with video-animated sculptures and installations. He creates figures with soft, limp, rag-doll bodies and video-projection talking heads that helplessly mutter and wail. Important and compelling work by an artist who's brilliantly in tune with new technologies.
"Virtue & Beauty," edited by David Alan Brown. (Princeton, $55). What's behind the pearl-smooth faces painted by Leonardo, Botticelli, Verocchio and other Renaissance masters? Are these real women or ideals of feminine beauty? It's hard to care as long as you can feast your eyes on the gorgeous reproductions, but the answer is here, in this stunningly put-together book.
"The Houses of Philip Johnson," by Slover Jenkins and David Mohney (Abbeville Press, $75). This is the first major survey of Johnson's residential designs, and it's an eye-opener. Sleek, lean and spectacularly sited, these houses make it clear why some of the major art collectors of the 20th century chose Johnson to design their living spaces.
"Anselm Kiefer," by Daniel Arasse (Abrams, $85). Born in Germany in 1945, Kiefer has risen to international prominence as one of the most profound and monumental artists of the post-World War II era. The Seattle Art Museum featured several of his paintings (from local collections) in a 1999 exhibit, and one is on display in the exhibit "First Person Singular" on the museum's fourth floor. Inspired by the ancient science of alchemy, Kiefer attempts to integrate the spiritual beauty of German philosophy, music and poetry with the demons that grew out of it during the Nazi regime. This informative and lavishly illustrated book is the first comprehensive survey of his work.
Sheila Farr is The Seattle Times' art critic.
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