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Rebels in Paradise is art history without tears. Hunter Drohojowska Philp concentrates on the personalities and the scene, letting us understand the art through the context it was created in. The book is episodic and built around studies of individual artists. I'm used to reading art history that takes a view from 10,000 feet--where the local conditions didn't matter because it's all about how a certain body of work fits into a certain theoretical framework. On the other hand, artist biographies by their nature focus on a single individual, who is heroic, anti-heroic, flawed, whatever. What is so appealing about this book is that it captures the feeling of a time and place. It deals with the artists, to be sure, but gives equal prominence to the neighborhoods (Venice Beach), the galleries (Ferus), the schools (Chouinard), the watering holes (Barney's Beanery), etc., that helped form the remarkable art produced in L.A. during the 60s.
This is a very moving book. There is real drama and suspense, as in the story of the Brazilians who secretly photocopied military court transcripts in which the tortures of the defendants are described. Weschler approaches his subject from all angles--he goes from the philosophical to personal, from the concrete to the abstract. Chilling and moving.
This book has a new timeliness for American readers.
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Robert Boyd has commented on (2) products.
Rebels in Paradise: The Los Angeles Art Scene and the 1960s by Hunter Drohojowska Philp
Robert Boyd, January 3, 2012
Rebels in Paradise is art history without tears. Hunter Drohojowska Philp concentrates on the personalities and the scene, letting us understand the art through the context it was created in. The book is episodic and built around studies of individual artists. I'm used to reading art history that takes a view from 10,000 feet--where the local conditions didn't matter because it's all about how a certain body of work fits into a certain theoretical framework. On the other hand, artist biographies by their nature focus on a single individual, who is heroic, anti-heroic, flawed, whatever. What is so appealing about this book is that it captures the feeling of a time and place. It deals with the artists, to be sure, but gives equal prominence to the neighborhoods (Venice Beach), the galleries (Ferus), the schools (Chouinard), the watering holes (Barney's Beanery), etc., that helped form the remarkable art produced in L.A. during the 60s.A Miracle, a Universe: Settling Accounts with Torturers by Lawrence Weschler
Robert Boyd, October 15, 2006
This is a very moving book. There is real drama and suspense, as in the story of the Brazilians who secretly photocopied military court transcripts in which the tortures of the defendants are described. Weschler approaches his subject from all angles--he goes from the philosophical to personal, from the concrete to the abstract. Chilling and moving.This book has a new timeliness for American readers.