Synopses & Reviews
Laurie Anderson is one of the most acclaimed and innovative performance artists working today. This book, written by a leading authority on performance art, delivers a comprehensive look at Anderson's multifaceted career, from her performance pieces of the early 1970s to her 1999 electronic opera, Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. Filled with photographs of Anderson's performances, sculptures, books, installations, instruments, and inventions, stills from her films and videos, reproductions of her drawings and sketches, and including song lyrics and excerpts from many of her stories, the book vividly conjures up the artist's achievements. It also offers fresh insights into her pioneering multimedia pieces (such as United States and Stories from the Nerve Bible), her musical recordings (including the pop hit "O Superman"), and her provocative collaborations (with William Burroughs, Spalding Gray, and Lou Reed, among others).
Review
"Lacking the sound of Anderson's voice, straight and electronically varied in pitch so that she can sound male and even carry on dialogues without hiring an actor, the book can't fully convey her wry and surreal humor or the satiric notes she expresses through spoken pitch and duration. Still, it is some book!" Booklist
Review
"Goldberg's prose is delightfully intelligent and insightful. 'The goal of this book,' writes Goldberg, 'is to present the full range of Anderson's creativity.' Mission accomplished....[T]he alluringly bizarre cover alone (the finale from her 1983 piece, United States) is well worth the modest price." Library Journal
Synopsis
Filled with photos of Anderson's innovative performances, sculptures, books, installations, inventions, and stills from her films, this book vividly conjures up the performance artist's many achievements. 390 illustrations, 117 in full color. Author/artist tour.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 196-198) and index.