Synopses & Reviews
Jackson Pollock (1912and#8211;1956) not only put American art on the map with his famous "drip paintings," he also served as an inspiration for the character of Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams's
A Streetcar Named Desireand#8212;the role that made Marlon Brando famous. Like Brando, Pollock became an icon of rebellion in 1950s America, and the brooding, defiant persona captured in photographs of the artist contributed to his celebrity almost as much as his notorious paintings did. In the years since his death in a drunken car crash, Pollock's hold on the public imagination has only increased. He has become an enduring symbol of the tormented artistand#8212;our American van Gogh.
In this highly engaging book, Evelyn Toynton examines Pollock's itinerant and poverty-stricken childhood in the West, his encounters with contemporary art in Depression-era New York, and his years in the run-down Long Island fishing village that, ironically, was transformed into a fashionable resort by his presence. Placing the artist in the context of his time, Toynton also illuminates the fierce controversies that swirled around his work and that continue to do so. Pollock's paintings captured the sense of freedom and infinite possibility unique to the American experience, and his life was both an American rags-to-riches story and a darker tale of the price paid for celebrity, American style.
Review
"This is a Vasari-like narrative of Jackson Pollock, and a case study of hi Arthur Danto
Review
andldquo;Journalist and novelist Toynton . . . lends her multifarious talent to the story of the turbulent life of iconic artist Jackson Pollock. . . .and#160;Few are better suited to pen such a quotable and inspired contemporary portrait.andrdquo;andmdash;Publishers Weekly
Review
“There was no shortage of aggression and nihilism in Pollocks short life . . . Toynton ably chronicles Pollocks gambol over the edge.”—Justin Moyer, Washington Post Justin Moyer
Synopsis
A compelling look at Jackson Pollock's vibrant, quintessentially American art and the turbulent life that gave rise to it
Synopsis
Evelyn Toynton's fresh, fascinating portrait of Jackson Pollock explores his work, his influence, and his legend in the context of both art history and the cultural history of mid-twentieth-century America.
Synopsis
In On Art and Mindfulness, world-renowned artist and celebrated teacher Enrique Martínez Celaya shares his views and advice on the art-making process, the development of a practice, the management of obstacles, and the day-to-day choices we must make in order to remain creative and honest. Drawn from the actual sold-out workshops that Martínez Celaya taught over nine years at the venerable Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, Colorado, these concise teachings are relevant not only to artists but to anyone wishing to live a mindful, productive life.
About the Author
Enrique Martínez Celaya was trained as an artist as well as a physicist and currently works in painting, sculpture, photography, and writing. He is a Montgomery Fellow at Dartmouth College, taught as a tenured professor on the faculty of Pomona College and Claremont Graduate University, was honored as the second Presidential Professor in the history of the University of Nebraska, and is a trustee of the Anderson Ranch Arts Center. His work has been widely exhibited internationally and is included in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art; the State Hermitage Museum; the Whitney Museum of American Art; the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden; and the Museum der bildenden Ku¨nste in Leipzig, Germany, among others.