Synopses & Reviews
Since the 1950s, many Japanese artists have made their homes and careers in New Yorkand#150;and#150;some for enhanced exposure to the international art world or to challenge themselves to take their artwork in new directions, and others to escape restrictions faced in their native country. This fascinating book presents work by 33 important New Yorkand#150;based Japanese artists, ranging from young, emerging talent such as Misaki Kawai and Hiroki Otsuka to established luminaries such as Yoko Ono and Ushio Shinohara. These diverse artists work in a variety of mediaand#150;and#150;including video, painting, fashion, architecture, sculpture, performance, drawing, photography, and sound.
and#160;
Making a Home features a portfolio selection of the images, and essays situate the artistsand#160;and their work within the broader themes that predominate Asian and international contemporary art. With a biography and bibliography on each artistand#150;and#150;as well as a critical biography of Yayoi Kusama that reexamines her early years in New Yorkand#150;and#150;this handsome book also explores Japan Societyand#8217;s pivotal role in supporting the careers of contemporary Japanese artists in New York.
Review
andldquo;Curleyand#39;s thoughtful and carefully researched book promotes Warhol and Richter to positions of cultural centrality, thereby deepening our understanding not only of their work but of their perilous timesandmdash;and ours.andrdquo;andmdash;Richard Kalina, Art in America
Synopsis
An important new look at Cold War art on both sides of the Atlantic
Synopsis
This stunning publication is the first to examine in tandem the work and influence of two towering figures in contemporary art
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and Ai Weiwei (b. 1957) are two of the most internationally renowned artists of the past 100 years, famous not only for their artwork but also for influencing the culture of their time. This exciting book is the first to consider the work of these artists alongside one another, in dialogue and in correspondence, to explore the artists' meticulous observations of modern and contemporary art, life, and politics. Andy Warhol's investigation of consumer society, fame, and celebrity offers thought-provoking points of connection with Ai Weiwei's interrogation of the relationship between tradition and modernity, the role of the individual to the state, questions of human rights, and the value of freedom of expression. Parallels also exist between the ways in which each artist transformed the understanding of artistic value and studio production, and redefined the role of the artist--as impresario, cultural producer, activist, and brand.
Alongside beautifully reproduced images by both artists--including works by Ai Weiwei published here for the first time--are illuminating essays by an international team of art experts, curators, and scholars that survey the scope of the artists' careers and interpret the significant impact of Andy Warhol and Ai Weiwei on modern art and contemporary life. This deluxe, collectible catalogue is available in three different, limited-edition colors.
Synopsis
In October 1962, a set of blurred surveillance photographs brought the world to the brink of nuclear apocalypse during the Cuban missile crisis. The pictures themselves demonstrated little, and explanatory captions were necessary to identify the danger for the public. In the following months, two artists with antithetical backgrounds arrived at a similar aesthetic: Andy Warhol, who began his career as a commercial artist in New York City, turned to the silkscreened replication of violent photographs. Gerhard Richter, who began as a mural painter in socialist Dresden, East Germany, painted blurred versions of personal and media photographs. In A Conspiracy of Images, author John J. Curley explores how the artistsand#8217; developing aesthetic approaches were informed by the political agency and ambiguity of images produced during the Cold War, particularly those disseminated by the mass media on both sides. As the first scholarly consideration of the visual conditions of the Cold War, A Conspiracy of Images provides a new and compelling transatlantic model for Cold War art history.
About the Author
Eric C. Shiner and Reiko Tomii are independent curators and art historians specializing in Japanese contemporary art.