The Collected Writings of Robert Motherwell
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
The Collected Writings of Robert Motherwell Details
From Publishers Weekly A chief spokesman for Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s and a voice of New York's artistic avant-garde in the following decades, Robert Motherwell (1915-1991) was an enormously articulate critic and theorist as well as a first-rate painter. This volume is a patchwork of his essays, lectures, interviews, book introductions, letters, epigrams and random jottings, dating from the years 1941 to 1988. Motherwell's verbal collages comprise an ongoing dialogue with the creative process. His writings illumine his formative relationship with Chilean surrealist Roberto Matta, his obsession with death and his friendships with Mark Rothko, David Smith and Joseph Cornell. Motherwell was acutely aware of the modern artist's isolation from society, and his theory of painting, which extolled free association as the artist's means of excavating his own psyche for universal archetypes, stemmed from that sense of apartness. This grab bag of ideas and impressions includes Motherwell's thoughts on Mondrian, Picasso, children's art, Kafka and Baudelaire. Terenzio is a former curator at the University of Connecticut's William Benton Museum of Art. Illustrated. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal As an artist, educator, theorist, and editor, Motherwell (1915-91) was the leading exponent of the Abstract Expressionist art movement. Terenzio ( The Prints of Robert Motherwell , Hudson Hills, 1990), formerly with the William Benton Art Museum, provides clear introductory notes to the chronologically arranged selections of essays, lectures, letters, interviews, prefaces, and exhibition catalog pieces, which date from 1941 to 1988. Educated at Stanford and Harvard, Motherwell soon moved to New York, where emigre Surrealist artists profoundly influenced his modernist views. Included here are several of his editorial prefaces from the "Documents of Modern Art" series, one volume of which ( The Dada Painters and Poets , LJ 7/89. 2d ed.) is considered the finest anthology available on Dadaism. Motherwell is so wonderfully articulate, honest, and passionate that this collection should serve as the definitive source on Abstract Expressionism. Strongly recommended for all collections.- Joan Levin, MLS, ChicagoCopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more About the Author About the Editor: Stephanie Terenzio was the Assistant Director and Curator of Twentieth-Century Art at The University of Connecticut's William Benton Museum of Art, 1966-1985. Read more
Reviews
I only recently learned about the author. He was both an amazing intellectual and a respected painter. I have been puzzled by most modern art, and I have wanted to know what the heck these artists mean to do and why anyone cares about abstract images with no apparent connection to ordinary experiences. I am still reading the first half of this book, but I am enjoying it immensely and already have gained helpful insights into modern artists' intentions.