Books

March 7, 2022 • View in browser

Florine Stettheimer, Highly Original Artist, Gets Her First Comprehensive Biography

Barbara Bloemink’s thorough, engaging book is the first comprehensive biography and full reading of Stettheimer’s paintings, and gives the artist the attention she has long deserved. | Lauren Moya Ford

The author explores the ways that Stettheimer’s life circumstances and social circle shaped her highly original art, which blended sly humor and private pleasures with socially and politically minded messages about the world at large.

THE LIFE OF AN ARTIST

“I Will Show Your Lordship What a Woman Can Do”: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Compelling Feminist Life

Sheila Barker’s account reveals an undeniably strong character and confidence distinct from, or perhaps in conjunction with, her practical survival needs. | Olivia McEwan

Barker’s text weaves documentary evidence together with some excellent close visual analysis of her attributed paintings, unpacking the rich symbolism and its significance in her work, which offers a lively and vivid understanding of the wider contexts and motives behind her movements. Even despite some gaps in knowledge, Artemisia’s compelling character clearly shines through, matching the vivacity of her work.

A New Book on Niki de Saint Phalle Presents the Artist In Her Own Words

A new book on the artist features selections from Saint Phalle’s prints, doodles, letters, and diaries, arranged in roughly chronological order. | Lauren Moya Ford

Edith Schloss and Her Feminine Take on New York’s Macho Art Scene

Schloss challenged the concept of the lone genius toiling in his studio, instead framing this cohort of artists as neighbors and friends. | Karen Chernick

Fun Facts and Unexpected Stories About Artists and the Art World

Did you know Maurizio Cattelan has worked as a morgue assistant, or that Annie Leibovitz created an album cover for Cyndi Lauper? | Lauren Moya Ford

POETRY AND VISUAL STORYTELLING

How Artists Saw New York City Throughout the 20th Century

New York hasn’t just housed generations of artists; it’s also been their muse. | Lauren Moya Ford

Artist Sophie Calle Took a Job as a Maid to Spy on the Guests

Calle’s methodical analysis makes the reader more curious about the artist herself than the guests she spies on. | Julia Curl

Caio Fernando Abreu’s Short Stories Charm with Questions of Life and Love

Moldy Strawberries is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking, vaulting existential questions across the page while poking fun at the urge to ask them in the first place. | Rosa Boshier

When the Ancient Greeks Go Rogue

David Hadbawnik and Anne Carson aren’t aiming to produce new schoolroom translations of the classics; they’ve reimagined these ancient texts in the light of our violent and chaotic contemporaneity. | Mark Scroggins

Become a member today to support our independent journalism. 
Your support helps keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.

THEORY AND AESTHETICS

How Can Museums Break Away From White Privilege?

Following a cogent survey of the modern art museum’s history, The Art Museum in Modern Times turns to a challenging discussion of the present problems of modern museums. | David Carrier

Searching for a More Inclusive History of Ornament

While the ancient art form of ornament often contains deep meaning, European modernist theory attempted to erase ornament from the design world. | Isabella Segalovich

Philosophy of Aesthetics That’s Actually Fun to Read

Lydia Goehr’s Red Sea–Red Square–Red Thread is so ambitious, so original, so detailed, and so poetic that it transcends mere commentary and becomes itself a distinguished contribution to philosophy. | David Carrier

Édouard Glissant Sought to Undermine the European Ideological Underpinnings of Colonization

In conversations with Hans Ulrich Obrist, Glissant proposed an Art Museum of the Americas. | David Brazil