Books by Dan Graham
Sol LeWitt
by Lucy R. Lippard, Rosalind Krauss, Mel Bochner, Dan Graham, Robert Smithson, Susanna Singer, John Hogan
Magnificent in scope, design and scholarship, this essential volume is the first comprehensive LeWitt monograph published since the artist's death, and the first overview since 2000. Besides gathering visual documentation of LeWitt's wall drawings and his sculptures-or "structures" as he preferred-the publication also includes his complete writings; spreads from his artist's books; plus interviews and essays by virtually every artist and author closely associated with LeWitt, among them Lucy Lippard, Rosalind Krauss, Mel Bochner, Dan Graham and Robert Smithson. One of the most important artists of the twentieth century, LeWitt at last receives the definitive treatment of his work in this volume.
In his 1967 "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art," Sol LeWitt set out the fundamental principle of his artistic practice: "In conceptual art the idea or concept is the most important aspect of the work.... The idea becomes a machine that makes the art." From the first wall drawing in 1968 until his death in 2007, LeWitt never ceased to develop new "machines," conceiving some 1,200 wall drawings and laying down the foundations of Conceptual and Minimalist art. LeWitt's wall drawings, always installed by assistants, eliminated any intermediary object (such as a canvas) between the work and its support, thereby dovetailing a sensuous material immediacy with a powerful Platonic detachment. His sculptural variations on grids, cubes and pyramids likewise project this moving simplicity and clarity.
Sol LeWitt (1928-2007) was born in Hartford, Connecticut, where he took art classes at the Wadsworth Atheneum. After receiving a BFA from Syracuse University he worked as a graphic designer in the office of architect I.M. Pei. In 1976, LeWitt cofounded the artists' book bookstore Printed Matter in New York, with Lucy Lippard. A retrospective of his wall drawings opened to the public in 2008 at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, where it will remain on view for 25 years.
Copies
No copies available.
Akademie X: Lessons in Art + Life
by Olafur Eliasson, Marina Abramovic, Dan Graham, Studio Raqs Media Collective
Assembled from the wisdom of 36 legendary art teachers - all of them artists or critics at the top of their field - Akademie X: Lessons in Art + Life is an ideal curriculum for the aspiring artist.
Each of the book's "tutors" has provided a unique lesson that aims to provoke, inspire and stimulate the aspiring artist. These lessons cover some combination of the following: technical advice (e.g. don't make a sculpture bigger than your studio door), assignments (some of which will take five minutes to complete, others five years), tips for avoiding creative ruts (including suggestions for mind-expanding materials to read, watch or listen to), principles of careful looking (demonstrated with images of artworks, photographs, films or even billboard advertisements), advice on the daily practice of art (how to balance time alone in the studio with building an artistic community), career pointers (how to prepare for a studio visit from a curator or gallerist) and personal anecdotes (e.g. stories from the instructor's own humble beginnings). Taken together, these lessons offer the reader a set of tools for thinking, seeing and living as an artist.
Not only is Akademie X: Lessons in Art + Life the first illustrated text book of its kind for artists, but it will also appeal to anyone interested in contemporary art, providing first hand revelations into the philosophies and techniques of some of the world's best artists and writers.
Copies
No copies available.