Books by Thomas E. Crow

Tom Sachs: Spaceships

by Daniel Pinchbeck, Thomas E. Crow

The most recent body of work by the popular American artist to focus on his highly inventive interpretation of space travel, published for the first time.

Published to accompany exhibitions simultaneously in New York and Palm Beach, the book follows the interdisciplinary show that centers around the theme of spaceships by the artist Tom Sachs (b. 1966), both with representations of spaceships and rockets in sculptural and painted forms, and more indirect references that relate either formally or conceptually to the idea of the spaceship in our society. A sculpture of a Hoover vacuum suggests the vacuum of space; a bricolage rendition of Sachs’ favorite record player recalls the form of a spaceship; and a work relating to the Titanic suggests the idea of transporting between realms. Other works more directly represent spaceships and relate to Sachs’ space program, which has been of central importance to his work over the past decade and a half.

The book follows Sachs’ immersive, participatory installations on the theme of space, most recently at the Deichtorhallen in Hamburg. Last August, Sachs launched his Rocket Factory, a genre-defying project that brought NFTs into the physical realm by launching fully assembled replicas of NFT rockets (one of which took place at LACMA in 2021) and then making paintings after component and assembled rockets.

The Rise of the Sixties American and European Art in the Era of Dissent

by Thomas Crow, Thomas E. Crow

One of Thomas Crow’s most influential titles, The Rise of the Sixties, first published in 1996, provides an excellent overview of the major themes and figures in one of art history’s most radical and complicated decades. Presenting an international array of artists against the background of world events in the 1960s, Crow portrays the ways in which the American art scene—including such key figures as Leo Castelli, Eva Hesse, Jasper Johns, Robert Morris, Robert Smithson, Cy Twombly, and Andy Warhol—fit into the corresponding European and international movements of the time, among them Situationalism, Conceptualism, Feminism, Environmentalism, and Op Art.

Generously illustrated with 120 images, 80 of which are in color, the newly available book encompasses all the major players in the art world of the 1960s and examines how they influenced and inspired one another. The author’s fascinating new afterword examines the themes of the 60s in the context of recent historical, political, and cultural events.

KAWS + Warhol

by Thomas E. Crow, Laurie Simmons, Marianne Dobner

A never-before-seen look at the striking thematic parallels between KAWS and Andy Warhol, two of the most iconic artists of our time

As celebrated artists that draw from popular culture, KAWS and Andy Warhol are known for creating art that is approachable beyond the confines of the traditional art world.

While at first glance, both artists' works often appear celebratory and joyful, they share a number of dark common threads beneath the surface: tragedy as spectacle and meditations on death and dying. When these two bold bodies of work are juxtaposed, that connection is made explicit and powerful.

This book highlights the artistic intersection of KAWS and Warhol, featuring their takes on death and disaster, advertising, nostalgia, abstraction, skulls, and self-portraiture. Accompanying a major exhibition at The Andy Warhol Museum that will travel internationally, it presents some of the most standout and analogous works from two of the most popular artists of all time.