Objects of Desire - Softcover

Rowell, Margit

3.8

5 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1853321680 ISBN 13: 9781853321689

Publisher: South Bank Centre, 1998

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This book is the first in-depth study of the still life as interpreted and transformed by avant-garde artists of the 20th century. Published to accompany a major exhibition opening in May 1997 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Objects of Desire traces a radical rethinking iof the genre ion terms of subject matter and formal invention.Through unprecedented juxtapositions of works by 56 artist, Objects of Desire profiled the changing cultural values that are patently evident in the still life, reflected in the choice of objects -- from pitchers to bicycle wheels to soup cans -- and their perceptual or conceptual, objective or subversive representations.

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From Library Journal:

This catalog presents the first show by the Museum of Modern Art to consider the full sweep of 20th-century artists' still lifes, one of the lasting genres of the Western tradition. After a historical introduction and a consideration of the inescapable influence of Cezanne's later works, Rowell, chief curator in the Department of Drawings, convincingly argues that the show's disparate works demonstrate a "progressive development" rather than a "radical subversion and destruction of earlier traditions." Nonetheless, the more than 130 pieces in the survey?opening with Picasso's proto-Cubist "Pitcher, Bowl, and Lemon" (1907); proceeding through Dada objects, Surrealist allegories, and Pop icons; and concluding with mostly sculptural works from the 1990s?will indicate to many readers nothing less than the eradication of the very meaning of "still life." This is perhaps the show's great accomplishment: using a "minor" genre to frame nothing less than the full progression of 20th-century art, with all its tangents and tensions. Moreover, the book provides access to works from many of the world's greatest collections and a very readable text. Highly recommended for most libraries.?Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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