Art in Chicago: 1945-1995 - Softcover

Abell, Jeff; Adrian, Dennis; Boris, Staci; Corbett, John; Horsfield, Kate; Jaffee, Barbara; Kirshner, Judith Russi; Rago, Carmela; Schulze, Franz; Selz, Peter; Stamets, Bill; Meloche, Monique; Molon, Dominic; Museum Of Contemporary Art (Chicago, Ill.)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 050023728X ISBN 13: 9780500237281

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 1999

Synopsis

Art in Chicago, 1945-1995 examines the unique development of artistic traditions within the cultural, social, and political life of this quintessential American city during the second half of the twentieth century.
Capturing the verve and innovation that characterized each decade, the book considers painting, sculpture, photography, drawing, and media arts (film, video, performance) by 150 artists who have either always lived and worked in Chicago or have created significant bodies of work in residence there. Among the artists profiled are Roger Brown, Harry Callahan, Ruth Duckworth, Jeanne Dunning, Leon Golub, Robert Heinecken, Richard Hunt, June Leaf, Kerry James Marshall, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Archibald J. Motley, Jr., Jim Nutt, Ed Paschke, Hirsch Perlman, Martin Puryear, Arnaldo Roche Rabell, Miroslaw Rogala, Alejandro Romero, Kay Rosen, Hollis Sigler, Aaron Siskind, Nancy Spero, Tony Tasset, H. C. Westermann, Claire Zeisler, and the Zhou Brothers. More than 170 color reproductions are set amidst a running timeline of historical events in both Chicago and beyond, and over 140 black-and-white photographs complement the text.

About this title

Reviews

Chicago art is finally emerging from the shadow of New York and casting off its self-fulfilling Second City persona. This well-researched, well-illustrated, well-written, and perceptive volume is the first to examine all aspects of postwar art in Chicago and to analyze the reasons for and consequences of the city's devotion to figurative images, strong artistic individualism, scant critical response, and lackluster institutional support. Chicago is better known for its architecture, particularly the work of Mies van der Rohe and Moholy-Nagy, and its photography, thanks in great part to Harry Callahan and Aaron Siskind, but with the exception of the ribald Imagists, painters and sculptors have been accorded little respect. The text considers a truly impressive range of visual and performing arts, as well as community art and not-for-profit arts organizations. Concise and illuminating profiles of artists, including Archibald J. Motley Jr., Leon Golub, Vera Klement, Ed Paschke, Phyllis Bramson, Alejandro Romero, and Martin Puryear, to name a very few, enhance the value of this important volume, which has been published in conjunction with the opening of the city's new Museum of Contemporary Art. Donna Seaman

This catalog and the exhibit on which it is based, mounted by the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Chicago, documents art in a broad range of media by artists based in the Windy City. There is much to like about this exhibition catalog; the layout is attractive, and in many ways the book is genuinely informative. It is divided into five areas, each encompassing a decade of Chicago art, with at least one piece from each year. A time line provides historical background, and short biographies of the artists, plus a checklist of artworks, follow. But the MCA's claim that this is a definitive show of Chicago art is not convincing. Works by artists attaining prominence only in the last 30 years dominate the show, while artists working in the decade after World War II are given less attention. Also, a few artists included have had only minimal affiliation with the city. Definitely not the last word on this important subject, this is nonetheless an important addition to all regional collections and larger collections of American art books.?Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 050023728X
• ISBN 13: 9780500237281
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Warren Lynne, Abell Jeff