THE AMERICAN ART BOOK

Alphabetically arranged entries provide one example of each artist's work accompanied by a brief description and criticism

The simple format of Phaidon's A to Z series has, in this instance, yielded a dazzlingly diverse and openhanded survey of American art from colonial days to the present. By presenting one well-chosen example of the work of each of 500 painters, photographers, sculptors, and folk artists in alphabetical order, the editors liberate their creations from chronology, regionalism, and the categorization of schools and movements, an approach that creates some wonderfully unexpected and revealing juxtapositions. An installation by contemporary word artist Jenny Holzer faces a nineteenth-century painting by Winslow Homer; a winterscape by Grandma Moses is shadowed by a black-and-white abstraction by Robert Motherwell; and an interior by Charles Sheeler is followed by a photograph by Cindy Sherman. Such unlikely pairings enable the viewer to see beyond the obvious and discover fresh connections as well as clarify differences in artists' perception, intent, and style. Referrals to kindred artists and the brief but informative accompanying texts offer just enough information to whet a reader's appetite for more, and the plates are superb. Donna Seaman

This volume continues the immensely popular but critically challenged series that began with 1994's The Art Book. Some 500 artists, organized alphabetically, are each given one page, which is filled by a large-format reproduction of one work, a 150-word essay, cross references to other artists, and rudimentary data on the artist and the work. For those seeking scholarly or even basic reference standards, the problems are manifold. No introductory materials describe how the artists or the representative works were chosen or what parameters were used (what qualifies as "American" art, anyway?). The unsigned essays are too short to define an artist's place in history, and, in any case, the essays are mostly given to descriptions of the single piece at hand. Potentially one of book's best features, the cross references are treated as a half-hearted afterthought. The publisher is largely correct in dismissing these concerns, however. This work is meant as an introduction and as such gets the facts mostly right, presents mostly defensible choices, provides a sweeping scope, and brings it all in at an unbeatable price. For small and medium general collections.AEric Bryant, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.