Ron Nagle: Nagle, Ron

The definitive monograph on the wide-ranging career of a pioneering sculptor and musician

Years in the making, this definitive monograph presents nearly six decades of work by the pioneering San Francisco–based ceramic sculptor Ron Nagle (born 1939). The plates section features 51 sculptures made since 1958, all reproduced in full color. Critical essays by Joel Selvin and David Pagel and a foreword by Dave Hickey offer diverse perspectives on Nagle’s accomplishments as both an artist and a musician. An illustrated chronology provides an overview of his life and work, including his apprenticeship with ceramicist Peter Voulkos, his seminal role in San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene, his sound design for the film The Exorcist, and his obsessive devotion to intimately scaled sculpture. Nagle’s irrepressible personality comes through in the book’s innovative design, which includes a jacket that unfolds into a poster of the artist dressed as his film hero Charlie Chan. Also included is a CD of 21 songs spanning Nagle’s musical career, from the 1960s to the 2000s.