- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Picador; Revised and Updated edition (Nov 29 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0312425856
- ISBN-13: 978-0312425852
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 16.4 x 2.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 249 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#110,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( P-R ) > Rauschenberg, Robert
- #54 in Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Regional > United States
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"I commend Calvin Tomkins, as Bernard Berenson did Vasari, for 'being a singularly warm, generous, and appreciative critic.'"--The New York Times Book Review
"As chronicler of the avant-garde for The New Yorker, Calvin Tomkins has specialized in rendering the esoteric doings of artists comprehensible."--The Washington Post Book World
"As chronicler of the avant-garde for The New Yorker, Calvin Tomkins has specialized in rendering the esoteric doings of artists comprehensible."--The Washington Post Book World
Product Description
Calvin Tomkins first discovered the work of Robert Rauschenberg in the late 1950s, when he began to look seriously at contemporary art. While gazing at Rauschenberg's painting Double Feature, Tomkins felt compelled to make some kind of literal connection to the work, and it is in that sprit that "for the last forty years it's been [his] ambition to write about contemporary art not as a critic or a judge, but as a participant." Tomkins has spent many of those years writing about Robert Rauschenberg, whom he rapidly came to see as "one of the most inventive and influential artists of his generation." So it seemed natural to make Rauschenberg the focus of Off the Wall, which deals with the radical changes that have made advanced visual art such a powerful force in the world.
Off the Wall chronicles the astonishingly creative period of the 1950s and 1960s, a high point in American art. In his in his collaborations with Merce Cunningham and John Cage, and as a pivotal figure linking abstract expressionism and pop art, Rauschenberg was part of a revolution during which artists moved art off the walls of museums and galleries and into the center of the social scene. Rauschenberg's vitally important and productive career spans this revolution, reaching beyond it to the present day. Featuring the artists and the art world surrounding Rauschenberg--from Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning to Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, together with dealers Betty Parsons, and Leo Castelli, and the patron Peggy Guggenheim--Tomkins's stylish and witty portrait of one of America's most original and inspiring artists is fascinating, enlightening, and very entertaining.
Off the Wall chronicles the astonishingly creative period of the 1950s and 1960s, a high point in American art. In his in his collaborations with Merce Cunningham and John Cage, and as a pivotal figure linking abstract expressionism and pop art, Rauschenberg was part of a revolution during which artists moved art off the walls of museums and galleries and into the center of the social scene. Rauschenberg's vitally important and productive career spans this revolution, reaching beyond it to the present day. Featuring the artists and the art world surrounding Rauschenberg--from Jackson Pollock, and Willem de Kooning to Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, and Andy Warhol, together with dealers Betty Parsons, and Leo Castelli, and the patron Peggy Guggenheim--Tomkins's stylish and witty portrait of one of America's most original and inspiring artists is fascinating, enlightening, and very entertaining.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
BEST Book on Rauschenberg, Johns, et al.,
By Vilis R. Inde (Alexandria, VA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Off The Wall (Mass Market Paperback)
Incredibly informative. Thomkins provides excrutiating detail in the most interesting way. Never a dull moment. If you have any interest in Rauschenberg, Johns, Happenings, etc., then you should read this book. There is no way that you will walk away without learning MANY new things.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating insider's view of the New York art world,
By A Customer
This review is from: Off The Wall (Mass Market Paperback)
Lucky, lucky, lucky. That's how I felt after a friend lent me a copy of this out-of-print book. Here was a first hand chronicle of the New York art scene from the 50s to the 70s. Although Rauschenberg was the main artist featured, interesting vignettes about other artists were included, from Jasper Johns to Marcel Duchamp, from De Kooning to Andy Warhol. Did you know that it was Rauschenberg who influenced Jasper Johns to quit his bookstore job and go full-time into art? Rauschenberg's career is fascinating itself. Read and enjoy.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating insider's view of the New York art world,
By A Customer - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Off The Wall (Mass Market Paperback)
Lucky, lucky, lucky. That's how I felt after a friend lent me a copy of this out-of-print book. Here was a first hand chronicle of the New York art scene from the 50s to the 70s. Although Rauschenberg was the main artist featured, interesting vignettes about other artists were included, from Jasper Johns to Marcel Duchamp, from De Kooning to Andy Warhol. Did you know that it was Rauschenberg who influenced Jasper Johns to quit his bookstore job and go full-time into art? Rauschenberg's career is fascinating itself. Read and enjoy.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
BEST Book on Rauschenberg, Johns, et al.,
By Vilis R. Inde - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Off The Wall (Mass Market Paperback)
Incredibly informative. Thomkins provides excrutiating detail in the most interesting way. Never a dull moment. If you have any interest in Rauschenberg, Johns, Happenings, etc., then you should read this book. There is no way that you will walk away without learning MANY new things.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Insightful review of Raschenberg's life and work,
By Becky Howdeshell "Liliwebster Books" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Off the Wall: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg (Paperback)
I had just read Tomkins exhaustive and excellent biography of Duchamp when I picked up this book to read. This book is very entertaining and eye opening yet not quite the detailed book that he wrote of Duchamp.That said, I would highly recommend you read this book, not just for the insight into Raschenberg's life and art, but also for the detail that Tompkins exercises about the Abstract Expressionist movement among others, and the contemporary artists whom Raschenberg interacted with during his time in New York. |
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