- Hardcover: 240 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press (Sep 18 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0691048967
- ISBN-13: 978-0691048963
- Product Dimensions: 26.9 x 20 x 3.2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.2 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #385,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Booklist
Who's afraid of abstract art? Many, many people, it seems. Seldom has an art movement been so misunderstood, yet been so instrumental in shaping the direction of art in so many ways. In this series of lectures, distinguished art historian and critic Golding brings to life an often-disconcerting subject. Studded throughout with colorful illustrations, Golding shows the progression of modern, abstract art from its roots in expressionism and Fauvism to its postmodern expressions. The artists featured--Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Newman, Rothko, and Still--are all exemplars of a specific turn taken in the development of abstract art. Each chapter illustrates that turn and approachably describes each artist's artistic growth and influence on the future. Golding clearly communicates the artists' visions, the vision of abstract art, and why it's so important to understand the abstract movement in relation to where art is going. Golding's excellent work brings the reader from an artistic cloud of unknowing into expert mode with beauty and precision. Michael Spinella
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
[A] sensitive survey of seven of art's most influential abstract painters. . . -- "The Sunday
A beautifully designed, superbly illustrated volume . . . -- Carter Ratcliff, Art and Auction
[Golding] argues that the best abstract art is about something and that its meaning comes partly from the artist. The modernists he discusses were drenched in ideas, especially of better or hidden worlds. -- "The Economist
Seldom has an art movement been so misunderstood, yet so instrumental in shaping the direction of art in so many ways. . . . Golding's excellent work brings the reader from an artistic cloud of unknowing into expert mode with beauty and precision. -- "Booklist
The skill of Golding's style is that it draws together considerations of art-historical significance, aesthetic value . . . and personal opinion into a provocative amalgam. -- Matthew Reynolds, Times Literary Supplement
The restraint, subtlety, and intellectual rigor of John Golding's Paths to the Absolute . . . are especially timely. -- "The New York Review of Books
Short, lucid, and written in a wonderfully jargon-free prose. -- Michael White, Burlington Magazine
Whether writing of Mondrian's quest for the purity of art, Pollock's search for the symbol, or Rothko's abstract sublime, the author eloquently conveys the deep spiritual impulses of such art in vivid and learned analyses. -- "Virginia Quarterly Review
John Golding beautifully handles the thorniest of subjects. . . . The narrative maintains what was indeed the tenor of the talks themselves a shrewd selectiveness allied to insights of a discretion that almost belies their profundity. . . . It is the extraordinary rightness of the perceptions running throughout Paths to the Absolute which makes it finally so memorable. -- David Anfam, Apollo
A beautifully designed, superbly illustrated volume . . . -- Carter Ratcliff, Art and Auction
[Golding] argues that the best abstract art is about something and that its meaning comes partly from the artist. The modernists he discusses were drenched in ideas, especially of better or hidden worlds. -- "The Economist
Seldom has an art movement been so misunderstood, yet so instrumental in shaping the direction of art in so many ways. . . . Golding's excellent work brings the reader from an artistic cloud of unknowing into expert mode with beauty and precision. -- "Booklist
The skill of Golding's style is that it draws together considerations of art-historical significance, aesthetic value . . . and personal opinion into a provocative amalgam. -- Matthew Reynolds, Times Literary Supplement
The restraint, subtlety, and intellectual rigor of John Golding's Paths to the Absolute . . . are especially timely. -- "The New York Review of Books
Short, lucid, and written in a wonderfully jargon-free prose. -- Michael White, Burlington Magazine
Whether writing of Mondrian's quest for the purity of art, Pollock's search for the symbol, or Rothko's abstract sublime, the author eloquently conveys the deep spiritual impulses of such art in vivid and learned analyses. -- "Virginia Quarterly Review
John Golding beautifully handles the thorniest of subjects. . . . The narrative maintains what was indeed the tenor of the talks themselves a shrewd selectiveness allied to insights of a discretion that almost belies their profundity. . . . It is the extraordinary rightness of the perceptions running throughout Paths to the Absolute which makes it finally so memorable. -- David Anfam, Apollo
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finely Integrated Research,
By "simonrothechild" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko, and Still (Hardcover)
Golding's thesis is beyond debate: early modernist and abstract art in particular constituted essential spiritual statements. While this thesis is obvious, even if oft forgotten, Golding marshals and integrates a wealth of research in this splendid series of lectures. There are two minor problems with the book that bear mention. At turns Golding lacks the necessary critical posture. He discusses Barnett Newman at length, for example, and there can be no doubt that this artist supplies ample theoretical grist for Golding's mill. But Newman's actual painting ultimately cannot bear a fraction of his metaphysical intentions - an unfortunate fact and one that Golding fails to mention. Also, Goldman does not attempt to bring his book current. He would have done well to hold up contemporary painting against his finely focused history. In most respects this would reveal that abstraction has lost its way. However, a brief survey and analysis of the work of Helmut Federle, Astrid Colomar, Joseph Marioni, Agnes Martin, and Brice Marden would have demonstrated that there remain enriching artists who have remained on the path to the absolute.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking discussion by Golding about abstraction,
By V. Garlock "Radical Feminist" (Sandusky, OH) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko, and Still (Hardcover)
Before I read this book, I didn't believe that abstract art had a spiritual content to it. I felt that it was too scientific. But reading this book has made me examine the art, and, also, to appreciate that this art does have a spiritualness to it.This book delves into the art of Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich, Vasily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. There are individual chapters devoted to the first 4 painters names, and 2 chapters given to discuss Newman, Rothko, and Still as a group. This book obviously can't do an in depth look at the painters featured, but it does impress upon the reader how each artist brought a spiritualness into his art, and how through that discovered his way of reaching the absolute in his art. There is a mix of in color, and black and white, reproductions in the book. The works of the artists that proved to most influencial in abstraction are shown in color, while others--not so much of lesser importance, but not as perhaps influencial--are shown in black and white. Also, there are pictures from artists such as Picasso and Matisse, and others, featured to show how the abstraction artists used--or were inspired by-- different movements to find their way into abstraction. The most interesting part of the book is the discussion of how spirituality is in the abstractionist art. For example, Mondrian was for many years a follower of Theosophy, and part of the Theosophy doctrine was that one is free of all oppression...and everything will be free of all oppression. Mondrian would later move on to seek different teachings, Golding states, but Theosophy gave him his first real direction into becoming an abstractionist. This book is a good introduction for anyone not familiar with abstraction and its influence on modern art, as well as a having a wealth of information about the artists themselves.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Finely Integrated Research,
By "simonrothechild" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko, and Still (Hardcover)
Golding's thesis is beyond debate: early modernist and abstract art in particular constituted essential spiritual statements. While this thesis is obvious, even if oft forgotten, Golding marshals and integrates a wealth of research in this splendid series of lectures. There are two minor problems with the book that bear mention. At turns Golding lacks the necessary critical posture. He discusses Barnett Newman at length, for example, and there can be no doubt that this artist supplies ample theoretical grist for Golding's mill. But Newman's actual painting ultimately cannot bear a fraction of his metaphysical intentions - an unfortunate fact and one that Golding fails to mention. Also, Goldman does not attempt to bring his book current. He would have done well to hold up contemporary painting against his finely focused history. In most respects this would reveal that abstraction has lost its way. However, a brief survey and analysis of the work of Helmut Federle, Astrid Colomar, Joseph Marioni, Agnes Martin, and Brice Marden would have demonstrated that there remain enriching artists who have remained on the path to the absolute.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thought provoking discussion by Golding about abstraction,
By V. Garlock "Radical Feminist" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko, and Still (Hardcover)
Before I read this book, I didn't believe that abstract art had a spiritual content to it. I felt that it was too scientific. But reading this book has made me examine the art, and, also, to appreciate that this art does have a spiritualness to it.This book delves into the art of Piet Mondrian, Kasimir Malevich, Vasily Kandinsky, Jackson Pollock, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. There are individual chapters devoted to the first 4 painters names, and 2 chapters given to discuss Newman, Rothko, and Still as a group. This book obviously can't do an in depth look at the painters featured, but it does impress upon the reader how each artist brought a spiritualness into his art, and how through that discovered his way of reaching the absolute in his art. There is a mix of in color, and black and white, reproductions in the book. The works of the artists that proved to most influencial in abstraction are shown in color, while others--not so much of lesser importance, but not as perhaps influencial--are shown in black and white. Also, there are pictures from artists such as Picasso and Matisse, and others, featured to show how the abstraction artists used--or were inspired by-- different movements to find their way into abstraction. The most interesting part of the book is the discussion of how spirituality is in the abstractionist art. For example, Mondrian was for many years a follower of Theosophy, and part of the Theosophy doctrine was that one is free of all oppression...and everything will be free of all oppression. Mondrian would later move on to seek different teachings, Golding states, but Theosophy gave him his first real direction into becoming an abstractionist. This book is a good introduction for anyone not familiar with abstraction and its influence on modern art, as well as a having a wealth of information about the artists themselves. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Clear and engaging; great scholarship,
By Sarah - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Paths to the Absolute: Mondrian, Malevich, Kandinsky, Pollock, Newman, Rothko, and Still (Hardcover)
I used this book while writing my undergraduate art history thesis. It proved to be invaluable--it's factual but very engaging, and I was quite inspired by some of Golding's arguments. There were many details mentioned in this book that I didn't find in other, more "definitive" books on these artists (such as the catalogues of major retrospectives). Though I used it for research, this collection of lectures-cum-essays would also make for good recreational reading for someone at least somewhat familiar with the history of abstraction in art, or interested in a close study. This is not, however, the best "picture book" or light introduction for a person more interested in enjoying the paintings than reading academic criticism.
|
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Criticism
- Books > Arts & Photography > Instructional & How-To
- Books > Arts & Photography > Painting
- Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Modern
- Books > New & Used Textbooks > Humanities > Art History
- Books > Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 > Architecture
- Books > Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 > Humanities
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
