Jim Dine: The Alchemy of Images
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
Jim Dine: The Alchemy of Images Details
From Library Journal Livingstone, a London-based postwar painting specialist, presents a generously illustrated and appealing overview of the life and work of Jim Dine, still popular four decades after his initial work bridging abstract expressionism and Pop art. The text has a loosely thematic structure that, like Dine's art, circles around repeatedly to revisit themes and motifs. This repetition, along with the use of many quotations from Dine and footnotes that rival the text itself in length, creates a fragmented reading experience that may not appeal to some readers. Earlier writings in the now extensive Dine literature are quoted frequently, while little is added that breaks new ground in understanding the artist or his work. The book does collect it all in one place, however. This volume will not be an essential acquisition for scholarly collections but can be enjoyed by both specialized and general readers.AKathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib.Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more About the Author Marco Livingstone, who lives in London, has been an art writer and curator for over twenty years. He is known for his work on postwar painting, and has both curated exhibitions and written books on Jim Dine, David Hockney, R. B. Kitaj, Tom Wesselmann, and pop art. Among his other works are contributions to numerous catalogs and books, including those on Andy Warhol, Anish Kapoor, Roy Lichtenstein, and Antoni Tàpies. Read more
Reviews
I am somewhat taken aback at the price of a new copy of this book (as of June 2012) but it would appear to be available for a reasonable sum (as art books go these days) in a used edition on Amazon or elsewhere. My own copy, purchased 7 years ago on Amazon, was 50 dollars and is in new condition. My only point in discussing price is to underline my conviction that, while there are competitive and later volumes on Dine that complement and/or update this one, with regard to particular aspects of his oeuvre or as a general appraisal, this one is still a major contribution to the study of one of the most interesting of our now senior generation of American artists.Jim Dine leaped into prominence in his early twenties and has never lost his standing as a major figure among modern artists who have never lost sight of the wealth to be found in traditional sources. Fearlessly, apparently-though as Livingstone points out, not without inner fears-he has been a performance artist, has portrayed himself through objects such as garments and hearts, has ventured to re-introduce the skulls from the past and the found-objects from the present, has wrought masterpieces of figurative art and striven to perfect his drawing, that most traditional of artist tools. Through it all, he has preserved his spontaneity while frequently espousing the patient tools of series paintings, drawings and prints. His commitment to sculpture has produced varied and creative outcomes, while his drawings of flora and fauna challenge the Masters of the past.My own acquaintanceship with his work began with the tools and other objects contained as actual parts of finished paintings but was melded into great respect, essentially, by two of his variegated productions: the first, at an exhibition by his gallery of the day (Wildenstein) of a number of his drawings of flowers and plants; they were striking. The second was to be found in one the first of my half-bookshelf of books on his work, his drawings, prints and paintings of the human face and body; they were touching and showed the essential humanity of someone who might easily have been considered a remote observer of the human scene.Marco Livingstone has served us well with this considered chronological exploration of his life and career. In a volume of 300 some odd pages, extended discussion of his emotional, intellectual and craftsman skills, are given less than an exhaustive treatment, but, in so doing, it allowed, as well, for ample and beautiful illustrations of his work in such manner as to give one the feel for Dine's achievements that text alone, or text supplemented by only a handful of examples, could never create. As Livingstone's recent revised volume is a necessary cornerstone for an attempt at understanding Dine's fellow Ohioan, Ron Kitaj, also a friend and major influence on Dine for a number of years, so this work stands to the work of Jim Dine. It is a well balanced approach, providing what one needs in approaching the artist's life and work, but leaving plenty of room for the multiplying monographs on the components of Dine's labors (prints, sculpture, paintings, poetry and writings, etc) and the elaboration of his often troubled life.I commend it highly as a volume that has not and will not become dated but, certainly, will need revision and expansion by the author or by successors working with the completed life of the artist.