MaryAnne Stevens– Spring in Jølster presents a view of the Norwegian artist Nikolai Astrup’s farm-garden at Sandalstrand (now Astruptunet) in Western Norway. It epitomizes his life and his art, referencing his personal expression of European modernism, horticultural ambitions, and commitment to conservation and the expression of national identity. Nikolai Astrup
Hector Guimard (1867-1942) was one of France’s greatest Art Nouveau architect/designers. In an exhibition organized by the Richard H. Driehaus Museum in Chicago and Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, accompanied by a gorgeous catalogue, seven distinguishedscholars share their research and knowledge of Guimard. The book’s insightful essays
Monica Bravo– After a long period of staying at home, social distancing, and masking up, we are told—at last—that the world is opening up. Breathing a collective sigh of relief (one that still does not extend to every community worldwide, I hasten to add), many are rushing to once again
As writers began defining the vernacular aspects of American art in mid-1910s, the photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz and his circle became a locus of attention. Two younger writers, Waldo Frank and Paul Rosenfeld, both neo-Freudians, were among those responsible for redirecting the interpretation of modernist expression. Frank and Rosenfeld
Terry Eagleton— Walter Benjamin’s theory of tragedy in his The Origin of German Tragic Drama has some affinities with the Christian view of Calvary. Tragedy for Benjamin is essentially sacrifice, but of a peculiarly doubled kind: if it propitiates the gods under ancient law, it also inaugurates a revolutionary new
My development as an art historian has been profoundly shaped by the legacy of modernism and its relationship to decoration, craft, and design. In chronological order, here are five books that have motivated my thinking on the importance of applied arts in the conceptualization of modernism. Mark Wigley, White Walls,
Nicholas Adams– At times, writing about the architect Gordon Bunshaft (1909–1990), former chief designer for the firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), was like writing about a sulky teenager. Architects, of course, have lots of ways of talking. Philip Johnson was garrulous––people liked to say that he talked a
K. L. H. Wells — Full is a tapestry that is instantly recognizable as a work by Josef Albers, who is best known for his series Homage to the Square. Like the paintings and prints in that series, this tapestry presents a set of nested squares in deeply saturated hues
Albers Foundation chief curator Brenda Danilowitz talks about the new Anni Albers retrospective exhibition and book. Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Soundcloud YaleUniversity · Interview with Brenda Danilowitz about Anni Albers
Among our exciting fall books is one about German-born American designer Kem Weber, whose fascinating life story rivals his outstanding design work in interest. The book’s author, Christopher Long, will be delighting California audiences next week with talks about Kem Weber – he has an event at the AD&A Museum