Lannan Series

Selected Writings of Peter Schjeldahl, 1978-1990

Peter Schjeldahl, MaLin Wilson

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Year: 2023
• ISBN:
  9780520913844
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: North American Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

Baudelaire's famous description of "the best criticism" as "entertaining and poetic, not coldly analytic, " lives in the essays of Peter Schjeldahl. Schjeldahl self-consciously continues the modern tradition of art criticism crafted by poet-critics, providing a sharp perspective on individual artists, their work, art-world events, and new creative directions. He challenges established views, and his infectious passion for art continually engages the reader. In essays on Rothko, Munch, Warhol, Dubuffet, Nauman, Sherman, Salle, de Kooning, Guston, Ruscha, and Koons, Schjeldahl skillfully juggles theory and analysis in exploring cultural context and technique. His writings, free of the contortions of some critical prose and characterized by a sustained focus on works of art, map the contemporary art scene in New York (with occasional forays to Los Angeles and elsewhere), cataloguing the colorful personalities, cultural attractions, and ethical hazards of the art world. It's a fast, fun trip, with arguments that fold back upon themselves in surprising revelations and reversals of the author's opinion. There is never a dull moment for those with an eye on contemporary art. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1991.
Baudelaire's famous description of "the best criticism" as "entertaining and poetic, not coldly analytic, " lives in the essays of Peter Schjeldahl. Schjeldahl self-consciously continues the modern tradition of art criticism crafted by poet-critics, provid

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• PREFACE
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• The Hydrogen Jukebox
• Rothko and Belief
• Edvard Munch: The Missing Master
• I Missed Punk
• A Book by Larry Rivers
• Warhol and Class Content
• Dubuffet, 1980
• First Voice Column
• Clement Greenberg
• Exxon Exhibition at the Guggenheim
• Julian Schnabel and Susan Rothenberg
• Arshile Gorky
• L.A. Demystified! Art and Life in the Eternal Present
• Affairs of the Heat
• Disney Animators
• Realism Again
• H. C. Westermann
• Only Connect: Bruce Nauman
• “Les Drippings” in Paris
• Cindy Sherman
• David Salle
• Why New French Art Is Lousy
• Willem de Kooning
• Robert Smithson’s Writings
• Documenta 7
• Howard Finster
• Clemente to Marden to Kiefer
• Leon Golub
• Decade of Wonders
• The Grant Wood Revival
• On Art and Artists: Peter Schjeldahl
• Edouard Manet
• Balthus
• In Defense of Artistic Fashion
• Minimalism
• Philip Guston
• Eric Fischl
• Ed Ruscha: Traffic and Laughter
• To Pico
• The Daemon and Sigmar Polke
• Adrian Saxe and the Smart Pot
• The Immigrant Strain
• Welcome to Helgaland
• A Visit to the Salon of Autumn 1986
• Our Kiefer
• Hopperesque
• Mike Kelley
• Paintings by Aborigines
• Jeff Koons
• Courbet
• De Kooning Alone
• Treason of Clerks
• Velázquez
• Baselitz and Kippenberger
• BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PETER SCHJELDAHL’S WRITINGS ON ART
• INDEX