The Writings of Robert Motherwell

by Motherwell, Robert

• ISBN13: 9780520250482
• ISBN10: 0520250486
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-05-25
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Robert Motherwell (1915-1991), one of the leading American Abstract Expressionist painters, was also a theorist and exponent of the movement. His writing articulated the intent of the New York school --Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Adolph Gottlieb, Franz Kline, Arshile Gorky, and others--during a period when their work was often reviled for its departure from traditional representation. As founder of the Documents of Modern Art series (later renamed the Documents of Twentieth-Century Art), Motherwell gave modern artists a voice at a time when very few people understood their theories or work. This authoritative new edition of the artist's writings about art includes public lectures, essays, and interviews. Impeccably edited, with an informative introductory essay and rigorous annotation, it is illustrated with black-and-white images that elucidate Motherwell's writings.

Table of Contents

Preface and Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
Note on Mondrian and Chirico, 1912	p. 15
Review of Art of this Century, ca. 1943	p. 20
Note on Modern Art, ca. 1943	p. 23
Preface to Apollinaire's the Cubist Painters, 1944	p. 24
The Modern Painters World, 1944	p. 27
Plate Caption in Abstract and Surrealist Art in America, 1944	p. 36
Review of Calder's Three Young Rats, 1944	p. 38
Painters' Objects, 1944	p. 40
Preface to Mondrian's Plastic Art and Pure Plastic Art, 1945	p. 44
Personal Statement, 1945	p. 46
Review of Henry Moore's Sculpture and drawings, 1945	p. 48
Preface to Paalen's Form and Sense, ca. 1945	p. 50
Statement, 1946	p. 53
Beyond the Aesthetic, 1946	p. 54
Statement, 1947	p. 57
Editorial Preface to Possibilities I, 1947	p. 58
Prefatory Note to Max Ernst: Beyond Painting, 1948	p. 59
Prefatory Note to Jean Arp's on my Way, 1948	p. 61
A Tour of the Sublime, 1948	p. 63
Preliminary Notice to Apollinaire's: The Cubist Painters, 1949	p. 67
Preliminary Notice to Kahnweiler's: The Rise of Cubism, 1949	p. 69
Preliminary Notice to Raymond's: From Baudelaire to Surrealism, 1949	p. 72
A Personal Expression, 1949	p. 75
Reflections on Painting Now, 1949	p. 81
Abstract Art and the Real, 1949	p. 85
Black or White, 1950	p. 86
For David Smith, 1950	p. 88
Preface to Duthuit's the Fauvist Painters, 1950	p. 89
The New York School, 1950	p. 93
Expressionism, ca. 1950	p. 99
A Statement and Introduction to the Illustrations in Modern Artists in America, 1951	p. 101
Notes on CY Twomely, 1951	p. 103
Preface and Introduction to the DADA Painters and Poets, 1951	p. 104
Preface ["The School of New York"], 1951	p. 154
Postscript to the Preface ["The School of New York"], 1951	p. 156
What Abstract Art Means to Me, 1951	p. 158
The Rise and Continuity of Abstract Art, 1951	p. 160
Apropos "Traditional" and "Modern" Methods of Teaching Art, 1952	p. 162
Is the French Avant-Garde Overrated? 1953	p. 166
Preface to a Joseph Cornell Exhibition, 1953	p. 168
Symbolism, 1954	p. 170
The Painter and the Audience, 1954	p. 176
Of Form and Content, ca. 1954	p. 180
The Artist and Modern Society, 1955	p. 181
The Artist's Life, 1956	p. 185
Notes on Bradley Walker Tomlin, 1957	p. 186
The Significance of MIRO, 1959	p. 188
Lecture with Charles R. Hulbeck, 1959	p. 194
Statement for "Conversations with Artists," 1960	p. 198
What Should a Museum Be? 1961	p. 202
Painting as Existence: An Interview with David Sylvester, 1962	p. 205
Homage to Franz Kline, 1962	p. 212
A Process of Painting, 1964	p. 214
David Smith: A Major American Sculptor, 1965	p. 218
Plate Caption for the Stedelijk Museum Catalogue, 1966	p. 222
Statement, 1967	p. 224
On Jackson Pollock, 1967	p. 225
On Rothko, 1967	p. 230
On the "Lyric Suite," 1969	p. 232
Interview and Letter to Michel Ragon, 1969	p. 236
Statement on the "Open" Series, 1969	p. 243
Motherwell Muses, 1969	p. 245
Thoughts on Drawing, 1970	p. 247
On the Humanism of Abstraction: The Artist Speaks, 1970	p. 250
Statements Before Congress, 1970	p. 256
The Universal Language of Children's Art, and Modernism, 1970	p. 266
On Rothko, a Eulogy, 1970	p. 271
Introduction to Cabanne's Dialogues	p. 275
Statement on Radicalism in the Visual Arts, 1971	p. 280
A Recollection of David Smith and the 1950s, 1972	p. 282
Introduction to the Journal of Eugene Delacroix, 1972	p. 286
Statement on Picasso, 1974	p. 288
The New York School (and Symbolism), ca. 1976	p. 289
Art and Reality, ca. 1976	p. 290
Parisian Artists in Exile: New York 1939-45, 1977	p. 291
Provincetown and Days Lumberyard: A Memoir, 1978	p. 308
Words of the Painter, 1978	p. 312
Presentation of an Award to Erick Hawkins, 1979	p. 315
The International World of Modernist Art, 1980	p. 317
Notes for a Joyce Symposium, 1980	p. 319
In Memoriam: Anthony Smith, 1981	p. 323
Journal Entry, ca. 1981	p. 325
Reflections on Abstract Art, 1982	p. 327
Foreword to William C. Seitz's Abstract Expressionist Painting in America, 1983	p. 331
Kafka's Visual Recoil: A Note (for Dore Ashton), 1983	p. 336
Animating Rhythm, 1984	p. 339
Response: When is a Painting Finished? 1985	p. 340
On Not Becoming an Academic, 1986	p. 343
A Personal Recollection, 1986	p. 346
Nomination of Jasper Johns to the American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1988	p. 351
Bibliography Compiled	p. 353
List of Illustrations	p. 367
Index	p. 369
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