Review by Choice Review
Art critic and curator Cork's catalog for this second retrospective of Michael Craig-Martin (b. 1941, Dublin) documents the exhibition held at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in 2006 and, moreover, offers a solid text for every art library. Three chapters, organized chronologically, explore the relationship between art and life by recounting biographical events in addition to the creation and explication of temporary and permanent works ranging from drawings and paintings to sculpture, installation, and built environments. More than 250 vivid, colorful illustrations fill the pages (as well as the book jacket and endpapers) and richly enhance the thoughtful, informative study that addresses Craig-Martin's artistic concerns such as balance of form, the use of mirrors, the role of the figure and viewer, and appropriation. The back matter provides an account of the artist's career, with details of education and return to the UK for academic appointments, including an extended stay at Goldsmiths College. Selected solo and group exhibitions, installations, commissions, collections, honors, and awards are chronicled. The bibliography is a significant contribution to the literature. Summing Up: Essential. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals. J. Decker Georgetown College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
This work by art critic, historian, broadcaster, and curator Cork (A Bitter Truth: Avant-Garde and the Great War) was published in association with the Irish Museum of Modern Art and coincided with a major retrospective exhibition there. Well illustrated (261 illus., mostly in color) and thoughtfully presented, it serves as the definitive survey available of the life and career of eminent British conceptual artist Craig-Martin. The chronologically arranged analysis partitions Craig-Martin's career into three discernible stages covering the years 1962-77, 1978-92, and 1993-2006. During these years, Craig-Martin not only taught art but also used diverse media to develop installations that were highly personal commentaries on art-historical precedents. While not the final source for information on the artist, whose work remains to be examined in much greater depth by scholars, this well-documented, insightful book, with endnotes and a back-of-the book chronology, provides a solid foundation for understanding an artist whose work can be found in public and private collections worldwide. An essential purchase for most large public, academic, and special art book collections; highly recommended.-Cheryl Ann Lajos, Free Lib. of Philadelphia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review
