Review by Choice Review
Published on the occasion of the major international exhibition at the Tate Modern and Philadelphia Museum of Art, this book presents a magnificent account of Newman's art production and its influence on late modern Western culture. The large format suits the high-quality reproduction of an admirable selection of Newman's expressionist and minimalist abstract paintings, powerfully incisive sculpture, and more tentative prints. It also accommodates an ample text chiefly written by Temkin (curator, modern and contemporary art, Philadelphia Museum). Her comprehensive review of Newman's career as artist and proponent of Northwest Coast and pre-Columbian art is accompanied by a thoughtful assessment of his impact by Robert Shiff (director, Center for the Study of Modernism, University of Texas, Austin) and informative catalog entries composed by Temkin assisted by Suzanne Penn and Melissa Ho (who compiled the chronology); there is also an exhibition history. A significant addition to the literature on the New York school and the later phase of transatlantic modernism, the book will attract a popular and professional readership. R. W. Liscombe University of British Columbia
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Newman (1905^-70), the son of Jewish Polish immigrants, worked slowly and contemplatively, unlike his frenzied friend, Jackson Pollock. He made a modest number of paintings and had few major exhibitions, yet by virtue of his "shockingly minimal" paintings and eloquently radical theories about art (he was as loquacious as his paintings were quiet), was a phenomenally influential creative force. Curator Temkin, whose last book resurrected the painter Alice Neel, oversaw the first-ever posthumous retrospective of Newman's work, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and put together this marvelously evocative catalog in which stunning reproductions are matched with biographical and critical essays and other valuable documentation. Temkin and her contributors illuminate the thought and emotion that went into Newman's deceptively simple paintings, large fields of deep, textured color dramatically divided by vertical lines, or "zips." Newman's restrained yet vibrant paintings are just the sort of modern art people love to mock--in fact, he drolly collected cartoons poking fun at abstract painting--but his work, essential and transcendent, embodies a genuine quest for liberty and spiritual insight. --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Time has served to make the laconic visual language of Barnett Newman (1905-70) ever more enigmatic. While the size of his paintings grants them powerful presence, and they fairly throb with voluble potential, Newman's specific messages remain decidedly unspoken. Temkin, curator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Richard Shiff (Czanne and the End of Impressionism) do much to give these works a distinct historical voice. They also illuminate Newman himself, the man who, though a forceful figure in the art world, was often eclipsed by his contemporaries Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Clyfford Still. Intended to accompany the first retrospective exhibition of Newman's work since the 1970s (at the Philadelphia Museum of Modern Art until this July), the catalog provides a rich reconstruction of Newman's life, placing special focus on his early curatorial synergy with Betty Parsons, his related efforts to promote the artists we now recognize as the New York School, and the strong principles that informed the appearance of his paintings and sculptures. A detailed, picture-rich chronology follows the catalog. Recommended for all art collections. Savannah Schroll, Smithsonian Institution Libs., Washington, DC (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 Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
