Review by New York Times Review
HOW TO SEE: Looking, Talking, and Thinking About Art, by David Salle. (Norton, $16.95.) The painter, who was catapulted to fame in the 1980s, offers up a guide to appreciating contemporary art. In an engaging series of essays, he profiles artists including Jeff Koons and Alex Katz, and his mentor John Baldessari. Along the way, Salle sprinkles thoughts about art school, criticism and history. SWIMMING LESSONS, by Claire Fuller. (Tin House, $15.95.) Ingrid begins writing letters to her husband about their marriage, hiding them in the thousands of books he has collected. Then, she flees - leaving him along with their two children and a seaside home in Dorset. Years later, Ingrid's daughter discovers the letters while caring for her aging father, prompting her to examine the circumstances of her mother's disappearance anew. WONDERLAND: How Play Made the Modern World, by Steven Johnson. (Riverhead, $20.) In this rollicking study, Johnson - using an elastic definition of "play," which includes beauty, spectacles and mere novelty - makes a case for entertainment's role in history. As he suggests, if you're curious about where the future is headed, just look to where people are having the most fun. THE SCHOOLDAYS OF JESUS, by J. M. Coetzee. (Penguin, $16.) In the second volume of Coetzee's allegorical fable, which began with his 2013 novel "The Childhood of Jesus," David and Simón forge new lives in a country where immigrants' memories have been washed away. David, a gifted but difficult child, doubts his new circumstances; his persistent questioning of Simón forms the grist of a philosophical dialogue tinged with intimacy. "The result is rich, dense, often amusing and, above all, full of inner tension and suspense," Jack Miles said here. LONDON FOG: The Biography, by Christine L. Corton. (Harvard, $18.95.) Asocial history of the city's storied pollution uncovers how business interests often won out over health concerns. While the fog was killing Londoners, it also inspired, and rankled, artists and writers, becoming a romanticized feature of the city. Corton's account investigates its lasting cultural impact. LOLA, by Melissa Scrivner Love. (Broadway, $16.) In South Central Los Angeles, the Crenshaw Six have joined the city's drug wars, with one of its members' girlfriends running the operation. Lola, tough and resilient, watches violence play out on the streets of her childhood as she navigates ever-higher stakes. Our reviewer, Charles Finch, praised this debut thriller, calling it "as fast, flexible and poised as a chef's knife."
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [January 21, 2018]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In these wide-ranging essays, painter Salle's stated goal is to write about art "in the language that artists use when they talk among themselves." Rather than a manifesto about art or a practical guide, he presents a collection of 33 short essays on artists and topics as different as John Baldessari's 2014 Movie Script series and the evolving sensibility of Dadaist Francis Picabia's paintings. Many of the artists Salle covers are his friends, and he writes about Alex Katz and Jeff Koons the way a collaborator shares his notes with other artists. He explains the career arc of painter Christopher Wool and the themes of Robert Gober's sculptures with precision and acuity. His writing is full of memorable lines, such as "Most painting is a conversation between continuity and novelty." Salle's personal familiarity with the artists he discusses lends a special sort of credibility to his critical assessments. By closely examining specific paintings and exhibitions that are meaningful to him, Salle shows readers what makes a particular work of art tick and what makes it interesting. Along the way, he reveals the origins of his own artistic inclinations and his beliefs about talent and imagination. Sharp insights and an affable tone make this collection equivalent to a hearty discussion with a mentor-recommended for anyone interested in visual arts. 30 color illus. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Alongside artists such as Julian Schnabel and Eric Fischl, Salle rose to prominence in 1980s New York for his playful, figurative paintings that dramatically diverged from the visually austere and conceptually driven artwork that had dominated the art world over the preceding decades. This newly released collection of Salle's essays sees him attempting a similar break from the conventions of art criticism. Written over the past four decades, the essays collected here range widely in topic, from the Renaissance to the present, but most are monographic in form and focus on living, white male artists, including Frank Stella, John Baldessari, and Jeff Koons. As he states in his introduction, Salle wants to avoid what he describes as the generalizing language of professional art writing (with its frequent recourse to broad art historical styles and obscure critical theory) and instead analyze art in direct and intimate fashion as befits a practicing artist. Although many may take issue with Salle's dismissal of art history and theory, his writing is refreshingly engaging and original: conversational in tone, replete with personal anecdotes, and grounded in keen observational analysis. Verdict Recommended to readers of contemporary art criticism and artists concerned with how to discuss their work publicly. [See Prepub Alert, 4/18/16.]-Jonathan Patkowski, CUNY Graduate Ctr. © Copyright 2016. 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 Kirkus Book Review
Seeing art through a painters eyes. Salle is something of a Renaissance man. Known primarily as a painter, he has also done photography and set design, directed a film, and written essays. These concise pieces, many previously published in publications likenbsp;Town Countrynbsp;andnbsp;Artforum, discuss mainly contemporary works of art, including film and ballet. Its art criticism, but its also a breath of fresh air. Theres no jargon here, just accessible, witty, smartly informative short takes about works Salle enjoys. When looking at art, he writes, take a works temperature, look at its surface energy. He asks: What makes a work of art tick, what makes it good? Surprising, quirky comparisons abound.nbsp;The 15th-century painter Piero Della Francesca is the Elia Kazan of staging. Alex Katzs paintings are recognizable even when falling out of a plane at 30,000 feet. Thomas Houseagos sculptures remind Salle of a scene innbsp;The Sopranos. Throughout, the author is honest and opinionated. When he first saw Roy Lichtensteins Reflections series, he was baffled. Frank Stellas early works are expansive, confident, and new as to be almost overwhelming. In the later work, we see a great champion of the ring, a little wobbly of knee, finally hit the canvas. Of Oscar Murillos paintings, Salle writes, there is no way to bring them to life, because they never lived in the first place. Three essays are about John Baldessari, one of Salles college professors, who spent his career putting words and pictures together, testing their stickiness and elasticity, using one to unravel, or to gather up, the other. The German painter Albert Oehlen is a terrific painter who flirts with disaster and gets away with it. Jeff Koons makes the thingyness of modern lifecoherent. His massivenbsp;Flower Puppy, writes the author, is the single greatest work of public sculpture made after Rodin that Ive seen. Salle is the perfect art tour guide: literate, thoroughly entertaining, and insightful. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
