When a Fruitcake Just Won’t Do

~post by Grace

My family never knows what to get me for Christmas, this is for a plethora of reasons the most significant of which being I am an artist. And if that wasn’t baffling enough- I am a performance artist. While I am used to eyes glazing over when I explain what exactly that means in terms of my work, my family does know I am a performance artist who loves books. The merry solution? ART BOOKS! And thank God for them, because I have more Van Gogh umbrellas and Monet coffee mugs than one girl has use for. Here are my top picks for your family’s artist this holiday season:

Yoshimoto Nara: Nobody’s Fool
This book was produced by the Asia Society Museum in conjunction with a major retrospective of Yoshimoto’s work. It’s encased in a box illustrated to look like a quaint house and lined with Yoshimoto’s iconic girls peeping through the windows. Beyond being a awesome book, it’s a beautiful object. Yoshimoto Nara’s work touches on subjects of alienation and rebellion, and Nobody’s Fool elaborates on it’s close relationship to music especially punk rock. Nobody’s Fool also contains many of his preliminary sketches and lesser known works. I know for me it is pivotal in my appreciation of an artist to see their process. This book is truly gorgeous.

Egon Schiele: Self-Portraits and Portraits
Oh Egon, he’s the apple of my eye. Anyone who draws and is interested in transitioning into painting, Egon is for you. He understands the human form and all of it’s intricacies in such an amazing way. From his torrid relationships with women and their representation to his narcissism to his rebellion from academia Egon Schiele is an interesting and integral figure in Expressionism and art history as a whole. His ability to capture the romance of even a gnarled form is so exciting. Many books focus on his titillating portraits of prostitutes but this chronicles the transition of his work in portrait from 1906  to 1918. If you fall in love with Egon as I have be sure to also check out Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection, Vienna. The fact that one museum owns so much of his magic is amazing in itself, but the book is really fascinating view into his stylistic shifts.

Cindy Sherman
This book is truly a must have. Here is a look into the world and work of Cindy Sherman. A master of tableau- she creates entire lives in single photographs. I was lucky enough to see the retrospective that corresponded with this book, and it blew me away. There are those transcendental moments you have looking at art that really speaks to your being, and Cindy’s work is definitely speaks to my being. (This can definitely be housed under the I confuse my family category of art) This book is a brilliant representation of her work since the mid-70s and profiles one of the most influential artists working today.
Robert Rauschenberg: Combines
This is one of the most beautiful books we have in the store. The dust jacket is velum with a ghost image of Rauschenberg as a young man printed on the front, the book itself is tweed- the combination of textures is perfection and is so true to form for Rauschenberg’s work. With large fold out pages, this book conveys the scale of his work while at the same time captures the artist’s prolific life. Each page is brilliantly printed with Rauschenberg’s combines produced between 1954 and 1964. I can’t think of the identity of American art without thinking RAUSCHENBERG (just like that- in all caps). His combines transcended the boundaries of art, creating matrices between words, objects, and photographs. He is also a native Texan, and that doesn’t hurt.

Goya
If you’ve never seen his work before, Goya will melt your face (I mean this in the best possible way). Besides his immense talent, mind boggling understanding of light, and ability to deliver detail through an often relatively conservative use of strokes, his conflict with darkness is so attractive.  His kitchen still lifes are some of my favorites- something about a glistening knife and dead fowl hold so much more mystery in the hands of Goya. Witches Sabbath (aka The Great He Goat) and Saturn Devouring One of His Children are classic What the hell Goya? moments- and I love it! This book is the perfect introduction for literally any artist, be prepared to be amazed.