From James Rosenquist; one of our most iconic pop artistsmdash;along with Andy Warhol; Jim Dine; Claes Oldenburg; and Roy Lichtensteinmdash;comes this candid and fascinating memoir. Unlike these artists; Rosenquist often works in three-dimensional forms; with highly dramatic shifts in scale and a far more complex palette; including grisaille and Day-Glo colors. A skilled traditional painter; he avoided the stencils and silk screens of Warhol and Lichtenstein. His vast canvases full of brilliant; surreally juxtaposed images would influence both many of his contemporaries and younger generations; as well as revolutionize twentieth-century painting.Ronsequist writes about growing up in a tight-knit community of Scandinavian farmers in North Dakota and Minnesota in the late 1930s and early 1940s; about his mother; who was not only an amateur painter but; along with his father; a passionate aviator; and about leaving that flat midwestern landscape in 1955 for New York; where he had won a scholarship to the Art Students League. George Grosz; Edwin Dickinson; and Robert Beverly Hale were among his teachers; but his early life was a struggle until he discovered sign painting. He describes days suspended on scaffolding high over Broadway; painting movie or theater billboards; and nights at the Cedar Tavern with Willem de Kooning; Franz Kline; and the poet LeRoi Jones. His first major studio; on Coenties Slip; was in the thick of the new art world. Among his neighbors were Ellsworth Kelly; Robert Indiana; Agnes Martin; and Jack Youngerman; and his mentors Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.Rosenquist writes about his shows with the dealers Richard Bellamy; Ileana Sonnabend; and Leo Castelli; and about colorful collectors like Robert and Ethel Scull. We learn about the 1971 car crash that left his wife and son in a coma and his own life and work in shambles; his lobbyingmdash;along with Rauschenbergmdash;for artistsrsquo; rights in Washington D.C.; and how he got his work back on track.With his distinct voice; Roseqnuist writes about the ideas behind some of his major paintings; from the startling revelation that led to his first pop painting; Zone; to his masterpiece; F-III; a stunning critique of war and consumerism; to the cosmic reverie of Star Thief.This is James Rosenquistrsquo;s story in his own wordsmdash;captivating and unexpected; a unique look inside the contemporary art world in the company of one of its most important painters.From the Hardcover edition.
#283740 in eBooks 2009-10-10 2009-10-14File Name: B002SE64C4
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Broken Music by StingBy Pamela FoardWritten like a masterful novel. "Broken Music" is intelligent. insightful and continuously interesting. as Sting (or Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner. his real name) remembers his impoverished (both financially and emotionally) childhood and eventual break to stardom and fortune. He is fairly open and detailed with his impressions of growing up. and his lack of understanding his parents tortured lives together. the early manual labor he inherited from his fathers business of delivering milk and his awkward early school experiences. That he was able to find his way into the music industry and make such a success of it. is quite an adventurous against-all-odds story.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Well written autobiographyBy CathObviously. I dont know the guy. but this struck me as an honest look back at Stings life and relationships. His writing is very straightforward and unflinching in its assessments of his behavior in relationships with his parents and the women in his life. While he mentions and credits many other musicians and celebrities. you dont get a sense of gratuitous name-dropping. Often. with rock stars. all we see is the product of their hard work and personal sacrifices. It was interesting to peek behind the star and see what lies beneath. I would recommend it.5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Stings Early LifeBy Timothy HaughIn my life. Sting stands alone among the singer/songwriters of whom I am a fan. I grew up listening to musicians like Simon Garfunkel. the Beatles. Bob Dylan and James Taylor; however. they all were basically superstars before I was born. The Police were the first "contemporary" group to whom I listened. playing all five of their LPS until the grooves were worn. and I loyally followed Sting into his solo career. I believe Sting remains one of the best modern songwriters and I continue to be a fan.I consider myself a passionate fan but my fandom is not rabid. I focus mainly on the work and generally have little interest in a stars private life. You cant help but pick up things in the midst of the media storm in which we live today but I do my best to keep my attitudes about a persons private life separate from my feelings about the work. My rare exception to this is when someone writes an autobiography. I rarely read biographies about living persons but I will often read an autobiography from someone whom I admire. Keeping in mind that no one is willing to reveal everything about themselves. it is often interesting to see what a person chooses to reveal. Such is the case with this book.I am in no position to judge the factual content of Stings story. On the other hand. I was surprised at how well Broken Music reflected what I would have expected from what appears to be Stings personality. For fans. the most obvious thing that stands out is Stings continued conflicted feelings about his success with the Police. Most obviously. this can be seen in the fact that this book covers Stings life only up until the time of the formation of the Police. He still seems unwilling to really confront the meaning and experience of those years publicly. On the other hand. it is interesting in the final pages of the book to hear Sting tell of his first encounters with. in particular. Stewart Copeland and. later. Andy Summers.The other big thing that stood out for me is how this book reflected a mans obsession with music and unrepentant drive for success. Granted. we do learn a lot about the simple facts of Stings early life and relationships. his developing musical interest; however. underscoring it all is his need to do whatever it takes to win in the music world. As weve seen in his music. we also have Sting trying to self-analyze in this book and come to grips with his relationships with his mother. father. and a couple of early girlfriends but this stands in stark contrast to the ambition that underlies everything. It goes to show how even as writers try to present themselves in the best light. a certain amount of truth cant help but sneak through.As a writer. Sting is quite good. as one might expect. Even if his experience centers mainly around 3 minute pop songs. he shows that he can write excellent extended prose as well. I was worried at first because the prose in his recollection of the ayahuasca experience is a little flowery but he quickly settles down into serious story-telling. Broken Music is certainly an appropriate title to this memoir as it is generally a linear story punctuated by the occasional flash forward and omniscient comment. (Not to mention the titles origin: as I recall from the book. the boy Gordon would sometimes pound atonally on his grandmothers piano and she would ask him to "stop playing that broken music.")All in all. Sting has written a wonderful little book here. Anyone remotely a fan of his or anyone simply interested in music history will find a lot worth reading here. Still. I have to admit to a desire to see a sequel to this book someday. covering his years with the Police and his solo career. As the years go by. facts get clouded by the darkening shroud of memory; however. as this book shows. apart from the facts there is a lot of truth to be mined. I hope we see more of this from Sting.
