A wry and beautifully observed memoir about coming of age in the era of conceptual art.Growing up in the suburbsmdash;confused about his sexuality; about his consumer-oriented world; about the death of his older brothermdash;Bernard Cooper falls in love with Pop art and sets off for the California Institute of the Arts; the center of the burgeoning field of conceptual art; in this beguiling memoir. The most famous; and infamous; artists of the time drift through the place; including Allan Kaprow and John Baldessari; not to mention the student who phones the Identi-Kit division of the Los Angeles Police Department and has them make a composite drawing of the Mona Lisa.My Avant-Garde Education is at once an artists coming-of-age story and a personal chronicle of the era of conceptual art; from a writer "of uncommon subtlety and nuance" (David Ulin; Los Angeles Times). It is a record of the wonders and follies of a certain era in art history; always aware that awakening to art is; for a young person; inseparable from awakening to the ever-shifting nature of the self.
2014-06-13 2014-06-13File Name: B00L1G5MO6
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Amazing locals!By ripper dandyWow! What a compendium of local greats...Richard Dowdys bio is amazing...who knew such a person lived among us?Very pleased with the presentation of his exploits1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Gave this book to a local friend who was amazed and impressed with all of the information packed into ...By Tese GorszwickGave this book to a local friend who was amazed and impressed with all of the information packed into Cindys research book. His Dad was mentioned in the book; so it had special meaning. Thank you Cindy.0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Big disappointmentBy Ethans dadHaving lived in Carlsbad for more than 20 years; I read this book with great initial interest. By the time I was done I could think of at least a dozen people who are not profiled in this poorly written and edited collection. Perhaps if the author had done some "research; " such as flipping through the back issues of Carlsbad Magazine or the citys Wikipedia page; she might have done a better job. Seriously; no mention of Shaun White??? Ah; cmon. Meanwhile; some of her choices are farfetched at best.
