From Holbein to Hockney; from Norman Rockwell to Pablo Picasso; from sixteenth-century Rome to 1980s SoHo; Robert Hughes looks with love; loathing; warmth; wit and authority at a wide range of art and artists; good; bad; past and present. As art critic for Time magazine; internationally acclaimed for his study of modern art; The Shock of the New; he is perhaps Americarsquo;s most widely read and admired writer on art. In this book: nearly a hundred of his finest essays on the subject. For the realism of Thomas Eakins to the Soviet satirists Komar and Melamid; from Watteau to Willem de Kooning to Susan Rothenberg; here is Hughesmdash;astute; vivid and uninhibitedmdash;on dozens of famous and not-so-famous artists. He observes that Caravaggio was ldquo;one of the hinges of art history; there was art before him and art after him; and they were not the samerdquo;; he remarks that Julian Schnabelrsquo;s ldquo;work is to painting what Stallonersquo;s is to actingrdquo;; he calls John Constablersquo;s Wivenhoe Park ldquo;almost the last word on Eden-as-Propertyrdquo;; he notes how ldquo;distorted traces of [Jackson] Pollock lie like genes in art-world careers that; one might have thought; had nothing to do with his.rdquo; He knows how Norman Rockwell made a chicken stand still long enough to be painted; and what Degas said about success (some kinds are indistinguishable from panic). Phrasemaker par excellence; Hughes is at the same time an incisive and profound critic; not only of particular artists; but also of the social context in which art exists and is traded. His fresh perceptions of such figures as Andy Warhol and the French writer Jean Baudrillard are matched in brilliance by his pungent discussions of the art marketmdash;its inflated prices and reputations; its damage to the public domain of culture. There is a superb essay on Bernard Berenson; and another on the strange; tangled case of the Mark Rothko estate. And as a finale; Hughes gives us ldquo;The SoHoiad;rdquo; the mock-epic satire that so amused and annoyed the art world in the mid-1980s. A meteor of a book that enlightens; startles; stimulates and entertains.
#2057074 in eBooks 2011-06-01 2011-06-01File Name: B0073W1NKO
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Very helpful advice for anyone trying to perform in any field!By Terre Roche"Rhythms of the Game" is a very inspiring book by the only person ever who could have written it. Bernie Williams. a baseball legend from his 16-year career. is also a very accomplished musician. Retired from baseball. he has returned to his first passion. guitar. performing out on the concert circuit with his band. Ive seen his live show and its awesome! Bernie approaches music with the same humility and discipline that brought him to the height of fame in the field of baseball. He shows us how he thinks about his work. Doing so. he powerfully counters the image of the self-indulgent. out-of-control. highly paid sports figure that has come to dominate the news. This is not a book about being famous. Anyone can enrich any pursuit inspired by Bernies example. Certain principles govern the arts. sciences. sports and all disciplines. Having achieved excellence in both a sport and an art. Bernie Williams generously imparts wisdom gleaned from his unique lifes journey.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Rythms of the GameBy LorettaI purchased this book for my son who is a baseball fan and was a professional guitar player for many years. Hes over 50 and has been an avid Detroit Tigers fansince he was eight years old. Because we live across the river from Philadelphia. hes also a Phillies fan. When I saw Bernie Williams interviewed on a TV show recently. I thought his book would be the perfect gift for my son. I was very pleased to find it at a reasonable price on the website. I have not read it. so I cannot give a review on the book itself. But I expect my son will enjoy reading it when I give it to him with his other Christmas gifts. I think hell be surprised.He also played baseball from the days of Little League. Babe Ruth. High School. and adult games thereafter. And now he plays basketball weekly with a bunch of guys. And he still plays guitar. So maybe he experiences the "link between musical and athletic performance".0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. ... is an inspirational and insightful book with much to recommend as a model for the professional and/or aspiring musician ...By harrison r. goldbergThis is an inspirational and insightful book with much to recommend as a model for the professional and/or aspiring musician and or athlete.Harrison Goldbergjazz saxophonist
