From ballet to burlesque; from the frontier jig to the jitterbug; Americans have always loved watching dance; whether in grand ballrooms; on Mississippi riverboats; or in the streets. Dance and American Art is an innovative look at the elusive; evocative nature of dance and the American visual artists who captured it through their paintings; sculpture; photography; and prints from the early nineteenth century through the mid-twentieth century. The scores of artists discussed include many icons of American art: Winslow Homer; George Caleb Bingham; Mary Cassatt; James McNeill Whistler; Alexander Calder; Joseph Cornell; Edward Steichen; David Smith; and others. As a subject for visual artists; dance has given new meaning to Americarsquo;s perennial myths; cherished identities; and most powerful dreams. Their portrayals of dance and dancers; from the anonymous to the famousmdash;Anna Pavlova; Isadora Duncan; Loiuml;e Fuller; Josephine Baker; Martha Grahammdash;have testified to the enduring importance of spatial organization; physical pattern; and rhythmic motion in creating aesthetic form. Through extensive research; sparkling prose; and beautiful color reproductions; art historian Sharyn R. Udall draws attention to the ways that artistsrsquo; portrayals of dance have defined the visual character of the modern world and have embodied culturally specific ideas about order and meaning; about the human body; and about the diverse fusions that comprise American culture.
#2818998 in eBooks 2010-10-13 2010-10-13File Name: B009ABYH6S
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