John Fahey is to the solo acoustic guitar what Jimi Hendrix was to the electric: the man whom all subsequent musicians had to listen to. Fahey made more than 40 albums between 1959 and his death in 2001; most of them featuring only his solo steel-string guitar. He fused elements of folk; blues; and experimental composition; taking familiar American sounds and recontextualizing them as something entirely new. Yet despite his stature as a groundbreaking visionary; Faheyrsquo;s intentionsmdash;as a man and as an artistmdash;remain largely unexamined. Journalist Steve Lowenthal has spent years researching Faheyrsquo;s life and music; talking with his producers; his friends; his peers; his wives; his business partners; and many others. He describes Faheyrsquo;s battles with stage fright; alcohol; and prescription pills; how he ended up homeless and mentally unbalanced; and how; despite his troubles; he managed to found a record label that won Grammys and remains critically revered. This portrait of a troubled and troubling man in a constant state of creative flux is not only a biography but also the compelling story of a great American outcast.
#279679 in eBooks 2012-07-12 2012-07-12File Name: B00K1M5QB0
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This is the best book I have read about OKeefe and in any ...By Daniel SolomonThis is the best book I have read about OKeefe and in any case a first-rate biography. The breadth of the authors scholarly understanding of the artist and depth of appreciation of her work is presentedh beautifully in a fluid; coherent and finely creative writing style. Of intense interest to me was the relationship with Steiglitz and how he and various male critics and artists imposed a Freudian interpretation on her work which may have been well wide of the mark. The genesis of OKeefes relationship with nature and how her interpretation of it developed over time is equally fascinating. I enjoyed this book immensely and recommend it highly to anyone interested in OKeefe herself or simply in a very well-crafted biography.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Thank you for this gem!By CustomerI appreciated the succinct and concise trajectory Scott presents of Georgia OKeeffes life. Scott presents the crucial elements to illuminate OKeeffe; which made for a read that I did not want to put down. There are golden nuggets here--- including how OKeeffe and her paintings were misunderstood amidst the Freudian and male dominated landscape of the time; a view of OKeeffes complex relationship with Stieglitz; as well as a sense of the impact the southwest landscape had on OKeeffe. I also appreciated the interpretation Scott paints around OKeeffes spiritual life.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I feel I just had tea with Georgia OKeeffe! Loved it!By eveningsun58Nancy J. Scott has written this book from an artistrsquo;s perspective; taking the reader deep into Georgia Orsquo;Keeffersquo;s intimate thoughts about her art; her desires and disillusions; her love affair with Alfred Stieglitz and her devotion to nature and solitude.With thoughtful and intelligent writing; the author goes into detail about Orsquo;Keeffersquo;s struggles to be accepted as a modern female artist at a time when male chauvinism dominated the modern art world. Stieglitz displaying private nude photos of Orsquo;Keeffersquo;s body without her permission was just one example of the mountains the artist had to climb to be taken seriously. Orsquo;Keeffersquo;s paintings became tainted with the suggestion of sex; whether she desired it or not.I especially enjoyed learning Orsquo;Keeffersquo;s thought processes behind the imagery of some of her paintings. One example Scott writes; ldquo;The most famous of these; Cowrsquo;s Skull: Red; White and Blue came about when Orsquo;Keeffe set out to play a little joke on the lsquo;the menrsquo; who opined about the Great American Novel; and the Great American Thing. She decided to make her skull all-American with a blue background; and added red vertical stripes down the sides.rdquo;There are so many fascinating; well-researched details about the artist scattered throughout the book; I found it hard to put down in anticipation of what may be on the next page. Thanks to Nancy J. Scott; I feel I have just had tea with Orsquo;Keeffe in her studio where she opened the door to her private world and told me everything. I highly recommend!
