Art as Art: The Selected Writings of Ad Reinhardt (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art) [Paperback]

Barbara Rose (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520076702 | ISBN-13: 978-0520076709 | Publication Date: June 6, 1991 | Edition: 1st Ppbk Ed., 1991

Ad Reinhardt is probably best known for his black paintings, which aroused as much controversy as admiration in the American art world when they were first exhibited in the 1950s. Although his ideas about art and life were often at odds with those of his contemporaries, they prefigured the ascendance of minimalism. Reinhardt's interest in the Orient and in religion, his strong convictions about the value of abstraction, and his disgust with the commercialism of the art world are as fresh and valid today as they were when he first expressed them.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Reinhardt . . . remains an urgently contemporary figure in art and the life of art. . . . He has already been a major subterranean influence in the generation of Minimal and Post-Minimal art . . . and seems ready for wide recognition as one of the most significant cultural figures of the past quarter- century." -- Peter Schjeldahl, New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Barbara Rose is the author of books on Joan Miro, Claes Oldenburg, Lee Krasner, and Ellsworth Kelly and has twice received the College Art Association's Mather Award for distinguished criticism.

Product Details

• Paperback: 253 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1st Ppbk Ed., 1991 edition (June 6, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520076702
• ISBN-13: 978-0520076709
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #605,669 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterpiece of art writing, August 24, 2008

By 

Simon Wiley "Painter" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Art as Art: The Selected Writings of Ad Reinhardt (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art) (Paperback)

Ad Reinhardt was the epitome of the late modernist painter. He polished his craft and his concept until it was air tight and nearly impervious to criticism. Though we can deny that his paintings are the 'last paintings,' we cannot deny that they altered the course of modern art. Nor that they are sublime, spiritual, human accomplishments.

This writing shines a light in the darkness that is Ad Reinhardt. Though especially useful for a Reinhardt scholar or enthusiast, the writings will enlighten any painter or student of twentieth century art. How far can an artist go into the furnace of self discovery? How much of a painting is truth and how much seduction? Open these pages and discover the answers to these questions and many others.

"Dark within dark; the gateway to all understanding." Tao te ching.

4 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Students of Ad Reinhardt only, April 4, 2007

By 

Zoller (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art as Art: The Selected Writings of Ad Reinhardt (Documents of Twentieth-Century Art) (Paperback)

This book will only be valuable to people interested in or studying the work of Ad Reinhardt. For this purpose, it is excellent. Rose's introductions are clear and concise, however, Reinhardt's writing itself tends to be esoteric and repetitive. For those who are interested in this era of American painting in general (primarily the 1950's) this probably won't be that helpful as Reinhardt's cryptic philosophies do not mimic most of his more famous contemporaries.