Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Both a valuable resource and a loving testament to the art and contributions of these four women, June 10, 2009
Compiled and edited by Karen Moss, and featuring essays by Timothy Rodgers, Sharyn Udall, and Michael Zakian, "Illumination - the Paintings of Georgia O'Keeffe, Agnes Pelton, Agnes Martin, and Florence Pierce" is an incredibly striking collection of four American women artists whose work spans the twentieth century. Studded with ninety-eight brilliant full-color reproductions, "Illuminations" dazzles the eye of the beholder. Parallels and contrasts are made between these four different artists. From the spare geometric paintings of Agnes Martin, the light infused expressions of Florence Miller Pierce, to the more well known organic natural studies of Georgia O'Keeffe and including the somewhat mystical paintings of Agnes Pelton, "Illuminations" is a collection of widely varying studies of light.
From Minimalist to Abstract Expressionism, these artists embody unique approaches to 20th century American art. Karen Moss describes and compares some of the art by Pelton and O'Keeffe as follows: "Between the mid-1920s and the early 1930s, Pelton and O'Keeffe painted nature and landscapes in lyrical canvases that hover between abstraction and representation, often incorporating strong sources of illumination (p. 19)." She later concludes, "..O'Keeffe created a body of work that fused the soft and sensuous with the tough and solid....Pelton...was a modern painter who did not embrace Modernism... she was a transcendentalist who perceived the spirit within nature...(p. 81)."
Further comparative study is provided on the art of Agnes Martin and Florence Miller Pierce by Timothy Robert Rodgers, who wrote, "Martin and Pierce...both linked themselves to artistic movements, Martin to Abstract Expressionism and Pierce to the Transcendental Painting Group (p. 90)." Both artists also benefit from the sensitivity required to examine hidden links to Minimalist art perspectives. The rich resources of the colorful painting reproductions are well mined.
In addition to analytic comparisons and critical focus, "Illuminations" contains a section of biographic chronologies of the four artists. Carefully punctuated with stunning black and white and color photos of the artists and their chosen settings, the 10 pages of concurrent or overlapping timelines encourages an integrated understanding of the lives and impact of the four women. In summary, "Illuminations" presents new perspectives on both the familiar and lesser known life work of American artists Pelton, O'Keeffe, Martin and Pierce. It is both a valuable resource and a loving testament to the art and contributions of these four women.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the Southwestern landscape and its light as seen by four regional women artists, June 9, 2009
With the dominance of O'Keeffe, the other three Southwestern women artists cannot help but be seen in relation to her. The reader does this automatically. And the authors do too, although this is kept to a minimum. In terms of the artistic topic of illumination in the paintings from sensitivity to the interplay of land and light in the Southwest, the three artists have an almost equal status as O'Keeffe.
The essays with illustrations explore how "each artist manifested her personal sense of place and spirituality--both formally and conceptually--through illumination, using light to convey the mystical, ineffable, and sublime qualities of nature." The art of each is distinctive in its own way as each took a different approach to portraying the light of nature. Pierce's works are the most mystical with their biomorphic shapes and blending of colors. They evidence an Oriental influence and also suggest sculpture as many have geometrical or irregular shapes instead of the rectangular shape of most paintings. Martin's works including works on paper are like paled abstract or conceptual works for the way they catch subtleties of light within a particular narrow band of color, like a spectrum of ordinarily unseen light. The most idiosyncratic with brightness, whimsy, and symbols which can be private or common is Pelton's; with echoes of the work of Frida Kahlo. O'Keeffe's paintings with a graphic boldness and sensual lushness are familiar to all.
Following the four illustrated essays interrelating and differentiating each artist are sections of full-page color illustrations/art plates on each. There are about 12 illustrations for each one. The biological chronologies are not the simple, spare chronologies of dates and facts found in many books, but a section calling for attention almost on a par with the essays and illustrations. The life and career of each artist with photographs of her at different times and representative works in color spreads over six pages. The chronology of O'Keeffe (d. 1986) runs horizontally parallel to Pelton's (d.1961). Similarly, Martin (d. 2004) and Pierce (d. 2007) are paired.
Illumination in the visual arts, American women artists, and Southwestern art are all art topics of contemporary interest advanced in this comparative study.
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by Joseph J. Rishel
by Michel Pastoureau
by Frances Morris
