Customer Reviews

Josef Hoffmann: Interiors 1902-1913

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me say that I am an inveterate museum goer, an avid reader, and a writer. I have seen almost every exhibit at the Neue Galerie since it opened, and I have great interest in the Vienna Secessionists and Wiener Werkstatte and own many books on the subject. From their first year the Neue Galerie has smacked of elitism and dilettantism. Its membership is the most expensive of any museum in America and their website has always been a mess. The new listing (see my review of the earlier JOSEF HOFFMANN INTERIORS) has been hopelessly mangled by the museum, publisher, and Amazon.
In regard to this second book of color photographs of the reconstructed interiors, and for those who actually read books, the author Christian Witt-Doring is probably the leading authority on the Wiener Werkstatte, etc. His account of tracking down much of the original furniture and rebuilding the Hoffmann interiors is both fascinating and enlightening.
Unfortunately, the operation of the Neue Galerie has never overcome its original amateurism. After years of complaints their dysfunctional website still leads one in hopeless circles. Check the" bookstore" for example. One cannot get the needed information on any particular publication. The fact that Ronald Lauder paid $135M for Klimt's "Adele Block-Bauer" has been widely publiicized, and it is deservedly the centerpiece of the Neue Galerie collection. However, few visitors to the museum have seen the painting as it was installed earlier at the Belvedere in Vienna. This Secessionist masterwork shimmered and glittered in their low, carefully modulated light. Today it is horribly overlit, which bleaches the subtle colors, flattens the reflective effects of the gold leaf, bronzes, and metallic paints, and robs the Klimt masterwork of all nuance and poetry.
The Neue Galerie received much criticism for the JOSEF HOFFMANN INTERIORS 1902-1913 catalogue (see my review of this book), for it left out the four recreated interiors which were the centerpiece of the exhibition. Finally, after two and a half years they have published this book with color photographs of those interiors. But very foolishly they have used the same title as that of the previous catalogue, which makes it very difficult to sort out these two very different publications. The recent book has the subtitle, THE MAKING OF AN EXHIBITION, but the abstract pattern on the cover reveals nothing. And it is in fact a detail of the gallery hallway, which WAS NOT designed by Hoffmann. The architect's original wallpaper and fabric designs, which were left out of the original catalogue, are inexplicably omitted from this terribly slim volume as well. Hoffmann's drawings and watercolors for them appear in the background on page 5. A few of the designs can be seen as they were installed on page 75 and 76. Additionally, the elegant interiors, furniture, jewelry, and fabrics architect were beautifully detailed. All of this, such as the black trim running around the door frames and beneath the crown molding of the Hodler dining room, the wall sconces, ceiling fixtures, and some of the furniture should have been shown illustrated. Had they done so, this volume would have been at least 142 pages instead of a paltry 88 pages, which they deceptively bulked up by using a very heavy paper.

All of these difficulties lead to the problems with Amazon as a bookseller.
Earlier one could not possibly pre-order the second book from their listing, for they had the information mixed up with the earlier Neue Galerie catalogue. Once Amazon gets something screwed up (I speak from experience), no author, publisher, agent, or distributor can make direct contact with them to correct their mistake, so it takes months to get all of this this sorted out. In the meantime, Jeff Bezos will continue to guffaw his way through numerous interviews promoting his Kindle, which will never replace the art of the book.
For years Amazon idiotically listed each books thickness in inches rather than giving the number of pages. Finally they managed to catch on that the page count was much more pertinent. But Amazon still has not realized that when considering an expensive art or architecture book the reader is extremely interested in the number of color and black & white reproductions. Hamilton Booksellers manages this in their very brief descriptions.
Here is some of the basic information on JOSEF HOFFMANN INTERIORS 1902-1903: THE MAKING OF AN EXHIBIT. The book has 88 pages, 36 color plates, and 28 black & white reproductions.
Ironically, the Neue Galerie now has a director of publications, but I shudder if this book exemplifies his work. The earlier exhibition catalogue was published by Taschen. Now it appears that the museum has switched to Prestal. Both are excellent book publishers, so there can be little doubt the Neue Galerie is the source of most of these problems.
Considering the handful of color plates and brevity of the coverage of Hoffmann's interiors, it is terribly overpriced ($45 retail). A copy of the very lavish periodical WORLD OF INTERIORS is less than $10. Granted, this is comparing apples and oranges, but Gibbs Smith Publishers, for example, has turned out many beautifully produced architecture books that are well over 100 pages and contain up to 150 color plates. This is also true of many books published by Taschen and Prestal. Apparently the high price has been dictated by the Neue Galerie. Ronald Lauder should be reminded that not all visitors to the Neue Galerie and very few book buyers are heirs to billion dollar corporations.
Instead of this overpriced book, I would highly recommend GUSTAV KLIMT: PAINTING, DESIGN AND MODERN LIFE which is the catalogue for an extensive exhibition of Klimt's work, his collaborations with Josef Hoffmann, the work of the Wiener Werkstatte, and other Seccessionist artists. This 256 page book has 160 color plates, B&W period reproductions, and gives a very good sense of the Viennese "Gezamtkunstwerk", or the harmonious blending of painting, architecture,furniture, and the decorative arts into a total work of art. This chapter is probably the most thorough discussion of architectural concept of "total art" in English. It lies at the center of the architecture of Mackintosh, Sullivan, Wright, and Greene & Greene.
As usual, Amazon's flap copy description of the book falls miserably short, so to get a very good idea of this catalogue, visit the Tate Museum's great web site for the Klimt exhibition. GUSTAV KLIMT sells for $29.70 on Amazon, which is only $7 more than the skimpy 88 page Neue Galerie publication.
I have tried to change my rating of the Hoffmann interiors to two stars, but Amazon's system does not allow it.

Josef Hoffmann was one of the greatest architects and designers of the twentieth century, perhaps the finest furniture designer, and certainly one of the most significant figures in decorative arts.
Anyone seriously interested in Hoffmann should add this book to their library. It contains numerous vintage photographs and a highly informed text.
However, be forewarned. It is described as having color photographs of Hoffmann's interiors. This, like the majority of significant art books, is the catalogue for an extraordinary exhibition at the Neue Galerie in New York. In Ronald Lauder's preface he states, "Here is the unique opportunity to view magnificent interiors with all the color and sense of fantasy that Josef Hoffmann gave them." The absolute and glorious centerpiece of the exhibition is the reconstruction of four Hoffmann interiors. Furniture, wallpaper, carpets, curtains, etc; and they are magnificent. In one of the most brainless publishing endeavors imaginable, these interiors--in spite of the description and Lauder's remarks--are not in the book. Nor is the entire gallery of Hoffmann's watercolor designs for fabrics, carpets, and wallpapers.
One must wonder how the museum and Taschen allowed this great opportunity to slip through their fingers. Taschen, Lauder, and the Neue Galerie owes everyone that purchases this book/catalogue an apology.
If you would like to see the interiors they failed to include check the review in SLATE. You will immediately realize what a bungled job this is.
John Arthur