Leon Ferrari & Mira Schendel: Tangled Alphabets [Hardcover]

Andrea Giunta (Author), Luis Perez-Oramas (Author, Editor), Leon Ferrari (Author), Mira Schendel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2009

Leon Ferrari (born in 1920) and Mira Schendel (1919-1988) are among the most significant Latin American artists of the twentieth century. Active simultaneously in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s in the neighboring countries of Argentina and Brazil, they found inspiration in the written word and in the eloquence of spoken language, and they both used language as important visual subject matter. Published to accompany the first comprehensive survey of the work of each artist in the United States, this essential catalogue presents new insights into the artists' groundbreaking work and examines the connections and collisions between the visual arts, writing, politics and religion in their oeuvres.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rhythmically interspersed works visually thread how [Ferrari and Schendel] dealt with the intricacies and ambiguities of language, while allowing each artist's tone to be heard independently, intensely, and eloquently. --Arte al Dia, July 2009

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: The Museum of Modern Art, New York; 1 edition (July 31, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870707507
• ISBN-13: 978-0870707506
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #903,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars great art work, poor publication, August 8, 2010

By 

ak - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leon Ferrari & Mira Schendel: Tangled Alphabets (Hardcover)

The work of Leon Ferrari and Mira Schendel is wonderful and dynamic. Seeing their detailed and intricate drawings and sculpture is an exciting trip thought their creativity and their visions. Many of their prints are large and engaging. To enjoy the intricacies and delicacies requires you to look carefully and to see BOTH the whole piece before your eyes and to study the details, especially the lines and balance of elements. Much of their sculptures ask the same attention to detail and body.

This book misses all of that in most of the prints and drawings of this style (those that unfortunately appear as mere scribbles) and of the delicate sculpture as well. Yes, there are many examples of the work they did together and separately; but there is no example of their most intricate drawings which allow the viewer/reader to see the details, which are the essence of these works. Prints and drawings are represented in relatively small scale to the page size and there is no attempt by the writer and publisher to show any details in cropped portions that would offer someone a chance to actually imagine what these large pieces look like. They instead appear to be scribbles on paper without the ability to see what is really happening. The drawings which are not of this style are much better represented simply because they are easier to show in book reproduction. But, by leaving out the details of much of their work, readers cannot get a sense of the wonder of their creations.

This book is a great disappointment and does no justice to the quality of the artists' work. For someone unable to see the work in person, it is impossible to understand it from these representations and reproductions.