Marlene Dumas (Contemporary Artists) [Paperback]

Dominic van den Boogerd (Author), Barbara Bloom (Author), Mariuccia Casadio (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary Artists | Publication Date: March 30, 1999

This text features the artist Marlene Dumas commenting through her work on the state of painting today. She asks the question - what does it mean to be a woman working within the predominantly male genre of expressionist art? The artist often chooses women, children and infants as her subject matter, examining the relation between art and female beauty. The authors then analyze Dumas's work, with subjects such as: the development of Dumas's work in relation to the legacies of European painting; questions contemporary women artists are asked; and a look at the artist's painting "Josephine", reflecting on the iconic legacy of Josephine Baker. The book also features selections from Dumas's writings, including texts on her own work, meditations on love, religion and politics, and a discussion of Goya's painting "The Fates". The book is part of a series of studies of important artists of the late-20th century. Each title offers a comprehensive survey of the artist's work, providing analyses and multiple perspectives on contemporary art and its inspiration.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

This text features the artist Marlene Dumas commenting through her work on the state of painting today. She asks the question - what does it mean to be a woman working within the predominantly male genre of expressionist art? The artist often chooses women, children and infants as her subject matter, examining the relation between art and female beauty. The authors then analyze Dumas's work, with subjects such as: the development of Dumas's work in relation to the legacies of European painting; questions contemporary women artists are asked; and a look at the artist's painting "Josephine", reflecting on the iconic legacy of Josephine Baker. The book also features selections from Dumas's writings, including texts on her own work, meditations on love, religion and politics, and a discussion of Goya's painting "The Fates". The book is part of a series of studies of important artists of the late-20th century. Each title offers a comprehensive survey of the artist's work, providing analyses and multiple perspectives on contemporary art and its inspiration.

About the Author

Dominic van den Boogerd is a writer on contemporary art. From 1993 to 1995 he was Chief Editor of the Dutch art magazine Metropolis M and is currently Director of De Ateliers international artists? institute in Amsterdam. Barbara Bloom is a New York-based artist whose international exhibitions include the Venice Biennale (1988), the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1998), the International Center of Photography, New York (2006) and Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin (2006). Mariuccia Casadio is a freelance writer on contemporary art, fashion and design. Formerly Editor of Vogue Italia (1986–90) and Editor-at-Large of Interview (1990–93), Ilaria Bonacossa is Curator at Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, Italy and a regular contributor to art magazines such as Flash Art and Contemporary. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (March 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714838233
• ISBN-13: 978-0714838236
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,486,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A SURPRISE PACKAGE!, June 29, 2001

By 

L. Kooyman "fine arts student" (Kilaben Bay, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marlene Dumas (Contemporary Artists) (Paperback)

I had seen a self-portrait done by Marlene Dumas in an art book and it blew me away. I did not know who she was or her main specialty. I knew I had to see more of her body of work... I quickly found this Phaedon publication, crossed my fingers and ordered it. When it finally arrived...I poured over it. It is now a few months later and I am still pouring over it. I particularly like the interviews and personal input Helene has had into the publication – this is her book and her philosophies – she puts herself out there for you to see her and to "get inside her head". The layout is very contemporary which adds to the presentation of her imagery. The reproductions of her work are plentiful and I am impressed with the range of her work through her different "periods". The text is concise and confronting in its subject matter, ranging from her life in apartheid Africa to the freedom of Amsterdam. This book is a must for art students and art lovers alike. It holds the key to an modern artist and, as an art student, has inspired me. I am looking forward to seeing more publications about her current work. I definitely give this book 5 stars – plus 5 stars for a major contemporary artist.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Marlene Dumas (Contemporary Artists), November 5, 2006

By 

Dianne Taylor (Australia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marlene Dumas (Contemporary Artists) (Paperback)

This book is one of my favourites. In Marlene Dumas, I found an artist that I totally relate to. I find her philosophy on her art practice refreshing and have enjoyed reading her own opinions. I am currently studying art at University, and she definitely is an artist that has gone against the mainstream of traditional drawing and painting techniques.

The layout of the book is easy to read, with many coloured pictures of her work.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Finest Monographs of Marlene Dumas, August 8, 2010

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Marlene Dumas (Hardcover)

Marlene Dumas is one of those artists that seems to touch everyone who visits her art in a profound way. Though her paintings are deceptively simple in execution, they are so filled with emotional energy and ideas and statements about the world in which we live that she simply cannot be ignored. Divided into six well written sections we are allowed a survey of her place in art today, an overview of her iconic images, interviews with the artist and sections on the artist's choices in the writings of others (Oscar Wilde and Jean Genet) and her own writings about the state of art today and her own art. But these essays and written contributions, important and informative though they are, do not begin to match the impact of slowly leafing through this book of hundreds of images produced in exacting color.

'What does death have to do with sex? Youth with terrorism? Immigration with desire and mourning? ' These questions supply fodder for her paintings that explore these areas in depth. Many of Dumas' painting are head portraits that immediately jump into the viewer's psyche and hold on forever. Still others are of figures, female and male, exploring their own sexuality, seemingly for us, the viewer, to understand: '10 inch' and 'D-rection' are powerful images of male nudes, while 'Fingers', '(Like a) Chambermaid', 'Morning Dew', and 'Turkish Girl' are equally striking female nudes. There are images of the dead as in 'Likeness 1' and 'Likeness 2', but there are also images of groups of people as in the terrifying 'Young Boys' or the wryly humorous 'We Were All in Love with the Cyclops' and 'Ryman's Brides'.

The book closes with a fine piece of writing by Ilaria Bonacossa: "Thus Dumas's works are constructed around desire that exists only once it is articulated, so that painting itself becomes something of a Lacanian attempt to provide, even if only for a moment, the representation of the lack born from the impossibility of satisfying desire. Just as an image 'takes on meaning through the process of looking', Dumas's work embodies the tension between imagination and reality, as well as the struggle between the eye and the hand - and between the eye and the 'I'." This is a superb book that allows us to truly investigate the reasons why Marlene Dumas has become on of the world's most important artists. Grady Harp, August 10