Mary Heilmann: Save the Last Dance for Me (AFTERALL) [Paperback]

Terry R Myers (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 23, 2007 | Series: AFTERALL

"You want beauty? I'll give you beauty!" ;Mary HeilmannMary Heilmann is one of the most important abstract painters of her generation. Her distinctively fluid, humorous, and bright canvases combine the modes of Abstract Expressionism with a vibrant Pop sensibility. Heilmannn's 1979 painting in hot pink and black, evocatively titled Save the Last Dance for Me, marked a shift in the artist's perspective. Heilmann describes it: "Now the work came from a different place. Instead of working out of modernist non-image formalism, I began to see that the choices in the work depended more on content for their meaning." This beautifully illustrated study of Save the Last Dance for Me explores the development of Heilmann's work, and the way it continues to engage us ;psychologically, sensually, and socially.The three bright pink rectangles in Heilmann's painting seem to dance off the edge of the canvas, through a black field that seems dark as a nightclub after midnight ;or perhaps the three are actually one pink rectangle, seen in a blissfully formal time lapse, moving across the dance floor/canvas. These definitively modernist geometric forms coexist with a sense of movement in real time. For many, abstraction may have been dancing its last dance in 1979, but Heilmann's bright pink rectangles boogie on.Mary Heilmann was born in San Francisco and has lived and worked in New York since 1968.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"You want beauty? I'll give you beauty!" - Mary Heilmann"

About the Author

Mary Heilmann was born in San Francisco and has lived and worked in New York since 1968.

Terry R. Myers is a Chicago— and Los Angeles-based writer, educator, and independent curator. A regular contributor since 1988 to numerous international journals, including ArtReview, The Brooklyn Rail, Parkett, and Modern Painters, he is the author of Mary Heilmann:Save the Last Dance for Me (Afterall Books, 2007). He is Associate Professor of Paintingand Drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Afterall (March 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1846380316
• ISBN-13: 978-1846380310
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #721,057 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fresh!, December 24, 2007

By 

Joshua Nathanson (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mary Heilmann: Save the Last Dance for Me (AFTERALL) (Paperback)

Myers manages to convey some heavy ideas in a lighthearted style. Being accessible and smart at the same time is no small accomplishment (especially in the field of art criticism!). Myers examines Heilmann's painting from many angles - through formal analysis, musical associations, biography, cultural context, etc. This multi-faceted approach gives the reader a variety of inroads to the feel of Heilmann's painting.

This book is fun to read because Myers attempts to float ideas rather then pin them onto the page. His approach doesn't just describe the work of Heilmann but also reflects its active qualities. No wonder that dancing, playing, and mirroring are some of the major thematic elements.

If you're looking for an introduction to the work of Heilmann this book would be a great place to start. But it also offers a refreshing approach for the seasoned reader of painting critique.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect, May 27, 2008

By 

AC Painter (NY, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mary Heilmann: Save the Last Dance for Me (AFTERALL) (Hardcover)

-perfectly conceived and perfectly executed. -a good read and a very well-made hardcover book. The same is true of the whole series: (One Work) by Afterall Books.