Customer Reviews

Nancy Spero (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon))

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

 

 

The most vibrant piece is the cover.
Inside the scenario changes dramatically. Much of the work is too small, frequently monochromatic
variations that are described as "hand printed." Whatever that means. Woodcut? Etching? Litho? Silkscreen? Gum Arabic?
An interviewer mentions how "Mother and Child" seems lit from within. But in the small photo, it just looks dull and murky.
Because so many works are crammed in a page where TEXT is given the main emphasis, you can't get the full impact of the work. Screw the text! Pieces like Frieze II deserve its own page. One of the best pieces is actually a zinc plate, "Mother and Child.: Spero's oils are also quite beautiful, and should be larger than 1" by 1" with better color. Oddly, less interesting scribbles are given full pages.
At times, Spero's work is random, almost whimsical not quite cohering into a unified art piece - but then again, not being in perfect completion gives the work an intriguing, light quality.
Despite inexcusable limitations of the editor, Spero's quirky POV comes through. Her feminist figures based in mythology are fresh and inspiring, even if they don't always pull together. She is a force of our times.