Customer Reviews

Odd Nerdrum: Storyteller and Self Revealer

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I love this book! I also have the other Nerdrum title by Hansen and Kuspit, but this is the volume that I refer to more often. This book has great full page details! As a painter, I find myself poring over these details. I have yet to see an original Nerdrum, so this book is the next best thing. The text is intriguing (integrating Nerdrum's personal life with his imagery) and compelling. The other title by Hansen and Kuspit is an excellent companion volume, examining Nerdrum's work in historical context (from alchemy to Mad Max). It has a greater number of reproductions, as well. My advice to students of Nerdrum: get them both. They are worth it.

If you're an inquisitive art lover and want to gain insight into the mind of controversial contemporary figurative artist Odd Nerdrum, this is the volume to buy. Not only does the author, Jan Ake Pettersson, write well: he has done his homework. But re-reading this monograph repeatedly makes the written word so secondary to the way the designer of the book has opened up Nerdrum's puzzling canvases by giving us many "detail" pages of the paintings. We are allowed to dissect the paintings not only for their symbolism and recurring existential themes, but we are also encouraged to examine brushwork, palette choice, and methods of depicting light that truly gives us the whole picture. The subtitle of the book "Storyteller and Self-Revealer" sustains Pettersson's approach. While many critics are beginning to take a second look at the repetitive tendencies in background landscapes and even in the use of twinned images, etc, Nerdrum's force as a painter can always be felt. He does communicate, whether we want to know the story or not. The book is filled with Nerdrum's copious self-portraits and studying these alone is a solid way to explore this artist's progress. A very special volume with beautiful details and colors.

I'll just agree with what else has been posted. I have a host of other expensive art books, this is the crown jewel; simply because of content. Every other artist publishing their work would be wise to have it done with this quality. The reproductions are excellent with numerous detail shots full page. Having seen several Nerdrum originals, a book never does them justice, but this is as close as you'll get.