From Publishers Weekly
It wasn't until the 1980s that painter Leon Golub, born in Chicago in 1921, achieved fame with his vigorous pictures of death squads, torturers, student riots and mercenaries. As an artist unafraid to tackle political themes, to criticize U.S. policies at home and abroad, Golub merits attention. Regrettably, he is not well served by this pretentious, verbose critique-cum-personality profile. Marzorati, an editor of Harper's , treats his own gradual discovery of Golub's art and life as a central theme, as well as the book's organizing principle; the device distracts from his occasional insights. He places Golub in a continuum of "liberal artists" from Goya onward who confront cruelty. A running interview with Golub is the book's saving grace. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
This is a highly politicized writer's first-person account of his discovery of Golub's works and long-lasting friendship with the famous Jewish-American artist. To be convinced that Golub's reputation as a solitary near-genius is indeed merited, look elsewhere, e.g., Donald Kuspit's Leon Golub: Existential-Activist Painter (Rutgers Univ. Pr., 1985). Here readers must slough through Marzorati's pages of dogmatism and unremarkable visual reportage. He repeatedly attempts to put words into Golub's mouth and to turn the political artist Golub into a rabble-rousing illustrator. Nevertheless, Marzorati's years of recording the artist's conversations, presumably accurate in the telling, are an extremely valuable resource. The section on Golub's attending the Oliver North testimony at the Iran-Contra hearings is memorable. Recommended for specialized collections and those with other materials on Golub.
- Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson State Univ., Md.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Mary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson State Univ., Md.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
