Arte Povera (Themes & Movements) [Paperback]

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev (Author)

Book Description

Series: Themes & Movements | Publication Date: September 1, 2005

It was in 1967 that Italian art critic Germano Celant coined the term Arte Povera to describe the work of a generation of young Italian artists. Emerging alongside such international movements as Land Art, Minimalism and Conceptual Art, Arte Povera used a simple 'poverty' of gestures and materials - twigs, metals, glass, fabric, stone, even live animals - to turn away from traditional 'high' art. The Arte Povera artists explored the relation between art and life as it is made manifest in natural processes or cultural dynamics. First exhibiting together in Italy in the late 1960s, Giovanni Anselmo, Alighiero Boetti, Pier Paolo Calzolari, Luciano Fabro, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Giulio Paolini, Pino Pascali, Giuseppe Penone, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Emilio Prini and Gilberto Zorio went on to become internationally renowned. Bridging the natural and the artificial, the urban and the rural, Mediterranean life and Western modernity, Arte Povera's impact still resounds. Critic and curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is one of the world's leading authorities on post-war Italian art and culture. She collaborated directly with many of the artists in the making of this book, which is the most comprehensive survey available.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev is a writer and curator, internationally recognized as a scholar of late 20th-century Italian art. She has written extensively on the Arte Povera movement and published interviews and texts on artists such as Boettti, Pistoletto, Merz, Fabro and Kounellis. Her exhibitions include a large-scale retrospective in 1996 of post-war Italian artists Alberto Burri in Rome, Brussels and Munich; and in 1997, 'Citta-Natura', a city-wide exhibition of international artists including Anselmo, Mario Merz, Marisa Merz, Pascali and Kounellis, held in Rome. She is Chief Curator at the Castello di Rivoli, Turin, and was formerly Senior Curator at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York. She was co-curator, with Iwona Blazwick, of 'Faces in the Crowd: Picturing Modern Life from Manet to Today', Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, and Castello di Rivoli, Turin, 2004-5. Author's Residence: Turin and Rome, Italy

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714845566
• ISBN-13: 978-0714845562
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rich in other ways, March 31, 2010

By 

Stuart Mayes (Stockholm, SE) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Arte Povera (Themes & Movements) (Paperback)

Christov-Bakargiev's book presents a great survey of one of the lesser known but most influential modern art movements in post-war europe. An in-depth collection of documentation and writing that offers both analysis and contextualisation. Explanations of the artworks are presented alongside the photographs which makes it easy to make sense of the happenings, installations, performances and other temporary events that were central practices of many of the Arte Povera group. The inclusion of contemporary texts and excerpts from artist's statements offer the reader the closest thing to a first hand experience.
The design of the book is perfect for dipping into as well as reading from beginning to end.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ESSENTIAL !, October 25, 2006

By 

Jan Vanden Berghe (Belgium) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Arte Povera (Themes & Movements) (Paperback)

The most appealing book on the subject I ever read. Very fine reproductions, excellent comments, splendid background information. A must for everyone who's interested in modern art history!

7 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars informative of the poor art movement, August 13, 2000

By 

"pplmover" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Arte Povera (Themes & Movements) (Hardcover)

In my opinion Arte Povera was the most interesting art movement in the 20th century. This book includes many art movements, explanations, artists involved, plenty of pictures and it is held together in a great quality book. I recomend this book to anyone right or left brained.