Customer Reviews

Roy Lichtenstein

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Some of Roy Lichtenstein's first works were humorous copies of Micky Mouse and Donald Duck that were done in part for his children. Thus her found both his trademark comic strip dots, and a charming sense of childlike innocence that can be found in most of his work.

Well, I'm a little partial, Roy Lichtenstein is one of my all time favorites, but this is a beautiful book. There are 350 full color reproductions and only 408 pages, so the majority of this book allows you to see the artist's work for yourself.

And what an incredible sample it is! The murals, the comic strips, of course THE GIRLS, the surrealism. I love "Cow Going Abstract". Who else could so lovingly mock every other artist! Carra, Picaso, Matisse, Magritte, Dali, Schlemmer- No one was safe! But Lichtenstein brought his own outlook to each of these artists, not merely copying, but giving that childlike enthusiasm - bright colors and virtually no shading - to all of their works.

This book abounds with the inspirational material for Roy Lichtenstein's work - The Dali's are right next to Lichtensteins own versions. Even his Brushstrokes series makes more sense when the little comic strip that inspired it is shown.

This book is an absolute treasure. It's only fault - it needs a sturdier binding!

Another gorgeous collection from the Guggenheim.

If, as English art critic Lawrence Alloway posed in the late fifties, Pop art refers as much to the art as to the attitudes that directed it, Roy Lichtenstein led in both. To this artist, it seems not very much is improbable. Why not art based on cartoons and advertising?

The chapter prefacing the artist's oeuvre in "Roy Lichtenstein" states, "He wanted to make painting that resembled cliches and, in so doing, to confront the cliches of art and the conventions that govern how we recognize art as art." This he did as no other artist has done before him.

His use of primary colors as a vital force and introduction of Benday dots as a way of painting produced images that startle and compel. Not only is Lichtenstein's work featured in galleries, museums and collections, but he has created murals and public sculptures seen in cities throughout the world.

Diane Waldham has compiled a stellar collection of landmark examples from each phase of the artist's career. Her laudable text places Lichtenstein's work in proper historical context and is a valuable addition to the archives of art.

Published in conjunction with a major retrospective of the artist's work, "Roy Lichtenstein" holds over 350 full-color reproductions, and is a veritable treasure trove for all lovers of contemporary art.

- Gail Cooke

In the early to mid-1950s, it seemed like modern art was inevitably and permanently headed towards ever more spiritual abstraction. Then out popped the popular art created by Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol, among others. Nothing could have been more different and more direct in its focus and style.

But there's more there than meets the eye. Lichtenstein's work opened up doors to hitherto unexpected potential for a variety of art styles from Impressionism and Cubism to the classic still life.

As you become more familiar with the work, the strong ties to Matisse's desire to simplify to the essence become apparent . . . but in a new form.

This book is an astonishing resource from a number of perspectives:

1. The images are a superb compilation of Lichtenstein's work through the time of his Guggenheim retrospective in 1993.

2. Most of the images are placed next to the sources for Lichtenstein's pieces. This permits you to better see how Lichtenstein transformed his prosaic sources.

3. Ms. Waldman, who wrote the main essay, has an astonishingly good understanding of this work which she conveys both visually and in her writing. You'll know more about Benday dots than you ever thought possible before you're done. I was intrigued to see how much the technique for these dots (familiar to us all from newspaper images and comic books) changed over time and how those changes affected how the art looks and appeals to the viewer.

4. Excellent information about the raw materials and how they influenced the resulting works.

I only found Ms. Waldman off the mark in a few places. She seems to think that Americans only flew combat missions in World War II and in Vietnam, and mistakenly describes Korean War jet fighters as belonging to the former conflict. Ms. Waldman also seems to find Mr. Lichtenstein's murals beyond her interpretive abilities. When an artist creates so much that is direct, why not explore the meaning of his more obscure works in careful detail? The text could also have been made a lot more interesting by concentrating the discussion of Benday dots into a shorter essay so that every other paragraph didn't have to mention the dots.