Roy Lichtenstein [Hardcover]

Diane Waldman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

Lichtenstein ushered in the American pop art movement of the 1960s while commenting on the fabricated reality of postwar American society. This comprehensive monograph focuses on the artist's painting and sculpture from the '60s to the present. Chronology and bibliography. 250 full-color reproductions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Published to accompany a retrospective on this founding practitioner of Pop Art at Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum, this volume traces the development of the artist's unique comic-book style--a style that began in the early 1960s as a deadpan appropriation of mannered, commercial iconography and has since evolved into a versatile, signature style with seemingly endless permutations and possibilities. Profusely illustrated, patterned around themes in Lichtenstein's work and in rough chronological order, the book provides valuable insight into his creative method. Waldman, deputy director of the Guggenheim, explores Lichtenstein's source materials, those images in advertising, comics and consumer iconography that he manipulates into images that are utterly his own. Looking at the "found" image alongside Lichtenstein's oil painting, one discerns how the artist distills the image, changing the particular into the archetypal, so that in Girl with Ball (1961), a photograph of a young woman tossing a beachball in an ad for a resort becomes a trope for an advertising-driven, youth-obsessed culture. In several series, Lichtenstein has used the leveling quality of his style to parody the art-making process itself. Most pointedly, in the Brushstroke paintings (1965-1966), his caricatures of dripping, slashing brushstrokes spoof the high drama and inner turmoil of the Abstract Expressionists.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

Lichtenstein's benday dots, used to create pop and comic figures, have always looked and felt larger than life, and it's for this reason that the artist has become part of the Modern Masters pantheon. In this publication, the catalog for a major retrospective of Lichtenstein's work, Guggenheim Museum curator Waldman draws a compelling portrait of his achievements. Lichtenstein knew his art history, and his intelligence suffuses the ready wit apparent in his paintings and sculpture; the chronological account shows his early interest in comic strips and advertising blossoming into an enduring painterly form of commentary. Waldman's unlimited access to the artist and to works from public and private collections results in an impressive journey through Lichtenstein's career, with references to philosophy, technique, social contexts, and the artistic world. With its 350 fine illustrations, all in color, this work will interest both specialists and the lay public. Highly recommended.
- Paula A. Baxter, NYPL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Guggenheim Museum Pubns (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810968754
• ISBN-13: 978-0810968752
• Product Dimensions: 11.9 x 11.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,207,582 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop art with more humor than Warhol ever dreamed of!, June 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Roy Lichtenstein (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TREASURE FOR LOVERS OF CONTEMPORARY ART, February 21, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roy Lichtenstein (Hardcover)

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

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pop Art as a Reaction to Abstract Expressionism, February 27, 2006

By 

Donald Mitchell "Jesus Loves You!" (Thanks for Providing My Reviews over 109,000 Helpful Votes Globally) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Roy Lichtenstein (Hardcover)

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.