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Summer Reading
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Having had no prior knowledge of Irwin and never having seen his work before, I still found this a fascinating book about creativity and the act of creation. I give this book as a gift frequently to those people who love and appreciate art and artists in all disciplines (painting, film, theater, photography, sculpture, pottery etc.).
The most interesting aspects of this book are the insights into Irwin's process and evolution. You can see his linear trajectory and the almost empirical methodology he used to create his work. Irwin's interdisciplinary approach to art confirmed and extended everything that I've been thinking about for the last couple of years. He helps push the artist away from thinking about paint and towards just plain thinking.
The first two sections of the book are amazing, but I found the third section of the book to be a bit tedious. The problem I find with most art historians is that they try to distill or make broad generalizations about what the artist was *trying* to do. The first two sections stayed away from this and mostly stuck to documentation, interviews, etc. leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions. The third section however begins to try and sum up Irwin's contributions which is a horrible mistake. In much the same way that you have to see Irwin's work to grasp an inkling of what is going on, you can't rely on someone else's interpretation of Irwin's life's work. They will inevitably fall far short.
You don't need to know anything of Irwin's work to appreciate this book. Irwin is truly one of the great thinkers of contemporary art. His ideas are what grab you.
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