Wolfgang Laib: A Retrospective [Hardcover]

Harald Szeemann (Author), Margit Rowell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2, 2000

Artwork by Wolfgang Laib. Edited by Klaus Ottman. Text by Harald Szeemann, Margit Rowell.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Laib's often unusual choice of media milk, bee pollen, beeswax make for works of art best appreciated in person rather than reproduced on paper (even when seen in the large, full-color, full-page illustrations shown here). Still, independent curator Ottmann gives a good overview of the artist's career and the thinking behind the sometimes enigmatic works. The catalog accompanies a retrospective traveling from Washington, DC, to Seattle, Dallas, Scottsdale, AZ, and San Diego. Also included in the catalog are two essays, an extensive interview with the artist, and a full bibliography. Recommended for larger collections of contemporary art. Martin R. Kalfatovic, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Hatje Cantz Publishers; Bilingual edition (October 2, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 3775709452
• ISBN-13: 978-3775709453
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 11.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #188,509 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Conceptual

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book on laib so far, January 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wolfgang Laib: A Retrospective (Hardcover)

This is the best of the numerous books that have come out on Wolfgang Laib in the last fifteen years. The essays are good, especially the one by Margit Rowell which places Laib in a historical perspective that doesn't only rely on the standard references of eastern thought. The book also contains a good timeline with pictures of things that have influenced Laib as well as images from previous shows. Many of the pieces and photographs have appeared in other publications but this is probably the most comprehensive. A marvelous artist who doesn't jibe with the times but whose vision is an antidote for much that is wrong in the art world.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Milkstones, Pollen Fields and Wax Chambers ..., February 1, 2006

By 

FrizzText "frizz" (Wuppertal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolfgang Laib: A Retrospective (Hardcover)

Milkstones and pollen fields, houses and ships, wax chambers and staircases - Wolfgang Laib goes back to the archaic roots of religious feelings with perseverance.

He is crossing the frontiers of time and country, of religion and philosophy - and he is a pathfinder of the bridges between each other.

You can find the symbol of the ship (the river "Styx") in many cultures, also the staircase monuments, trying to reach the sky (Jacob's ladders or pyramides) - no matter if it is an Indian, Egyptian or South American sky.

Ritual performances like pouring out something wet like water or milk or pollen (pollen, collected in small pouches, is used by North American Navajos) is often a part of diverse lifestyles. You have to wash, if you enter a moshee, you will use water, if you enter a Roman Catholic church. With milk everyone starts his life.

If we enter a "beeswax house sculpture" of Wolfgang Laib, we have something to smell, our sense of hearing is lessened and our skin is stimulated.

Margit Rowell, former chief curator at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, did the right thing, supporting this German artist, a mixture of Andy Goldsworthy and Joseph Beuys, Christo or Moore, trying to create visual basic subjects, helping us to contact our inner life.