Amazon.com: Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940-1976 (Jewish Museum): Maurice Berger, Norman L. Kleeblatt, Debra Bricker Balken, Caroline A. Jones, Irving Sandler, Charlotte Eyerman, Douglas Dreishpoon, Morris Dickstein, Mark Godfrey: Books

Review
"Thorough and scholarly. . . . Presents a balanced account of the art, the artists, the critics and the issues."-Richard Kalina, Art in America (Richard Kalina Art in America 20081001)

"Of particular interest is Balken''s essay on Rosenberg, which relies on new archival research to give a more robust understanding of this powerful yet often misunderstood critic. . . . Recommended."-Choice (Choice )

Product Description

The abstract paintings of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, Lee Krasner, Clyfford Still, Helen Frankenthaler, and others revolutionized the art world in the 1940s and 1950s and continue to inspire passionate arguments to this day. What were these artists trying to achieve? Who were the critical voices of the time that rallied public interest in Abstract Expressionism and sparked rancorous debate?

Drawing on recent critical, historical, and biographical work, this lavishly illustrated book offers a sharp new focus on a pivotal art movement. It also presents an extensive commentary on the two most influential critics of postwar American art—Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg—whose powerful views shaped perceptions of Abstract Expressionism and other contemporary art movements. In one essay, Norman L. Kleeblatt traces the influence of Abstract Expressionism into the mid-1970s and examines its connection to subsequent art styles. Other essays range from the literary and intellectual culture of New York during that period and an analysis of sculpture and representation to a discussion of Jewish issues in relation to postwar American Art. In addition, the book features a magisterial essay by eminent critic Irving Sandler and a copiously illustrated cultural timeline by Maurice Berger.

(20080901)

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Product Details

Hardcover: 344 pages
Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (May 30, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0300122152
ISBN-13: 978-0300122152
Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10.3 x 1.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 5.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #499,201 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in these categories: (What's this?)
#8 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( D-F ) > De Kooning, Willem
#30 in Books > Arts & Photography > Schools, Periods & Styles > Abstract Expressionism

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	86% buy the item featured on this page: Action/Abstraction: Pollock, de Kooning, and American Art, 1940-1976 (Jewish Museum) 4.0 out of 5 stars (3) $40.95
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Clement Greenberg or Harold Rosenberg? , May 29, 2008

By	Claude Reich (Florianopolis, Brazil and Paris, France) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This is a magnificent artbook enriched by breakthrough studies on the most important movement in post-war American art, namely Abstract Expressionism (and its offshoots like color-field painting). Based on the intellectual rivalry between the two most famous critics of the period, Clement Greenberg (the advocate of abstraction, who insisted on the importance of the work of art versus the creative process, abstract art being the only valid modern form of art) and Harold Rosenberg (who coined the expression "action painting" in a 1952 article in Artnews and to whom what counted was the act of creating, more than the end product) it enables the reader to discover some of the most canonical works of the movement, by De Kooning, Pollock, Newman and many others, lavishly illustrated.

The book accompanies an exhibition held at the Jewish Museum in NYC (which will later go to St Louis) and is a trove of information and documents on the roots, the influences, the governing ideas, the artists' personalities and their reactions to the various opinions stated by Greenberg and Rosenberg on their art but also on the state of contemporary culture.

The reproductions of facsimile of letters are especially interesting, such as the ones Clyfford Still sent to Harold Rosenberg, first urging him to get into art criticism and then condemning him for doing so ("I am deeply disappointed" he ends up writing).

A landmark exhibition enlightened by this rich catalogue (a highlight is Irving Sandler's article on the convergences and divergences between Greenberg and Rosenberg)which I strongly recommend.

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2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't catch the exhibit?, October 16, 2008

By	Readart (New Haven) - See all my reviews

Action/Abstraction was an incredible exhibit. It covered a familiar time period and well-known artists, but from a wonderfully new perspective. If you are interested in the history of art history, I highly suggest spending some time reviewing this catalog.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Not What I Was Expecting, April 16, 2009

By	M. P. Brady - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are very few works by Pollock or De Kooning in this book.The majority of illustrations and artists here are have nothing to "action painting". This book is more broad than that.Works of Expressionism,Popart,minimalism,and modern sculpture are all explored.

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