Contemporary Women Artists examines the lives and works of over 350 of "the world's most prominent and influential" contemporary women artists. Entries often begin with a photo of the artist, then offer condensed facts about her birth, schooling, lifestyle, art career, and awards. Lists of solo shows and publications provide especially useful guideposts to the careers. When available, a short artist's statement concludes the introductory material, and an up-to-date, critical assessment concludes every entry. The husband-and-wife coeditors, who have put together encyclopedias on numerous subjects, have guided their 110 contributors well in providing judicious and restrained commentary. How they went about selecting artists for inclusion is more problematicAno real explanation is provided, and parameters seem hard to define. Should "contemporary" be taken to mean 20th century, post-World War II, or post-1960? As the preponderance of entries are truly contemporary, why are Georgia O'Keeffe and Mary Cassatt included? In any case, this is a wonderful, stimulating, and surprisingly well-written volume. Highly recommended for the reference collections as an adjunct to the Dictionary of Women Artist (LJ 12/97), an LJ best-reference source covering women born before 1950. Henkes's much narrower book is visually arrestingAthe artworks are insightful, poignant, striking, and original. He discusses 33 meritorious Hispanic/ Chicana artists, from Juana Alicia to Bernadette Vigil (none of whom are to be found in Contemporary Women Artists). Henkes is experienced in art commentary, having produced at least five other reference titles on American art and artists in the last nine years, yet his style remains halting and unpolished. His preference for sacred art leads to writing that sometimes sounds more like homilies in Christian Dogma than objective art criticism, and he detects the sacred at least as an undercurrent in perhaps too many examples, even when the artist works with modernist abstractions. Still, art collections with a special interest in Hispanic or women's studies will appreciate this unique reference.AMary Hamel-Schwulst, Towson Univ., MD
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
This volume covers two underrepresented areas in art history, women's and Latin American art. A brief preface sets the stage for the artists. Henkes, a retired professor of art, discusses the sacred aspects of Latin American art, noting that the Roman Catholic environment is "a strong stimulus for the creative process." He also notes the confessional aspect of Latino art and the importance of murals.
Entries are alphabetically arranged, from San Francisco muralist Juana Alicia to Santa Fe painter Bernadette Vigil, who studied under Diego Rivera. Others include sculptor Leonora Arye, printmaker Maritza Davila, and installation artist Patricia Rodriguez. All the women artists lived or worked in the U.S. at one time. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs, each entry explores the artist's work in a three-or four-page essay, followed by a section called "Career Highlights," which lists educational background, selected exhibitions, and collections where works can be found. Emphasis is on works rather than lives; some entries don't even supply date of birth. Much of the information appears to have been gathered through communication between Henkes and the artists. The middle section of the book contains a selection of colored plates.
The editor's goal is to expose Latin American women of the U.S. to a national audience. The selections are well-written and illustrated. They capture the essence of the artist's work while giving important factual information. In addition, the bibliography and index are good resources for art history students, artists, and the general public. Recommended for high-school, public, and academic libraries as a supplement to titles such as Dictionary of Women Artists [RBB F 15 98] and North American Women Artists of the Twentieth Century [RBB O 15 95], which include few if any of these women.
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