Barry Mcgee [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Patrizio Bertelli (Author), Germano Celant (Editor), Miuccia Prada (Editor), Barry McGee (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A graffiti artist and tagger by nature, Barry McGee has in the last few years taken a stealth, guerilla art form, one that is typically the subject of complaint, arrest, and general unappreciation, and transformed it into a well-received medium for display in museum and commercial gallery spaces. His drawings, paintings, and mixed-media installations take their inspiration from contemporary urban culture, incorporating elements such as empty liquor bottles and spray-paint cans, tagged signs, wrenches, and scrap wood or metal into overwhelming, space-transforming interior worlds. Though McGee views graffiti as a vital method of communication, one that keeps him in touch with a larger, more diverse audience than can be reached through the traditional spaces of galleries or museums, he makes fine use of traditional exhibition spaces, using them not only to communicate a subcultural point of view to gallery goers but also to point out ways in which space can be reclaimed. Barry McGee brings together the artist's graffiti work, paintings, installations, and photography, and is published on the occasion of his exhibition at the Fondazione Prada, in Italy. Included is an interview with McGee by Germano Celant, senior curator of contemporary art at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York. Compelling art to me is a name carved into a tree. Sometimes a rock soaring through a plate of glass can be the most beautiful, compelling work of art I have ever seen. --Barry McGee

Interview by Germano Celant.
Forword by Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli.

Paperback, 6 x 9 in., 320 pages, 300 color illustrations

About the Author
Born in San Francisco in 1966, Barry McGee took the tag name "Twist" when he started drawing in the streets in the mid-80s. Some of the more conventional locations where his work has been exhibited include the 2001 Venice Biennale; the Drawing Center, New York; the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Fondazione Prada; illustrated edition edition (December 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8887029210
• ISBN-13: 978-8887029215
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,135,283 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars this works, May 30, 2004

By	dexterfeng (chicago) - See all my reviews

Yes this is the heaviest book of mcgee's thus far. weight wise, content wise. At least image wise that is. Beautiful, excessive, kinda small in size like a big fat sketch book. This might lend itself to the distacted variable ethos of the street, where the work has a short shelf life and an even shorter period in which to engage the viewer.
Yes, you should probably own this book, if you like McGee's work. With the scattershot approach and the distracted view already available prevalent and so expected in viewing public graff the scrap book approach and the cropped close quarters feel of this book might actually lend itself towards digesting the work and help the viewer gain a window necessary to digesting work of this nature with its variable perspective approach.
For the written content; the meat and potatoes is still in the "Regards" exhibition booklet from the Walker Art Center Exhibition. This is where Barry comes alive and speaks from the heart.
The Fondazione Prada book comes across more so as a sketch book and an extensive one at that.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars UNTOUCHABLE BOOK, August 13, 2004

By	wEt pAinT 976 - See all my reviews

BY A MILE the best book to date that show cases Barry Mcgee's work. The book is SUPER thick, Pictures are in color, quality of the pictures is incredible. Barry Mcgee raises the bar when it comes to putting out a book. The book is worth every penny. I liked it so much I bought 2, one for me, and one for my girlfriend. CANT GO WRONG WITH THIS BOOK!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, best source for McGee art Career...., February 2, 2004

By A Customer

This is a great Book. I find it to be THE book to have concerning Barry McGee's art career thus far. I have seen all of his other catalogs and this one is by far the most complete. Barry McGee has one other catalog entitled Hoss from a show in 1999, this is a small catalog, but there is an interview that is more truthful than the one in this publication. All in all I would say that this is a great Book, highly recommended!!