pressPLAY: Contemporary Artists in Conversation (Themes) [Turtleback]

Editors of Phaidon Press (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005 | Series: Themes

A personal encounter with 50 of the world's most significant contemporary artists, "pressPlay" draws together the full texts of the complete Phaidon interviews with living artists, 1995-2005, originally appearing in "Phaidon's Contemporary Artists" series and "Robert Mangold" monograph. Highlights include veteran painter Vija Celmins and noted sculptor Robert Gober (who represented the US at the 2001 Venice Biennale) in an intimate discussion on their differing art practices; longtime friends and fellow travellers for decades, Benjamin Buchloh and Lawrence Weiner recall 35 years of work, in the definitive, career-long interview for this key Conceptual artist; the late Sir Ernst Gombrich honoured the "Contemporary Artists" series in a discussion with the UK's pre-eminent sculptor Antony Gormley - who confesses that it was Gombrich' "Story of Art" that first inspired him to become an artist; the taciturn, legendary Raymond Pettibon muses on the evolution of his work with noted hip novelist Dennis Cooper; musician artist Christian Marclay is interviewed by Sonic Youth rockstar Kim Gordon. From highly established artists Louise Bourgeois and Alex Katz, to midcareer masters Richard Prince, Mike Kelley, Fischli and Weiss, Jenny Holzer, and Raymond Pettibon, to the most exciting artists of the current generation, including Maurizio Cattelan, Olafur Eliasson and Pipilotti Rist, pressPlay is a highly readable, comprehensive look at contemporary art today.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

50 key art thinkers, including: Benjamin Buchloh (Columbia University, New York); Bice Curiger (Parkett, Zurich, and Tate etc., London); Douglas Crimp (University of Rochester, New York); Donna De Salvo (the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York); Alison Gingeras (Centre George Pompidou, Paris); Isabelle Graw (Texte zur Kunste, Cologne); Molly Nesbit (Barnard College, New York) Amanda Sharp (frieze, London); Nancy Spector (Guggenheim Museum, New York), Robert Storr (New York University, formerly the Museum of Modern Art, New York); as well as one the 20th century's greatest art historians, the late Sir Ernst Gombrich.

Product Details

• Turtleback: 716 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0714845337
• ISBN-13: 978-0714845333
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #759,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books for artist interviews, January 10, 2008

By 

Paul Sutinen (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: pressPLAY: Contemporary Artists in Conversation (Themes) (Turtleback)

This book gives great insight into how contemporary artists really think about their work. It will be a required text in the university art studio class that I teach. This is not a book for information on the "how to" of art, but rather about the "why to". The careful reader will learn much about the motivations of contemporary artists, and the attitudes that allow them to pursue directions that range from straightforward painting (e.g. Katz, Mangold) to political (e.g. Kabakov, Simpson) to the unartful-looking (e.g. McCarthy, Kelley) to conceptual (e.g. Weiner). However, this will not be an easy read if you are not already familiar with the work of these artists. I'm suggesting to my students that they look at online resources to provide greater context for the interviews (but there are two color plates for each artist).

2.0 out of 5 stars Great for artists.....as long as you're not a painter or printmaker, December 15, 2010

By 

Intelly - See all my reviews

This review is from: pressPLAY: Contemporary Artists in Conversation (Themes) (Turtleback)

We read this book for one of my graduate level classes. Out of the dozens of interviews, there are only TWO painters. NO printmakers. The book consists of roughly 70% installation/video artists, 20% Performance artists, and 5% of painters, photographers, and non-installation style sculptors.

Some of the interviews were very funny and down to earth, but most of them were incredibly pretentious.

Basically, if you're into conceptual style installation art, this book is great, otherwise, skip it.

5.0 out of 5 stars must read, July 19, 2010

By 

Alison Starr (Dallas, TX United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: pressPLAY: Contemporary Artists in Conversation (Themes) (Turtleback)

Anyone interested in modern and contemporary art will do well to read this book. It is very straight forward and an easy read. The artists in this text are helpful examples of those whose work has greatly influenced today's contemporary art. A great art resource.