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Air Guitar: Essays on Art & Democracy Paperback – August 2, 1997

by Dave Hickey (Contributor)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 186 ratings
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The 23 essays (or "love songs") that make up the now classic volume Air Guitar trawl a "vast, invisible underground empire" of pleasure, through record stores, honky-tonks, art galleries, jazz clubs, cocktail lounges, surf shops and hot-rod stores, as restlessly on the move as the America they depict. Air Guitar pioneered a kind of plain-talking in cultural criticism, willingly subjective and always candid and direct. A valuable reading tool for art lovers, neophytes, students and teachers alike, Hickey's book--now in its eighth printing--has galvanized a generation of art lovers, with new takes on Norman Rockwell, Robert Mapplethorpe, Stan Brakhage, Andy Warhol and Perry Mason. In June 2009, Newsweek voted Air Guitar one of the top 50 books that "open a window on the times we live in, whether they deal directly with the issues of today or simply help us see ourselves in new and surprising ways," and described the book as "a seamless blend of criticism, personal history, and a deep appreciation for the sheer nuttiness of American life."

Dave Hickey (born 1939) is one of today's most revered and widely read art writers. He has written for Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum and Vanity Fair among many others.
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  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Art Issues Press
  4. Publication date
    August 2, 1997
  5. Dimensions
    6.01 x 0.68 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0963726455
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0963726452
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Dave Hickey's twenty-three "love songs," which make up Air Guitar, fly off the page to offer the reader a vista beyond the wasteland. In Hickey's "vast, invisible underground empire" of pleasure--record stores, honky-tonks, hot-rod shops, art galleries, jazz clubs, cocktail lounges, surf shops and the like--joy abounds and truth speaks. -- The Nation, Margaret Juhae Lee

Finally obliged to theorize his impolite tastes, judgments and ideas, Hickey lays his prejudices a little barer than altogether becomes them. Even caught in that old trap, however, he's as good as it gets, starting with his prose. Although his diction is often highfalutin (he was doing a doctoral thesis about Foucault and Derrida way back in 1967), his rhythms aren't, and he's more than fluent in colloquial English--I mean, the guy can flat-out write. -- Los Angeles Times Sunday Book Review, Robert Christgau

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Art Issues Press; First Edition (August 2, 1997)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0963726455
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0963726452
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.01 x 0.68 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 186 ratings

About the author

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Dave Hickey

Dave Hickey

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Dave Hickey (1938-2021), a MacArthur Foundation "genius," was one of the preeminent arts writers of modern times. In the 1960s, he founded the formative art gallery A Clean Well-Lighted Place in Austin. In the 1970s, he was Executive Editor of Art in America in New York. He was Booker for the Dripping Springs Reunion and Staff Songwriter for Glaser Publications in Nashville. He wrote music under the moniker Dave’s Everyday Songs, including “Cooky and Lila,” performed by Dr. Cook, and “Calgary Snow,” performed by Bobby Bare. Hickey was instrumental in defining Outlaw country music, and he is said to have coined the terminology. In the 1980s, Hickey was named Arts Editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Writing from his new hometown of Las Vegas, Hickey published The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty in 1993. Revered by artists and reviled by art critics, he became well-known as the "beauty guy" in the popular press. Hickey received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for Distinction in Art Criticism and the Peabody Award for Public Journalism. He served as Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and later, the University of New Mexico. Among exhibitions he organized are South Texas Sweet Funk, Ultralounge, Beau Monde, and Las Vegas Diaspora. His books include Prior Convictions, The Invisible Dragon, Air Guitar, Stardumb, Pirates and Farmers, 25 Women, and Perfect Wave. An album of his music, Life As We Know It, is being released posthumously.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
186 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book enjoyable and delightful. They appreciate the insightful essays, depth of the book, and humor. The writing quality is described as crisp and engaging. Readers praise the art as stunning and edgey.

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ReadabilityInsightHumorWriting qualityArt quality
18 customers mention "Readability"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable and engaging. They describe the author as one of the best writers alive today. The content is fantastic and well-done. Readers recommend it as an exciting and eye-opening read.

"...Utterly delightful. I drove my wife crazy raving about it, now I have to get her a copy, since mine is all marked up with exclamation points." Read more

"...Don't let this minor problem stand in your way. This is an exciting and eye opening book, and I highly recommend it." Read more

"...The writing is pretty crisp and engaging. Hickey uses all sorts of literary devices to get his points across- some with more success than others...." Read more

"This is a great read, especially if you're interested in art and it's processes and society's perceptions. Very interesting essays." Read more

15 customers mention "Insight"15 positive0 negative

Customers find the book insightful and engaging. They appreciate the clever and thoughtful writing on a variety of topics. The book is described as an eye-opening read that blends intellectualism with curiosity and everyday wonder. Readers enjoy the collection of critical essays on various American popular media from the back half of the 20th century.

"There is a lot of depth to this book, which addresses art and and its interface with the world. This is not an academic tome. Far from it...." Read more

"...Very interesting essays." Read more

"Dave Hickey's essays are very insightful and entertaining." Read more

"...who came up anytime between the 60's and the late 80's, the topics will likely resonate, and the eulogies for celebrity figures will inspire fond..." Read more

8 customers mention "Humor"8 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find the views humorous and engaging, especially the essay on Liberace. The author's commentary is thought-provoking while entertaining.

"...It is wonderful, intoxicating, and hilarious...." Read more

"Dave Hickey's essays are very insightful and entertaining." Read more

"...=grin= Hickey is also a great deal of fun to read. I consumed these essays like a box of chocolates." Read more

"...The writing, the insights, the humor are incomparable...." Read more

5 customers mention "Writing quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality. They find the writing crisp and engaging. The author is described as an outstanding critic and writer.

"...In Hickey's hands, it's much more lively. The writing is pretty crisp and engaging...." Read more

"A book I've given to many people over the years. The writing, the insights, the humor are incomparable...." Read more

"I am biased. I know this person. He is one of the best writers alive today. Don't take my word for it.....read other reviews." Read more

"Beautiful writing, but content is scattershot and disorganized..." Read more

4 customers mention "Art quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the art quality. They find it stunning and edgey.

"...The basic "marketplace" angle he takes on the quality of art is pretty edgey...." Read more

"Great read! Love Hickey's style. Might buy it for friends who are not even interested in art much but would love his prose and style." Read more

"Stunning...." Read more

"art and more..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • James O'Reilly
    5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book I Read All Year
    Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2003
    Verified Purchase
    A chain of family and friends recommended this book to me--first my niece, then a younger brother, then an older brother, an age range of more than 25 years. I'd like to have a box of the books by my front door so I could give one to everyone who comes and goes, including the Fedex man, the mailman, friends and door-to-door salesmen. It is wonderful, intoxicating, and hilarious. Sometimes too wordy, but when it is, it is a little like Moe slapping Curly and then poking him in the eyes. Hickey always brings you back to earth after zooming around the clouds. The book should be required reading for academics and artists alike--you'll never think about what you do in the same way after reading this book, which in some ways might be characterized as a love song to life. Utterly delightful. I drove my wife crazy raving about it, now I have to get her a copy, since mine is all marked up with exclamation points.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic
    Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    There is a lot of depth to this book, which addresses art and and its interface with the world. This is not an academic tome. Far from it. Dave Hickey draws the connections between art/music and Las Vegas, basketball, Hank Williams, and on. There is a minor defect with the kindle edition, in that the book does not display on my tablet/phone when set to the black background/white type. Don't let this minor problem stand in your way. This is an exciting and eye opening book, and I highly recommend it.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Michael A. Oleary
    5.0 out of 5 stars Solid, Fun Criticism- A Rarity
    Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2007
    Verified Purchase
    For the most part, art critism is pretty dry, boring stuff. In Hickey's hands, it's much more lively. The writing is pretty crisp and engaging. Hickey uses all sorts of literary devices to get his points across- some with more success than others. Overall, it's the kind of book you enjoy to read. Rare in this genre.

    The basic "marketplace" angle he takes on the quality of art is pretty edgey. The art world is pretty dominated by those with intense socialist leanings, so his point of view is a nice contrast. He manages to inform us without being too snotty about it.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • t ellerbrock
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2012
    Verified Purchase
    This is a great read, especially if you're interested in art and it's processes and society's perceptions. Very interesting essays.
    Helpful
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  • Ross R.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    Dave Hickey's essays are very insightful and entertaining.
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  • The Big Picture
    5.0 out of 5 stars A monumental book about criticism
    Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Dave Hickey writes with a cool ease of well, a guy playing air guitar, though the clever title is revealed in the read related to his thoughts on what criticism truly is. On this journey with him, you'll learn about interesting characters from a roadside America and beyond, not unlike a modern day "On The Road". A strong recommend for critical thinking man or woman who like the challenge of redefinitions and new concepts on age old creative and psychological forms. Buy this book and thank me later.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Ryan
    3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful writing, but content is scattershot and disorganized
    Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    This is a collection of critical essays on various American popular media from the back half of the 20th century. For those who came up anytime between the 60's and the late 80's, the topics will likely resonate, and the eulogies for celebrity figures will inspire fond nostalgia. Hickey has a clever insight for every topic under the sun, no matter how mundane it may seem; he exposes the subtle ideologies that we take for granted in familiar stories and songs.

    I am a little bit skeptical of the theme; "Art and Democracy" is far too broad a topic, and the seemingly random pop culture grab-bag represented here lacks unity. Air Guitar has some fantastic content, but as a collection, it never justifies its own necessity. Still, it has its worth as a course on how to write fluid, optimistic criticism (certainly absent from today's polemical internet media); or, simply, as an expertly-rendered nostalgia trip.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Fiona Webster
    5.0 out of 5 stars a box of chocolates for those of us who like pop cultural criticism
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013
    Verified Purchase
    If you are even the least bit interested in criticism that takes as its subject the pop culture of America—especially music and art, but also such things as television, basketball, and Las Vegas—you owe it to yourself to read this book. Dave Hickey is our Roland Barthes: he's not like a Left Bank philosopher, but rather he's a steely-eyed fearless observer and analyst who agrees with Oscar Wilde's famous statement that art is useless. And long live our various forms of popular art, in their utter uselessness! =grin=

    Hickey is also a great deal of fun to read. I consumed these essays like a box of chocolates.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • pa.D
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 25, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent!
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  • Jan Hamilton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent, thanks :-)
    Report
  • Helen Bown
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good but Not the Book for Me.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I started doing the art assignment on YouTube so read this book as part of it.

    I don’t think I’m creative enough to appreciate it.

    I think maybe I grew up in a slightly different age also in the UK not the US which might be another barrier to me truly enjoying the book.

    I like the idea of snapshots throughout his life but I just can’t see the bigger picture. Maybe there is no bigger picture. Perhaps it is just a memoir of different creative outlets.

    I did spot one theme that it doesn’t matter what status you have in life we can all enjoy and create art .. maybe we don’t need the labels society gives.

    Two moments stand out in the book for me , a musical get together at his father’s friends as a child showing how art can bring people together and I seem to remember somewhere a chapter with the message that sometimes art can say things that words (all be it an art form themselves) simply cannot articulate.

    I think for the right reader this would be a great book unfortunately that reader isn’t me.
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  • Roz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 17, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Great!!
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