This week: the first major biography of the film director, screenwriter, artist, and photographer Agnès Varda, a look at 50 years of feminist art, and more.
If you’re reading this, you survived the first week of the fall art frenzy. And what better way to get back into the swing of things than to curl up with a jargon-free art book, a unicorn if there ever was one? The first English-language biography of Agnès Varda is a captivating place to start, with author Carrie Rickey taking what Sophie Monks Kaufman calls a “scrupulous and affectionate” approach to understanding the late filmmaker’s life and work.
We also take a magnifying glass to gaps in history, including Nageen Shaikh’s reviews of one book that dispels whitewashed narratives about Meiji-era Japanese art and another that humanizes a Renaissance-era polymath. Meanwhile, Bridget Quinn complicates narratives surrounding women artists in an analysis of Mothers of Invention, which sidelines women of color in its attempt to trace the feminist roots of artistic movements and styles.
There’s more food for the imagination below, and let us know what’s on your autumn reading list by replying to this email! — Lakshmi Rivera Amin, Associate Editor | |
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| | | The first major biography of the film director, screenwriter, artist, and photographer is scrupulous and affectionate. | Sophie Monks Kaufman |
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| | Rosina Buckland’s book dispels the whitewashed argument that Meiji-era art resulted from foreign influences that watered down local forms. | Nageen Shaikh |
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| | Mothers of Invention tells the story of how the movements, media, and styles of the past 50 years were inspired by feminism — through mostly White artists. | Bridget Quinn |
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| | A new book on Andreas Vesalius humanizes the 16th-century scientist by focusing on his creative approaches and small frustrations. | Nageen Shaikh |
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SPONSORED | | | | A beautifully illustrated and designed book of the important Pop artist’s previously unpublished working studies. Learn more |
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FROM THE ARCHIVE | | | | Ellie Irons explains how she mindfully harvests plants and transforms them into paints, a labor of love detailed in her how-to guide Feral Hues. | Lakshmi Rivera Amin |
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You’re currently a free subscriber to Hyperallergic. To support our independent arts journalism, please consider joining us as a paid member. | | Become a Member |
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