No comments about Nevelson's World.

No comments about Louise Nevelson: Prints And Drawings 1953-1966.

No comments about Breaking Tradition: The Story of Louise Nevelson.

No comments about Dawns and Dusks: Taped Conversations With Diana MacKown.

No comments about Abstraction: The Amerindian Paradigm.

1 comments about Louise Nevelson (American Women of Achievement).

1. Louise Nevelson was a complicated, extraordinairy woman. She was an artist who was passionate, complicated, brilliant, and eccentric to say the least about her existence. The authors write about her life with conservatively. They talk lightly about her marriage and her role of motherhood. They leave out the passionate affairs and romances. They write and display wonderful photos of her art. The publishing house should revise and republish this book with additional information such as her being placed on a book with stamps with homage to her sculpture. She was stated as saying "My art is delicate. I put my whole life into it." The book is suitable for young art readers. I recommend another book regarding her personal and professional life as one of the world and country's greatest leading artists.

No comments about Nevelson: Wood Sculptures, An Exhibition Organized by Walker Art Center,.

No comments about Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer's Journey with Frank Lloyd Wright, Alexander Calder, and Louise Nevelson.

5 comments about Louise Nevelson: A Passionate Life.

1. Not the book to read if you are looking for a critical analysis of Nevelson's art, this biography, while interesting, also fails to make any serious analysis of the connections between her work & her art. I don't know how you can discuss an artist's life apart from her art.



2. Louise Nevelson really is one of the great American stories; she came to this country penniless and torn from her country and roots, without identity. she struggled to find exactly who she was and what her art meant to her, often to the detriment of her relationships and far outside the norm of the social expectations of the time. an extremely thorough and well-researched book (the author extensively interviewed the artist herself) that's not always flattering to Nevelson. the author does explore her tendencies toward neurosis, guilt and depression, though always bringing back into context with the development of her artistic vision. the definitive biography of Nevelson, in my opinion.



3. While this is a very good attempt to understand Louise Nevelson's legacy and while this is one of the most in-depth biographical studies done on her, the author fails to devote more time to Louise Nevelson, the woman, and not The Louise Nevelson, the American icon. The result, unfortunately, is a one-dimensional case study of a truly unique artist. I already know most of about Louise's artistry and, in fact, just about anyone can find information of such anywhere, at any time. What one does not find that easily is the woman who up until the last days of her life, felt an inordinate guilt for having been a bad mother, an alcoholic, and a very difficult person to live with on a daily basis. From my own conclusions, I feel that Louise left behind a truly disfunctional family-- from her one and only son, Mike Nevelson-- down to her granddaughters and great-granddaughters, mainly her elder granddaughter, Neith Nevelson, another American artist whose marginalization from her rightful place as another unique American artist simply because, as the saying goes, no kin of Louise's can be as good or as great as Louise herself. Overall I recommend this book, I just wish that in order to reassess an artist's legacy, biographers don't fall for the habit of glossing over crucial, key elements in a person's development even if those people are those whom we consider as "great".



4. An interesting read, but rather disappointing in that there are absolutely no pictures of the artist or her work (besides the one portrait of the artist on the front cover.)



5. Louise Nevelson was more than an artist, she was pure genius who entire existence was based on art. The author does write about her life in anti-Semitic Russia or Soviet Union where her family lived in shtetls before immigrating to Rockland, Maine where she was raised with her brother and sisters. Her father had left the family prior to their immigration which left a hole in Louise's life. Her birthdate is still argumentative and uncertain because of the calendar. She was raised in Orthodox Jewish household where her father and mother had separate bedrooms after her mother gave birth to her younger sister. They were not welcome and seen as outsiders in Protestant Rockland Maine. Louise never felt as if she belonged except when she was in the art classroom at school. She was never an honors student. She married Nevelson and moved to New York City which would become her ultimate destiny and home. She was never planning to be a mother but had one son, Myron, better known as Mike. In this book, there is a lot about their relationship and the estrangement that his mother had placed him in the care of loving relatives in Maine while she traveled Europe before World War II where the Nazi Germany was already setting up the annihilation of six million Jews. While she spoke Yiddish, Louise was not religious or she was not observant as an Orthodox Jew. She was passionate about her art and studying art. She worked tirelessly day and night. She had quite few relationships with men but her most stable was with a woman, neighbor, and confidante, Diane McKeown. Mike probably resented Diane because she was closer to his mother than he was in life. Mike became an artist too and lived in Fairfield, Connecticut if he is still alive. Louise never wanted to be a mother or a wife. She wanted to dedicate her life to her art. There is some interesting relationships like the one between Louise and Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera. Her sexual orientation remains ambigious. Her art remains unsurpassed to this day. I remember seeing Louise for the first time when they issued stamps in her honor. She has a street in New York City where she lived and breathed her art. She was a great experimenter. She also received the National Medal of the Arts before her death. She was cremated which is forbidden in the Jewish faith. I hope to see more of her art some day. I won't forget to stop by 29 Spring Street. Even her appearance was artistic, she was tall and attractive with brown eyes and hats and scarves over her head. She made an entrance at every occasion. There is nobody quite like her and nobody close to take her place. She was cremated and ashes remain with her son, Myron "Mike" Nevelson probably at his home in Fairfield, Connecticut.

5 comments about The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend (Jewish Museum of New York).

1. Just when I was interested in learning more about Louise Nevelson this very fine book appears in publication. The quality photographs show all facets of her career and the writings reflect in-depth scholarship. Some more detail views of the sculptures would have been nice also, like those on the front and back cover. This fresh and thorough book is the kind that gives great artists the continuing attention they deserve. Like her contemporary Georgia O'Keeffe, Nevelson was a truly unique American woman artist.



2. The review from "Publishers Weekly" is not just hype but rather an excellent summation of this gem. Though another reviewer wished for more close-ups of Nevelson's sculptures, I was pleased with their number and really don't think more would have added much. I was also pleasantly surprised to find good coverage of Nevelson's etchings and metal sculptures. And it is always an added bonus when the text is well-written and insightful. All in all, THE SCULPTURE OF LOUISE NEVELSON: CONSTRUCTING A LEGEND is a must-have book for those interested in both the person and her oevre.



3. An excellent book on an extrordinary artist. There are not many books available on Louise Nevelson so this one is the most important. It has extensive examples of her work over her whole career. It is beautifully printed and finely bound.



4. Nevelson's work, as I had seen it in books and other photos, never really impressed me. Then I saw a show of her work, for which this book is catalog - what a difference.
   
   Size matters - I knew that intellectually, but standing in front of these imposing works creates a subjective experience that no photo can capture. Walking around them changes perspective, too, giving a sense like one of those Zen gardens where no point of view presents all of the work's features. Then, at least in the "black" works, there's an odd paradox. If the works had been perfectly, 100% black and non-reflective, then there would have been nothing to see. Only the fact that they're not truly black exposes their mystery.
   
   The static museum display, even more than the book's photos, left me knowing that I had missed at least two aspects of these majestic works. First, their depth and structure only half-defines the shadows deep inside these works. The other half of the shadow's definition comes from the light - a constant in the museum gallery, freezing the shadows like insects in amber, whereas natural lighting would change throughout the day and let the shifting shadows come to life. Second, some of the installations seemed incomplete. Oh, the pieces of Dawn's Wedding Chapel were all there and presented well, but I felt that there must have been some original placement of the pieces that would define the interior of the chapel - the pieces' placement in the display that I saw lacked the consistent logic that I expected of Nevelson.
   
   More than just a catalog of the Nevelson show, this book provides insight into her origins, life, and career. Almost as much as Salvador Dali, Nevelson might well have been Nevelson's greatest creation - once success allowed it, her extravagant clothes, mask-like makeup, and signature scarf on her head worked together to create a unique persona. Beneath that, we still see the remarkable person and her groundbreaking work.
   
   -- wiredweird



5. A wonderful collection. Full, beautifully presented, with interesting narrative incorporating Nevelson's personal history with that of her creations. Prints - some color as well as black and white - are lusciously entwined with the essays.
   A MUST HAVE volume for all art lovers.