Description
Book SynopsisTells the story of how a high school art teacher transformed himself into an artist of international stature and ambition. This title shows how Robert Arneson's work articulated the crisis of narcissism that has defined American culture since 1970.
Trade Review"[An] illuminating study... Arneson drew continually from his personal reservoir of untamed comedy to create works that resolutely crude." ARTnews "A long-awaited and in-depth monograph of the life and work of Robert Arneson, an artist who has infused the alchemy of clay with the funk aesthetic of everyday objects and self-portraiture, in ways that elevate their sustaining power through his insightful social and political observations." Ten Best Art Books of 2013. The Brooklyn Rail "Distinguished art historian and critic Jonathan Fineberg excels at chronicling the psychosocial intersection between contemporary art and artists, and the evolving fabric of American values." THE magazine "Artist relishing his role as troublemaker: The piece had to go, it was explained to Arneson, because the vice president of Kaiser Industries saw it and said, 'Goddamn, no f- artist is going to attack American capitalism in this manner.' The piece was eventually bought by an Arneson student and collector, whose husband hated it so much that she later said that conflict over it had contributed to her divorce." San Francisco Chronicle
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Introduction:
Reading the World, Constructing the Self
1 Foundations, 1930–1960
2 Identity and Embodiment, 1961–1969
3 On Narcissism, 1970–1981
4 On the Outskirts of the Self, 1981–1986
5 Parsing Desire, 1987–1992
Chronology
Selected Bibliography
Index
Photography Credits
