Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925: How a Radical Idea Changed Modern Art

Dickerman, Leah; Affron, Matthew; Museum of Modern Art (New York, N.Y.)

ISBN 10: 0870708287 / ISBN 13: 9780870708282

Published by Museum of Modern Art; Distributed by New York Graphic Society Books/Little, Brown, New York, 2012

About this Item

Large folio in multi-color red, pink & black illus jacket; 376 pages: illustrations (some color); 32 cm; bibliographical references and index. "In 1912, in several European cities, a handful of artists--Vasily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Francis Picabia and Robert Delaunay--presented the first abstract pictures to the public. Inventing Abstraction, published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, celebrates the centennial of this bold new type of artwork. It traces the development of abstraction as it moved through a network of modern artists, from Marsden Hartley and Marcel Duchamp to Piet Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich, sweeping across nations and across media. This richly illustrated publication covers a wide range of artistic production--including paintings, drawings, books, sculptures, film, photography, sound poetry, atonal music and non-narrative dance--to draw a cross-media portrait of these watershed years. An introductory essay by Leah Dickerman, Curator in the Museum's Department of Painting and Sculpture, is followed by focused studies of key groups of works, events and critical issues in abstraction's early history by renowned scholars from a variety of fields. " Contents: Inventing abstraction / Leah Dickerman -- Pablo Picasso: the Cadaqu?s experiment / Yve-Alain Bois -- Colors and games: music and abstraction, 1909 to 1912 / David Lang -- Vasily Kandinsky, without words / Leah Dickerman -- Mr. Kupka among verticals / Lanka Tattersall -- On the move / Hubert Damisch -- Abstraction chez Delaunay / Gordon Hughes -- Contrasts of colors, contrasts of words / Matthew Affron -- L?opold Survage's paper cinema / Jodi Hauptman -- With color / Rachael Z. Delue -- Francis Picabia: abstraction and sincerity / Michael R. Taylor -- Fernand L?ger: metallic sensations / Matthew Affron -- Giacomo Balla: the most luminous abstraction / Ester Coen -- Parole in libert? / Jodi Hauptman -- Music, noise, and abstraction / Christoph Cox -- Vorticism: planetary abstraction / Matthew Gale -- Painting stripped bare / David Joselit -- Decoration and abstraction in Bloomsbury / Matthew Affron -- Against the circle / Rachael Z. Delue -- Early Russian abstraction, as such; 0.10 / Masha Chlenova -- Piet Mondrian: toward the abolition of form / Yve-Alain Bois -- 3 De Stijl models / Yve-Alain Bois -- The spatial object; The language of revolution / Maria Gough -- Sense and non-sense / Hal Foster -- Danced abstraction: Rudolf von Laban / Mark Franko -- Danced abstraction: Mary Wigman / Mark Franko -- The color grid / Lanka Tattersall -- The abstract environment / Maria Gough -- Early abstraction in Poland / Jaroslaw Suchan -- White shadows: photograms around 1922 / Susan Laxton -- Rhythmus 21 and the genesis of filmic abstraction / Philippe-Alain Michaud -- The absolute film / Anton Kaes -- Concrete abstraction / Peter Galison -- Abstraction in 1936: Barr's diagrams / Glenn D. Lowry -- Abstraction in 1936: Cubism and abstract art at the Museum of Modern Art / Leah Dickerman. Art, Abstract -- Exhibitions. Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions. Art and Design. Art, Abstract. Art, Modern. Abstrakte Malerei Abstrakte Kunst Art, Abstract -- Exhibitions. Art, Modern -- 20th century -- Exhibitions. Art and Design.Exhibition catalogs. Exhibition catalogs. "Organized by Leah Dickerman, Curator, with Masha Chlenova, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Painting and Sculpture"--Page 375./ "Published in conjunction with the exhibition Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925 at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, December 23, 2012-April 15, 2013" **A large, heavy book. Extra shipping charges may apply for international & expedited orders. Please inquire. Weighs nearly 5.5 lbs before packing.**. Fine in near fine(+) very gently sunned (chiefly spine) jacket.

Seller Inventory # 91859

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Inventing Abstraction, 1910-1925: How a Radical Idea Changed Modern Art
• Publisher: Museum of Modern Art; Distributed by New York Graphic Society Books/Little, Brown, New York
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870708287
• ISBN 13: 9780870708282
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First edition (unstated).
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Dust Jacket Included
• Seller catalogs:
  • Art, Architecture, Design & Photography

About this title

Synopsis

In 1912, in several European cities, a handful of artists--Vasily Kandinsky, Frantisek Kupka, Francis Picabia and Robert Delaunay--presented the first abstract pictures to the public. Inventing Abstraction, published to accompany an exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, celebrates the centennial of this bold new type of artwork. It traces the development of abstraction as it moved through a network of modern artists, from Marsden Hartley and Marcel Duchamp to Piet Mondrian and Kazimir Malevich, sweeping across nations and across media. This richly illustrated publication covers a wide range of artistic production--including paintings, drawings, books, sculptures, film, photography, sound poetry, atonal music and non-narrative dance--to draw a cross-media portrait of these watershed years. An introductory essay by Leah Dickerman, Curator in the Museum's Department of Painting and Sculpture, is followed by focused studies of key groups of works, events and critical issues in abstraction's early history by renowned scholars from a variety of fields.

Review

Featuring twenty-four contributors, this MoMA catalogue explores the evolution of early modernist abstraction across various mediums, countries and movements.--Arne Glimcher "Art in America "

Dickerman urges against defning abstraction in terms of forward progress... less interested in the invention of abstraction than abstraction as invention. The main impact of this horizontalist approach is geographic, bringing peripheral sites into focus without denying the importance of major hubs.--Daniel Marcus "Art in America "

Three quarters of a century after Alfred Barr, founding director of New York's Museum of Modern Art, mounted the landmark 1936 exhibition Cubism and Abtract Art, MoMA curator Dickerman returns to the realm with a vast exhibition and comprehensive catalogue depicting the incipient stages of abtraction in the plastic arts. Situating the movement from a representation toward abstraction as a synchronic historical moment, as well as one of modernism's principal activities, this Eurocentric organizational feat elaborates a network based on cross talk, spontaneity, and simultaneous development. The front endpapers of the catalogue offer a graphic spread that plays off Barr's legendary chart - the cover to his exhibition's catalogue - acanonical lineage of begotten isms. Dickerman's updated diagram turns reader's view to a distributed web of networks and memes in an endeavor that highlights connectivity over paternity. Even with his intended catholic aopproach, painting and the two - dimensional flattened spatial constructs of pictorial space overwhelmingly predominate. Music is accorded a seminal role; sculpture and film are underrepresented; typographic space and artists' books are thankfully recognized. A terrific collection of diverse short essays by nearly 30 scholars complement this intelligently edited, well- illustrated, and indispensable resource.--E. Baden "Choice "