Disciplines Literary Studies & Poetry American Literature

The Hydrogen Jukebox by Peter Schjeldahl, MaLin Wilson

The Hydrogen Jukebox Selected Writings of Peter Schjeldahl, 1978-1990

by Peter Schjeldahl (Author), MaLin Wilson (Editor), Robert Storr (Introduction)
September 2023
First Edition
Paperback
$34.95, £30.00 eBook
$49.95, £42.00
Series
Lannan Series
Title Details

Rights: Available worldwide
Pages: 380
ISBN: 9780520913844

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About the Book About the Author Table of Contents Related Books

About the Book

Baudelaire's famous description of "the best criticism" as "entertaining and poetic, not coldly analytic," lives in the essays of Peter Schjeldahl. Schjeldahl self-consciously continues the modern tradition of art criticism crafted by poet-critics, providing a sharp perspective on individual artists, their work, art-world events, and new creative directions. He challenges established views, and his infectious passion for art continually engages the reader. In essays on Rothko, Munch, Warhol, Dubuffet, Nauman, Sherman, Salle, de Kooning, Guston, Ruscha, and Koons, Schjeldahl skillfully juggles theory and analysis in exploring cultural context and technique. His writings, free of the contortions of some critical prose and characterized by a sustained focus on works of art, map the contemporary art scene in New York (with occasional forays to Los Angeles and elsewhere), cataloguing the colorful personalities, cultural attractions, and ethical hazards of the art world. It's a fast, fun trip, with arguments that fold back upon themselves in surprising revelations and reversals of the author's opinion. There is never a dull moment for those with an eye on contemporary art.

About the Author

Peter Schjeldahl is art critic for the Village Voice and contributing editor for Art in America. MaLin Wilson is an art critic, editor, and independent curator working in New Mexico. Robert Storr, an artist and writer, is currently a curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction, by Robert Storr

The Hydrogen Jukebox: Terror, Narcissism, and Art
Rothko and Belief
Edvard Munch: The Missing Master
I Missed Punk
A Book by Larry Rivers
Warhol and Class Content
Dubuffet, 1980
First Voice Column
Clement Greenberg
Exxon Exhibition at the Guggenheim
Julian Schnabel and Susan Rothenberg
Arshile Gorky
L.A. Demystified! Art and Life in the Eternal Present
Affairs of the Heat
Disney Animators
Realism Again
H. C. Westermann
Only Connect: Bruce Nauman
"Les Drippings" in Paris: The Jackson Pollock Retrospective
Cindy Sherman
David Salle
Why New French Art Is Lousy
Willem de Kooning
Robert Smithson's Writings
Documenta 7
Howard Finster
Clemente to Marden to Kiefer
Leon Golub
Decade of Wonders
The Grant Wood Revival
On Art and Artists: Peter Schjeldahl
Edouard Manet
Balthus
In Defense of Artistic Fashion
Minimalism
Philip Guston
Eric Fischl
Ed Ruscha: Traffic and Laughter
To Pico
The Daemon and Sigmar Polke
Adrian Saxe and the Smart Pot
The Immigrant Strain
Welcome to Helgaland
A Visit to the Salon of Autumn 1986
Our Kiefer
Hopperesque
Mike Kelley
Paintings by Aborigines
Jeff Koons
Courbet
De K.ooning Alone
Treason of Clerks
Velazquez
Baselitz and Kippenberger