Getting Bookish
Two books I recently read have something in common they are
not only biographies of artists but give
a nice overview of the era in which the artist worked. OFF THE WALL is a
biography of Robert Rauchenberg and BAD BOY is Eric Fischel’s autobiography. Together
they give a nice overview of the rise of the art world in the late 20th
century.
OFF THE WALL: A Portrait of Robert Rauschenberg, Calvin Tomkins.
I read this book on the recommendation of Jerry Saltz. While
it is a biography of Rauschenberg it gives much insight to the artists and art
of period it covers, from the beginning of abstract expressionism in the
late40s, to the death of Marcil Duchamp in 1968, with a little bit about conceptualism,
and art beyond the studio that came after. Many chapters cover other artists
and movements with hardly a mention of Rauschenberg.
BAD BOY: MY LIFE ON AND OFF THE CANVAS, Eric Fischel
When I Heard that Eric Fischel had written an autobiography
I knew I wanted to read it. Fischel, like myself, had gone to Phoenix College
in the late sixties and had attended soirées with instructor Merrill Mahafey and his artist friends. There are brief references to Mahafey and Fischel’s
time at ASU but the narrative and insights really get going when he gets to Cal
Arts. The book co-written with Michael
Stone flows and is hard to put down if art is an interest to you.
There are wonderful insights into the New York art scene of the 1980s when
painting seemed to be back as the mainstay of the art world. Fischel writes
candidly of the friendships and rivalries with other artists who were also making
their name at that time. Julian Scneble was one he especially had differences
with, both personally and aesthetically. This doesn’t stop Schneble from being
one of the “other voices” sprinkled throughout the book who write of their
relationship with Eric. He also doesn’t hold back in his assessment of
contemporary artists like Jeff Coons and Damian Hirst, and how the art world
became the art market.
As a painter myself I enjoyed reading of the struggles
doubts and elations he went through as he honed his craft. It was interesting
to see how he gained insight and inspiration from others unrelated to the art
world, like Steve Martin and John Mcinro, also two of the “other voices”. With
his honest insights into the artistic temperament and the art world this book
should be required reading for art students
