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 20^th 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