R. Lichtenstein

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Published to accompany a retrospective on this founding practitioner of Pop Art at Manhattan's Guggenheim Museum, this volume traces the development of the artist's unique comic-book style--a style that began in the early 1960s as a deadpan appropriation of mannered, commercial iconography and has since evolved into a versatile, signature style with seemingly endless permutations and possibilities. Profusely illustrated, patterned around themes in Lichtenstein's work and in rough chronological order, the book provides valuable insight into his creative method. Waldman, deputy director of the Guggenheim, explores Lichtenstein's source materials, those images in advertising, comics and consumer iconography that he manipulates into images that are utterly his own. Looking at the ``found'' image alongside Lichtenstein's oil painting, one discerns how the artist distills the image, changing the particular into the archetypal, so that in Girl with Ball (1961), a photograph of a young woman tossing a beachball in an ad for a resort becomes a trope for an advertising-driven, youth-obsessed culture. In several series, Lichtenstein has used the leveling quality of his style to parody the art-making process itself. Most pointedly, in the Brushstroke paintings (1965-1966), his caricatures of dripping, slashing brushstrokes spoof the high drama and inner turmoil of the Abstract Expressionists. (Jan.)

Library Journal

Lichtenstein's benday dots, used to create pop and comic figures, have always looked and felt larger than life, and it's for this reason that the artist has become part of the Modern Masters pantheon. In this publication, the catalog for a major retrospective of Lichtenstein's work, Guggenheim Museum curator Waldman draws a compelling portrait of his achievements. Lichtenstein knew his art history, and his intelligence suffuses the ready wit apparent in his paintings and sculpture; the chronological account shows his early interest in comic strips and advertising blossoming into an enduring painterly form of commentary. Waldman's unlimited access to the artist and to works from public and private collections results in an impressive journey through Lichtenstein's career, with references to philosophy, technique, social contexts, and the artistic world. With its 350 fine illustrations, all in color, this work will interest both specialists and the lay public. Highly recommended.-- Paula A. Baxter, NYPL