Olin Library: Art & Art History: New Books 2020/05

One of the foremost American figurative painters of the twentieth century, it is not surprising that Alice Neel was a humanist--she was fascinated by people. Known for her daringly honest portraits, Neel loved to paint people in all their complexities--to penetrate and reveal their fears and anxieties, how they defiance and survival. She also loved to paint the unadorned human figure. Her nudes, in particular, explore the body with frankness while celebrating the individuality of each of her subjects, and they exemplify the freedom and courage with which she approached her work and her life. Through her paintings and works on paper, Neel was able to free herself from the expected inhibitions and crippling taboos that were placed on women and focus on the beauty and nuanced complexity of flesh and the human body. In their mastery of form, color, and implied social commentary, her nudes are as relevant today as when they were painted. Freedom documents the solo exhibition of the artist's work at David Zwirner in New York in 2019. Including works that span the 1920s to the 1980s, this presentation focuses primarily on the nude figure--whether male or female, adult or child--and demonstrates how Neel rebelled against and challenged the traditional perceptions of sexuality, motherhood, and beauty in our society. The catalogue includes newly commissioned scholarship by Helen Molesworth and an introduction by Ginny Neel of The Estate of Alice Neel.

Steven Holl celebrates the thirtieth anniversary of his landmark book Anchoring with Compression, a collection of thirty-five major projects from the past decade. Holl applies concepts from neuroscience, literature, social science, and philosophy to develop the idea of compression: the condensation of material and social forces to create meaningful and sustainable architecture. A diverse roster of international works includes an expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston ; academic facilities for Columbia University, Princeton University, and the Glasgow School of Art; urban plans; a harbor gateway for Copenhagen; and an extension of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. All demonstrate Holl's poetic attention to light, space, and water; a subtle and tactile employment of material and color; and an awareness of architecture's potential to connect people through inspiring public spaces.

From celebrated gardens in private villas to the paintings and sculptures that adorned palace interiors, Venetians in the sixteenth century conceived of their marine city as dotted with actual and imaginary green spaces. This volume examines how and why this pastoral vision of Venice developed. Drawing on a variety of primary sources ranging from visual art to literary texts, performances, and urban plans, Jodi Cranston shows how Venetians lived the pastoral in urban Venice. She describes how they created green spaces and enacted pastoral situations through poetic conversations and theatrical performances in lagoon gardens; discusses the island utopias found, invented, and mapped in distant seas; and explores the visual art that facilitated the experience of inhabiting verdant landscapes. Though the greening of Venice was relatively short lived, Cranston shows how the phenomenon had a lasting impact on how other cities, including Paris and London, developed their self-images and how later writers and artists understood and adapted the pastoral mode. Incorporating approaches from eco-criticism and anthropology, Green Worlds of Renaissance Venice greatly informs our understanding of the origins and development of the pastoral in art history and literature as well as the culture of sixteenth-century Venice. It will appeal to scholars and enthusiasts of sixteenth-century history and culture, the history of urban landscapes, and Italian art.

Part of the generation of architects who were trained to draw both by hand and with digital tools, Nalina Moses recently returned to hand drawing. Finding it to be direct, pleasurable, and intuitive, she wondered whether other architects felt the same way. Single-Handedly is the result of this inquiry. An inspiring collection of 220 hand drawings by more than forty emerging architects and well-known practitioners from around the world, this book explores thereasons they draw by hand and gives testimony to the continued vitality of hand drawing in architecture. The powerful yet intimate drawings carry larger propositions about materials, space, and construction, and each one stands on its own as a work of art.

When Lawrence Jackson took the job as White House photographer in early 2009, he knew he would have a front-row seat to history. What he didn't know is how personally moved and inspired he would feel working in the White House every day. As an African American photographer, he had always used the camera to create distance between himself and the world. Suddenly that distance fell away, and he found himself in the room where history was unfolding. And for the first time, he felt his own hopes, dreams, and experiences put into words--by the President of the United States. As a person of color himself, Jackson photographed the Presidency through a unique lens. He keyed in to the details, the quirks, and the private moments; the undefinable "cool factor" that accompanied Obama wherever he went; and the weight and significance of being the first. Yes We Did is filled with intimate photographs and reflections, as well as first-person recollections from President Obama, everyday citizens, and notable personalities. The book is a celebration of the most inclusive and representative White House in history--where in between the momentous and pivotal decisions, the President and First Lady opened the doors of the People's House to school kids, athletes, senior citizens, hip-hop artists, and more. For anyone who misses the humanity and grace of the Obama White House, this warm and inspiring book offers an affirming, proud, and intimate lens on our history.