Short Reviews of Three New Books on Art and Photography
Steve Brock
ROY LICHTENSTEIN by Diane Waldman. Published by Guggenheim Museum
Publications, distributed by Rizzoli International Publications,
300 Park Avenue South, N.Y., NY 10010, (800) 462-3387, FAX: (212)
982-3866 in NY, (212) 387-3535 all other areas. Illustrated,
index, bibliography, chronology. 394 pp., $59.95 cloth.
0-89207-108-7
REVIEW
Lichtenstein and his nemesis Ben Day are featured in a traveling
retrospective exhibition that opened at New York's Guggenheim
Museum in October. This exhibition catalog, admirably assembled
and written by Waldman, Guggenheim deputy director and curator of
the exhibit, traces all of his periods and themes from the 1960s to
the present: comic strips and cartoons, advertisements, landscapes
and seascapes, "girls," brush strokes, still lives, interiors of
houses, and other works falling into Expressionist, Surrealist, and
Futurist motifs. Even though many New Yorkers believe that the
last ten years have been one long Lichtenstein retrospective (his
massive murals appear throughout the city), there is no denying
that this colorful and exuberant tribute is a delight to the eye.
A must for the Lichtenstein devotee and recommended for any fan of
Modern Art. The exhibition at the Guggenheim continues through
January 16, then moves to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los
Angeles from January 30 to April 3. It then moves to the Montreal
Museum of Fine Arts from May 26 to September 5. European dates are
planned.
BROTHER WOLF: A FORGOTTEN PROMISE by Jim Brandenburg. NorthWord
Press, Inc., Box 1360, Minoqua, WI 54548, (800) 336-6398, (715)
356-9762 FAX. Illustrated, maps. 160 pp., $40.00 cloth. 1-55971-
210-4
REVIEW
Brandenburg travels to northern Minnesota's Ellesmere Island to
photograph wild and captive timber wolves in this exquisite
companion to 1988's "White Wolf." His occasional use of captive
wolves is due to the elusiveness of the wild ones. Brandenburg
closely follows the wolves, detailing the land, the climate, life
in a pack, and tracking prey, the kill, and he takes on both those
who hate the wolf and those who work for its preservation yet deny
that they eat other animals. This is an ideal book for those who
love wilderness and wolves, and it is especially appropriate in
light of new calls for their eradication. Highly recommended.
"Brother Wolf" is also available on an audiotape (three hours,
$16.95), narrated by Ian Maclean.
KANDINSKY by Jalena Hahl-Koch. Rizzoli International Publications,
300 Park Avenue South, N.Y., NY 10010, (800) 462-3387, FAX: (212)
982-3866 in NY, (212) 387-3535 all other areas. Illustrated,
index, bibliography, biographical summary, notes. 432 pp., $150.00
cloth. 0-8478-1404-1
REVIEW
Vasily Kandinsky (1866-1944) is widely considered the father of
abstract art. Jalena Hahl-Koch, a former curator of Munich's
Lenbachhaus, masterfully traces Kandinsky's artistic development
through his letters and writings (many appearing in print for the
first time), and a generous 420 illustrations, 200 of them in
color. With new works recently discovered in private collections
and small museums in Russia and Eastern Europe, this is the most
comprehensive Kandinsky study to date. It's a pity, though, that
many students of Kandinsky won't be able to afford this bold and
powerful work. Academic libraries not purchasing this volume
should be ashamed.
holts...@skyfox.usask.ca
>Here are short reviews of three new art and photography books:
>
>Press, Inc., Box 1360, Minoqua, WI 54548, (800) 336-6398, (715)
>356-9762 FAX. Illustrated, maps. 160 pp., $40.00 cloth. 1-55971-
>210-4
> REVIEW
>
>Brandenburg travels to northern Minnesota's Ellesmere Island to
Forgive me if I am wrong but I believe Ellesmere island is in the
Artic Ocean, not northern Minnesota. I am also quite sure that
there are no wild artic wolves in Minnesota. It may get cold,
but its not the artic.
Gord Holtslander
Holts...@skyfox.usask.ca
Paul Beard
holts...@skyfox.usask.ca writes:
> I am also quite sure that
> there are no wild artic wolves in Minnesota.
There are wild wolves though, the last wild wolf population in the
lower 48, until about 2 years with the introduction of red wolves in
Tennessee.
Brandenburg is pretty well known for this, so barring the goof about
Ellesmere Island, this ought to be a good book.
Paul Beard
AT&T Tridom (who couldn't care less about my opinion)
tridom!paul.beard {or} bea...@tridom.com
William Smith
There are wild wolves though, the last wild wolf population
in the lower 48, until about 2 years with the introduction
of red wolves in Tennessee.
I don't think so. I've seen pictures of wolves in Yellowstone.
In the 60's farmers hunted wolves in northern Texas and hung them
on fences. Maybe they hunted them out in the last 25 years but
I doubt it.
I'm also pretty sure I've heard about wolves here in Oregon and
in northern Washington.
William Sburgfort Smith
Mark Taranto
Gord Holtslander <holts...@skyfox.usask.ca> writes:
> Forgive me if I am wrong but I believe Ellesmere island is in the
> Artic Ocean, not northern Minnesota.
The existence of an Ellesmere Island in the Arctic does not preclude
there being one in Minnesota. In fact, I should think that it would
increase the chances of there being one. With over 15,000 lakes (just
counting those of 10 acres or more -- don't believe what you see on
the liscense plates), there are bound to be islands with the same
name. I can't verify its existence, but I seem to remember that there
is such an island in northern Minnesota.
> I am also quite sure that there are no wild artic wolves in
> Minnesota.
The review mentioned Timberwolves. They most certainly are indigenous
to Minnesota, although their population is dying out. In fact, the
Minnesota NBA basketball team took that name because timberwolves do
live there.
> It may get cold, but its not the artic.
I've seen 40 below in Minneapolis on several occasions.
Mark
Steve Brock
I need an editor! The review of "Brother Wolf" should have said "...the
Arctic's Ellesmere Island and northern Minnesota... ." Good Catch!
Paul Beard
will...@ssd.intel.com (William Smith) writes:
> I don't think so. I've seen pictures of wolves in Yellowstone.
> In the 60's farmers hunted wolves in northern Texas and hung them
> on fences. Maybe they hunted them out in the last 25 years but
> I doubt it.
Well, there's a lot of hue and cry about reintroducing them to the West
and the havoc they'll wreak on livestock (meaning the wolves will eat
them before we do: where's the problem?), so I assumed there weren't
any.
Richard Warner
>Paul Beard writes:
>
> There are wild wolves though, the last wild wolf population
> in the lower 48, until about 2 years with the introduction
> of red wolves in Tennessee.
There is massive confusion in the above response, and the response below.
First, some background. There are 2 species of wolves in the US, the
gray wolf (or timber wolf), and the red wolf. The gray wolf was circumboreal
in distribution (i.e., it naturally occurred in northern forests around the
world), while the red wolf was a new world species of temperate to
sub-tropical latitudes.
The gray wolf was extirpated in most of the continental US during the
early part of this century. The one holdout population, until recently,
was in northern Michigan (Isle Royale area) [ Note this is Michigan, not
Minnesota, we are talking about]. There has been a natural
re-entry of gray wolves into northern Idaho/Montana. This occurred in
the fury of an intense debate about whether the wolves should be
artificially reintroduced into the area, especially into Yellowstone
Park. The controversy rages on Yellowstone, but the wolves are established
further north. Apparently, this past summer (1993) there was a single
lone wolf spotted in Yellowstone. There is some debate over whether this
was a lone straggler from the group up north that wandered south into
the park on its own, or an artificial release of a domestic or
semi-domestic animal.
The red wolf was nearly extirpated from its natural range. It is
making some comeback in captive breeding programs and some limited
re-release programs. The red wolf is much smaller, and more solitary,
than the gray wolf. The 'wolves', alluded to below in Texas in the
60's would have been either red wolves or coyotes. [ In fact, there
has been tremendous debate on whether the red wolf is really a
distinct biological species or a hybrid of the coyote with some other
canid species ].
>I don't think so. I've seen pictures of wolves in Yellowstone.
>In the 60's farmers hunted wolves in northern Texas and hung them
>on fences. Maybe they hunted them out in the last 25 years but
>I doubt it.
>I'm also pretty sure I've heard about wolves here in Oregon and
>in northern Washington.
No natural populations. We have autopsied a number of carcasses from
northern California/southern Oregon that appear to be wolf/dog
crosses, but no full-blooded wolves (our autopsy techniques do include
genetic workups, so a full-blooded wolf would almost certainly be
picked up in the screenings).
>William Sburgfort Smith
Rick Warner