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OUT OF THE BOX: The Reinvention of Art 1965-1975 - Review
Arts & Activities, Sept, 2001 by Jerome J. Hausman
[BOOK] OUT OF THE BOX: The Reinvention of Art 1965-1975 (2001; $19.95), by Carter Ratcliff. Allworth Press, 10 East 23rd Street, Suite 510, Hew York, NY 10010.
I have long asserted that those who teach art in our elementary and secondary schools can learn much from the work of contemporary artists, and the critical writing that draws attention to the issues and ideas embedded in the art now being created. One such example is Out of the Box: The Reinvention of Art 1965-1975 by Carter Ratcliff.
In a sense, we are all "boxed-in" by culture and convention. Children growing up must all learn conventions by which we communicate and conduct our daily affairs. Yet, there is also a sense in which they must break "out of the box" in order to express and realize ideas and feelings not anticipated by convention. As the author put it: "This is a book about artists who escaped, who would have been no more than practitioners of a style if they had accepted imprisonment."
For all too many, the function of art is seen as generalizing upon so grand narrative. Blockbuster exhibitions in our museums draw large crowds in celebration of particular artists or styles. Films such as Pollock convey romantic ideas about artists and those who surround them. In these instances, the press is toward convergence and oversimplification. Yet, as Ratcliff points out: "Every object of vision eventually exhausts the resources of language. Nonetheless, commentary finds endless starting points in an artwork's subject or its play of symbols, and there is usually something to be said about the feelings a work of art expresses, the view of the world it offers or its struggle to illuminate ultimate things."
Out of the Box provides illuminating commentaries about artists such as Donald Judd, Robert Morris, Robert Smithson, Sol Lewitt and others. It is important for art teachers to see the depth and nuance possible in what appears to be the "box" of Minimalist imagery.-J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 400 on the Reader Service Card.
COPYRIGHT 2001 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group
