The avant-garde won't give up : Cobra and its legacy

The avant-garde won't give up Cobra and its legacy

Book - 2017

The European artistic collective known as Cobra was born in the wake of World War II's devastating events, its name an acronym for the native cities of its founders: Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam. The influential group of painters and sculptors had a tremendous impact on the development of European abstract expressionism, and contemporary art in general. Cobra was arguably the last avant-garde movement of the 20th century. Moving chronologically, this book explores the years leading up to Cobra's formation, charts its complex expansion over a decade, and illuminates how the movement helped shape the trajectory of contemporary art today. Thoughtfully integrated among the numerous images, many presented as full-page color illus...trations, are essays that probe the ideological hallmarks that shaped the group as a whole: its rejection of rational constraints; a focus on play and youthfulness; and its embrace of immediacy, particularly in the form of action paintings. In addition, comprehensive biographies of the artists illuminate crucial aspects of each individual's journey, helping to expand readers' understanding of Europe's socio-political and theoretical climate.

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Subjects
Cobra (Association) > Exhibitions.
Cobra (Association) > Influence > Exhibitions.
Avant-garde (Aesthetics) > Exhibitions.
Arts > Experimental methods > Exhibitions.
Exhibition catalogs.
Genres
Exhibition catalogs
Published
Los Angeles : Blum & Poe [2017]
Munich ; New York : [2017]
Language
English
Item Description
"Published on the occasion of the exhibition The Avant-garde Won't Give Up: Cobra and Its Legacy, curated by Alison M. Gingeras. Blum & Poe, 19 East 66th Street New York, NY 10065, September 9/October 17, 2015, Blum & Poe, 2727 South La Cienega Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90034, November 5/December 23, 2015."
Physical Description
223 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 28 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 217-221).
ISBN
9783791355092
  • The avant-garde won't give up. Part 1. Introduction / Alison M. Gingeras
  • The international spirit of Cobra / Karen Kurczynski
  • From politics to painting: the Belgian side of the Cobra story / Marie Godet
  • In the shadow of history: Helhesten and its reception / Kerry Greaves
  • The avant-garde won't give up. Part 2. From intimate banalities to culturecide ; Part 3. The psychopathological artist ; Part 4. Primitivism and the mask ; Part 5. Homo Ludens: child's play and artistic experiments ; Part 6. Jorn and the politics of painting / Alison M. Gingeras
  • Selected artists' biographies / Claire de Dobay Rifelj.
Review by Library Journal Review

Many U.S. readers will be unfamiliar with the influential mid-20th-century artists' collective evocatively named Cobra (an acronym for the cities where the founding artists originated: Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam): much of the literature on Cobra is in Danish, Dutch, French, and other European languages. Formed in the bleak aftermath of World War II, Cobra artist members looked to diverse sources-surrealism; Marxism; and the "outsider" art of children, the mentally ill, and indigenous peoples-to define a new and optimistic folk art. They encouraged art-making as collective practice, viewed experimentation as essential to creativity, and produced work that was vibrant, colorful, and charming. These two titles introduce the topic to English-language readers. The Avant-garde Won't Give Up: Cobra and Its Legacy is the catalog of a 2015 exhibition on view at the Blum & Poe Gallery in New York and Los Angeles. More compact than the Stokvis title but still filled with insights, this effort headed by curator -Gingeras and with contributions by additional curators, offers a clear and accessible history of the group, stressing in particular its international character. It has the bonus of tracing linkages between the Cobra artists' ideas and younger creators active today. Attractive page layouts and quality photos (-including installation views) and artists' biographies complete the package. Cobra: A History of a European Avant-Garde Movement 1948-1951 is a revised, expanded, and beautifully illustrated study of a book first published in 1974 by an authoritative scholar of the group, available here for the first time in English. It provides a comprehensive, almost moment-by-moment chronological history, together with biographies of the key figures, drawing from essential primary sources. In this all-encompassing title, Stokvis considers both the stylistic features of Cobra art and the group's revolutionary ambitions to start afresh in the aftermath of World War II. VERDICT With an exhaustive bibliography, Cobra: A History of a European Avant-Garde Movement is essential for curators and art historians. The more succinct but smart and informative Avant-garde Won't Give Up is recommended both for arts professionals and general readers.-Michael -Dashkin, New York © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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