Jeanne Siegel – författare

Art Talk is a stimulating collection of interviews conducted by noted art critics of the most influential and innovative artists of the early 1980s. These interviews explore central themes of contemporary art: what makes art political, the commodification of art, the overarching importance of language, and the increased recognition of female artists. But the interviews are also remarkable for the frankness with which these artists are willing to discuss their work. Here Andy Warhol comments on the influence of Walt Disney Cindy Sherman frames herself as a commodity Walter Robinson elucidates the East Village scene Jenny Holzer and Barbara Kruger expatiate on language as image Laurie Anderson describes the influence of graffiti and traffic jams on her work Georg Baselitz explains why he paints standard motifs upside down and Robert Longo relates style to power. In her introduction, editor Jeanne Siegel identifies the major issues and events that shaped artistic expression in the early 80s: the growing acceptance of photography as fine art, the overwhelming expectations for artists to become "performers," the phenomenon of Postmodernism, and other emerging trends.

This volume assembles interviews with over thirty major artists to form a unique document of American art of the'60s and'70s. Between 1966 and 1973, Jeanne Siegel conducted interviews and panel discussions with most of the major art figures of the period. Here is Marcel Duchamp on his role as the major progenitor of the period Ad Reinhardt on the importance of art as art Don Judd, Andy Warhol, Robert Murray, Saul Steinberg, and others on Barnett Newman and his influence Louise Nevelson on "feminine sculpture" Romare Bearden on the role of African-American art in the civil rights movement Leon Golub on the importance of social protest in art Carl Andre on the Art Workers Coalition Robert Rauschenberg and Larry Rivers on the possibilities of multi-media Allen Kaprow and George Segal on environments and happenings Claes Oldenburg on fragments of ordinary objects Roy Lichtenstein on the influence of Art Deco:Hans Haacke on systems aesthetics and Joseph Kosuth on language art. Through these dialogues and others, Artwords exposes the foundations of the art of the'80s and'90s, illuminating the ideas which originated during this seminal period, and which are still very much alive today.