The Sweet Singer of Modernism & Other Art Writings 1985-2003

Rating:
Summary: SAYING WHAT IS SEEN
Review: What are the salient qualities of Bill Berkson's art writings? Attentiveness to what's visibly present (or remembered) and to the means of communicating that presence, simultaneously. Berkson's verbal felicities are matched by the pressure and illumination each paragraph holds. What I mean is, these are essays to be read for the pleasure of reading; that they are about art and artists -- such artists as Jackson Pollock, Philip Guston, Joan Mitchell, Ed Ruscha, Vija Celmins, Alex Katz, Lee Friedlander, and many others -- is a large part of that pleasure: Berkson is simply one of our best art writers.