Kirjahaku

In the 1960s, a group of Los Angeles artists fashioned a body of work that has come to be known as the "LA Look" or West Coast Minimalism. Its distinct aesthetic is characterized by clean lines, simple shapes, and pristine reflective or translucent surfaces, and often by the use of bright, seductive colors. While the role of materials and processes in the advent of these truly indigenous Los Angeles art forms has often been commented on, it has never been studied in depth -- until now. Made in Los Angeles focuses on four pioneers of West Coast Minimalism -- Larry Bell, Robert Irwin, Craig Kauffman, and John McCracken -- whose working methods, often borrowed from other industries, featured the use of synthetic paints and resins as well as industrial processes to create objects that are both painting and sculpture. Bell, for example, coated plate glass with films of material that alter the way the light is absorbed, reflected, and transmitted, while Kauffman employed a process usually reserved for commercial signs for his work. McCracken coated plywood with fiberglass then spray painted it with countless layers of automotive paints, and Irwin spray-painted discs of hammered aluminum or vacuum-formed plastics. The detailed study of each artist's work is presented in the context of the emergence of modern art in Los Angeles, the burgeoning mid-twentieth-century gallery scene, and the light-infused LA cityscape. Initially undertaken as part of the Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A.1945-1980 initiative, this volume combines technical art history and scientific analysis to investigate conservation issues associated with the work of these artists, which are often emblematic of issues in the conservation of contemporary art in general.

Cai Guo-Qiang (China b. 1957) is among the most prominent contemporary artists active today. His prolific, diverse creative practice-which includes gunpowder drawings and paintings, explosion events, videos, multimedia installations, and site-specific works-draws on a personal belief system that freely blends symbols and tenets from Eastern and Western traditions. Cai's output seeks to establish dialogues among different cultures, different periods of time, and even different species-always while probing our shared humanity and the connections that can be divined across space and time out of chaos and disorder. Based on in-depth interviews between the author and artist and with studio assistants, as well as extensive examination, sampling, and scientific analysis of a wide range of artworks, this publication addresses the implications of Cai's distinctive materials and processes and their associated conservation issues. Written for conservation scientists, conservators, specialists in contemporary art history, museum curators, collections managers, practicing artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts, this book offers insights into the life, methods, and materials of a leading figure in the art world. The technical discussions provide essential findings that will inform strategies for the future care of his works.