Jenni Sorkin

Ceramics had a far-reaching impact in the second half of the twentieth century, as its artists worked through the same ideas regarding abstraction and form as those for other creative mediums. Live Form shines new light on the relation of ceramics to the artistic avant-garde by looking at the central role of women in the field: potters who popularized ceramics as they worked with or taught male counterparts like John Cage, Peter Voulkos, and Ken Price. Sorkin focuses on three Americans who promoted ceramics as an advanced artistic medium: Marguerite Wildenhain, a Bauhaus-trained potter and writer; Mary Caroline (M. C.) Richards, who renounced formalism at Black Mountain College to pursue new performative methods; and Susan Peterson, best known for her live throwing demonstrations on public television. Together, these women pioneered a hands-on teaching style and led educational and therapeutic activities for war veterans, students, the elderly, and many others. Far from being an isolated field, ceramics offered a sense of community and social engagement, which, Sorkin argues, crucially set the stage for later participatory forms of art and feminist collectivism.

An introduction to the rich and diverse art of California, this book highlights its distinctive role in the history of American art, from early-20th-century photography to Chicanx mural painting, the Fiber Art Movement and beyond. Shaped by a compelling network of geopolitical influences including waves of migration and exchange from the Pacific Rim and Mexico, the influx of African Americans immediately after World War II, and global immigration after quotas were lifted in the 1960s, California is a centre of artistic activity whose influence extends far beyond its physical boundaries. Furthermore, California was at the forefront of radical developments in artistic culture, most notably conceptual art and feminism, and its education system continues to nurture and encourage avant-garde creativity. Organized chronologically and thematically with illustrations throughout, this attractive study stands as an important reassessment of California’s contribution to modern and contemporary art in the United States and globally.With 168 illustrations in colour

Jos Leonilson (1957-93) came of age as an artist as part of the 1980s generation in Brazil. What he shared with the diverse artistic milieu of that time was a so-called "joy of painting," rediscovered in the years following the end of Brazil's dictatorship. What separated him from his contemporaries was his personal way of working and his distinct aesthetic centered on raw emotional feelings, introspective musings and private affairs.Focusing on Leonilson's production as a mature artist, this volume features nearly 50 paintings, drawings and embroideries made between the mid-1980s until 1993, when the artist died of AIDS. In this short yet prolific period, Leonilson fully developed a unique artistic language in dialogue with other contemporary art practices, Brazilian vernacular traditions and global issues prompted by the AIDS crisis.