Artblog | Book Reviews

August 23, 2021 By Andrea Kirsh

The under known history of Alma Thomas, in print and on view

Andrea Kirsh reviews “Alma Thomas; Everything is Beautiful,” a catalog for the exhibition of the same name. Andrea says both the catalog and exhibition tell the under known history of Alma Thomas’s life as an artist, educator, role model and inspiration to many. The traveling exhibition runs until Sept. 25, 2022; currently on view at Chrysler Museum of Art through Oct. 3, 2021. The catalog is available at the Museum or through Yale University Press.

August 4, 2021 By Andrea Kirsh

Celebrating the vast career of Raphael Montañez Ortiz, El Museo del Barrio founder

Andrea Kirsh reviews the first monograph on career of Raphael Montañez Ortiz- artist, educator, and founder of El Museo del Barrio in New York City. Andrea says that before this book was published, art historians failed to document Montañez Ortiz’s diverse, inquisitive, and dynamic career.

July 30, 2021 By Andrea Kirsh

New book “The Soul of a Nation Reader” fills racial gaps in art history

The new book, “The Soul of a Nation Reader” rounds up long-inaccessible material on Black American art and artists from 1960-1980. The authors who collected this material have done a valuable service to the field of art history, our contributor Andrea Kirsh says.

July 13, 2021 By Dereck Stafford Mangus

Gene Wisniewski’s guide book demystifies dense art history

Dereck Stafford Mangus reviews “The Art of Looking at Art,” a guide book by Gene Wisniewski. Dereck says skillfully unpacks otherwise cryptic art history and art theory materials, and that the book is a valuable asset for ‘art novices’ and art historians alike.

June 3, 2021 By Janyce Denise Glasper

Incarcerated creatives voice urgent truths in ‘128-G: Art and Writing from a California State Prison’

Artblog contributor Janyce Denise Glasper reviews the book “128-G” — a collection of photos, paintings, letters, writings and more, from incarcerated men in Calipatria State Prison, Southern California. Janyce says the book is poignant, inspiring, and articulates urgent truths about structural inequality. Book purchase details in this post!

April 6, 2021 By Natalie Sandstrom

Beautiful and intimate, Riva Lehrer’s memoir ‘Golem Girl’ reveals her activist and artistic life

Artblog contributor Natalie Sandstrom reviews artist Riva Lehrer’s memoir “Golem Girl,” which chronicles her artwork, activism, and experiences as a queer person who has spina bifida.

March 17, 2021 By Michael Lieberman

“Tears of Honor” recounts internment and heroism of Japanese Americans during WW II

Michael Lieberman reviews new book “Tears of Honor” by James A. Ardaiz, a historical fiction about an entirely Japanese American division of the U.S. army during World War II.

February 26, 2021 By Natalie Sandstrom

When a kitchen orbits the art studio, Cooking with Olafur Eliasson

Natalie Sandstrom prepares dishes and reflects on philosophical musings from art-cookbook “Studio Olafur Eliasson: The Kitchen.”