Bibliograph

Perfect wave, more essays on art and democracy, Dave Hickey

Type

Label

Perfect wave, more essays on art and democracy, Dave Hickey

Language

eng

Illustrations

illustrationsmaps

Index

no index present

Literary Form

essays

Main title

Perfect wave

Oclc number

1007325563

Responsibility statement

Dave Hickey

Sub title

more essays on art and democracy

Summary

When Dave Hickey was twelve, he rode the surfer's dream: the perfect wave. And, like so many things in life we long for, it didn't quite turn out----he shot the pier and dashed himself against the rocks of Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach, which just about killed him. Fortunately, for Hickey and for us, he survived, and continues to battle, decades into a career as one of America's foremost critical iconoclasts, a trusted, even cherished no-nonsense voice commenting on the all-too-often nonsensical worlds of art and culture. Perfect Wave brings together essays on a wide range of subjects from throughout Hickey's career, displaying his usual breadth of interest and powerful insight into what makes art work, or not, and why we care. With Hickey as our guide, we travel to Disneyland and Vegas, London and Venice. We discover the genius of Karen Carpenter and Waylon Jennings, learn why Robert Mitchum matters more than Jimmy Stewart, and see how the stillness of Antonioni speaks to us today. Never slow to judge--or to surprise us in doing so--Hickey powerfully relates his wincing disappointment in the later career of his early hero Susan Sontag, and shows us the appeal to our commonality that we've been missing in Norman Rockwell. With each essay, the doing is as important as what's done; the pleasure of reading Dave Hickey lies nearly as much in spending time in his company as in being surprised to find yourself agreeing with his conclusions. -- amazon.com

Table Of Contents

Baby breakers -- Cool on cool : William Claxton's world -- "Goodbye to love" -- Wonderful shoes -- A world like Santa Barbara -- It's morning in Nevada : on the campaign trail in post-Bush America -- My silk road -- The last mouseketeer -- After the prom -- Firecrackers : Terry Castle celebrates her independence -- ¡Una lesbiana enamorada! Sunsan Sontag -- His Mickey Mouse ways -- Mitchum gets out of jail -- The real Michelangelo -- Reading Ruskin writing -- Palladio's song -- Morris Lapidus : life as we know it -- Art fairies -- Little victories

Target audience

preschool

Classification