James Rosenquist

From the books cover: James Rosenquist's unlikely constellations of familiar, oversized images which took the art world by storm in the 1960s-when pop art had not yet found its name-remain today the primary icons of those years. Since that time, Rosenquist has proved that the flatness, the visual punning, the banality of pop can yield sensual, affecting, and profound images which wholly defy categorization. It has been twenty years since the oddly juxtaposed fragments of F-111 confounded critics, and in that time Rosenquist has distinguished himself for his versatility as he had initially for his vision; his endurance, along with his distinctive vocabulary, has made him seem to many the most American painter working today. In studying Rosenquist's work, Judith Goldman has had the advantage of many conversations with the artist. Coming as close as anyone has come to the source of the ubiquitous lipsticks and fingernails, tomatoes and gears, fragmented faces, razor blades, and fields of spaghetti, Goldman has followed Rosenquist from New York to Florida, to his native North Dakota, and back again. In James Rosenquist she paints a portrait of the hyperkinetic artist as he himself might have painted it. James Rosenquist's reputation has grown steadily over the years, and his influence can be seen on a generation of younger painters. In this elegantly written and lavishly illustrated book Judith Goldman marshals facts, feelings, aesthetics, wisdom, and humor to illuminate the nature of his achievement.