Essays on the Blurring of Art and Life

By Allan Kaprow

Book Overview

As the creator of "Happenings" and "Environments," Allan Kaprow is the prince and prophet of all we call performance art today. He is also known for having written some of the most thoughtful, provocative, and influential essays of his generation. From "The Legacy of Jackson Pollock" in 1958 to "The Meaning of Life" in 1990, Kaprow has conducted a sustained philosophical inquiry into the paradoxical relationship of art to life, and thus into the nature of meaning itself. With the publication of this book, twenty-three of Kaprow's most significant essays are brought together in one volume for the first time.

Kaprow charts his own evolution as an artist and also comments on contemporaneous developments in the arts. From the modernist avant-garde of the fifties to the current postmodern fin de si cle, Kaprow has written about--and from within--the shifting, blurring boundaries of genre, media, culture, and experience. Edited and introduced by critic Jeff Kelley, these essays bring into crisp focus the thinking of one of the most influential figures in the varied landscape of American art since the late 1950s.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520070666
• ISBN13: 9780520070660
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 0.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Allan Kaprow

I thought some of the essays in this book were inspiring. Especially the topics dealing with 'work vs. fun'. It made me start consciously thinking about the balance and if it can be achieved. The essay in the beginning about Jackson Pollack is kind of random so I recommend skipping it if you really want to enjoy the book and then maybe go back to it later if you want. Anyways Allan Kaprow is really cool and it's the act of spontaneity and unforeseen outcomes that make him amazing! He is one of those people that builds roads and has helped refine the philosophy behind the process of making art.

introduction to the mind of Kaprow and his view of art

It took me 30 years to come back to this subject, which was the logical conclusion to where art was and still is heading. His reactions are still fresh and current. He will always amaze me.