Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees: Over Thirty Years of Conversations with Robert Irwin

by Lawrence Weschler

Book Overview

When this book first appeared in 1982, it introduced readers to Robert Irwin, the Los Angeles artist "who one day got hooked on his own curiosity and decided to live it." Now expanded to include six additional chapters and twenty-four pages of color plates, Seeing Is Forgetting the Name of the Thing One Sees chronicles three decades of conversation between Lawrence Weschler and light and space master Irwin. It surveys many of Irwin's site-conditioned...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520256093
• ISBN13: 9780520256095
• Release Date: February 2009
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

One of the best biographies ever

Robert Irwin is a wonderful artist, and this is a must-read for anybody interested in his work, or in his West Coast brand of conceptualism. But this book is also a fantastic biography in its own right - Weschler, who now works for the New Yorker, writes like an angel, and reading this book is a pleasure indeed. To say that this is one of the best biographies of an artist ever would be far too faint praise: this is one of the best biographies ever, period.

amazing

This was an amazing read. Not only did it open my eyes to the concept of abstract art, but it opened my eyes to a different way of thinking. I highly recommend this book.

great read

Whether you know Irwin's work or not, are an art afficionado or not, this is a great read for the curious and perceptuallyaware.Weschler translates visual concepts into easily understandable language. His writing is clear and insightful and never falls into boring art jargon. This is no simple task for Irwin's work which is all about looking is not necessarily transferable on paper, but ultimately Weschler's writing does it justice. Weschler gives insight not only into the mind and heart behind this work but the personality that comprises Robert Irwin. The book is like being in a restaurant and overhearing a really interesting conversation at the adjacent table so you don't resist the urge to eavesdrop and you stay and listen 'till the end.

Amazing!

This book completely ruined me. It so opened my eyes and mind that now I spend untold hours paying attention to the most minute details of my paintings. This book coupled with Josef Albers magnum opus "The Interaction of Color" has completely gutted and replumbed my senses. The most interesting aspects of this book are the insights into Irwin's process and evolution. You can see his linear trajectory and the almost empirical methodology he used to create his work. Irwin's interdisciplinary approach to art confirmed and extended everything that I've been thinking about for the last couple of years. He helps push the artist away from thinking about paint and towards just plain thinking. The first two sections of the book are amazing, but I found the third section of the book to be a bit tedious. The problem I find with most art historians is that they try to distill or make broad generalizations about what the artist was *trying* to do. The first two sections stayed away from this and mostly stuck to documentation, interviews, etc. leaving the reader to draw their own conclusions. The third section however begins to try and sum up Irwin's contributions which is a horrible mistake. In much the same way that you have to see Irwin's work to grasp an inkling of what is going on, you can't rely on someone else's interpretation of Irwin's life's work. They will inevitably fall far short. You don't need to know anything of Irwin's work to appreciate this book. Irwin is truly one of the great thinkers of contemporary art. His ideas are what grab you.

A fascinating book about creativity and the act of creation

Wechsler is a terrific biographer for Irwin. For while Irwin is himself a voluble and willing subject, Wechsler's insights into the act of creation and the journey of an artist augment Irwin's own insights in an important and illuminating way.Having had no prior knowledge of Irwin and never having seen his work before, I still found this a fascinating book about creativity and the act of creation. I give this book as a gift frequently to those people who love and appreciate art and artists in all disciplines (painting, film, theater, photography, sculpture, pottery etc.).