Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)

by Kirk Varnedoe

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"What is abstract art good for? What's the use--for us as individuals, or for any society--of pictures of nothing, of paintings and sculptures or prints or drawings that do not seem to show anything except themselves?" In this invigorating account of abstract art since Jackson Pollock, eminent art historian Kirk Varnedoe, the former chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, asks these and other questions as he frankly confronts the uncertainties we may have about the nonrepresentational art produced in the last five decades. He makes a compelling argument for its history and value, much as E. H. Gombrich tackled representation fifty years ago in Art and Illusion, another landmark A. W. Mellon Lectures volume. Realizing that these lectures might be his final work, Varnedoe conceived of them as a statement of his faith in modern art and as the culminating example of his lucidly pragmatic and philosophical approach to art history. He delivered the lectures, edited and reproduced here with their illustrations, to overflowing crowds at the National Gallery of Art in Washington in the spring of 2003, just months before his death.

With brilliance, passion, and humor, Varnedoe addresses the skeptical attitudes and misunderstandings that we often bring to our experience of abstract art. Resisting grand generalizations, he makes a deliberate and scholarly case for abstraction--showing us that more than just pure looking is necessary to understand the self-made symbolic language of abstract art. Proceeding decade by decade, he brings alive the history and biography that inform the art while also challenging the received wisdom about distinctions between abstraction and representation, modernism and postmodernism, and minimalism and pop. The result is a fascinating and ultimately moving tour through a half century of abstract art, concluding with an unforgettable description of one of Varnedoe's favorite works.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: 4 out of 5 stars

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

4 out of 5 stars

Kirk Varnedoe was one of the most insightful writers of abstract art, 2008-10-16
Varnedoe's style of writing is educational and engaging. Having been baptised in the ocean of the New York art world his religion is true. He makes every attempt to explain abstraction and place in art history. It's a great read with excellent visual examples.

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Mind expansion, 2008-06-22
In addition to essential chronology of modern art in all is forms, the author invites you to perceive contemporary art as an expression of the mind, rather than an emotional message.
Very intellectual approach to understanding an abstract medium.
A very clever and inviting work. Highly recommended.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Highly Recommended, 2007-12-06
Pictures of Nothing is an important addition to my library. Currently completing my MFA, the lectures in this book have been both challenging and enlightening, broadening my understanding of contemporary abstract art. It is both a "cover to cover" read and a reference dipper. Written in an informed, passionate and sometimes humurous style Varnedoe's lectures are a joy to read. Well illustrated with wide-ranging coverage of art and artists within the field I can give this book 4 1/2 stars and a high recommendation.

2 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1 out of 5 stars

Great subject, disappointing book., 2007-11-01
As an abstract painter myself, I am extremely interested and infatuated with the subject of abstract art. All art, really, but abstract art, especially. I frequently comb the shelves of the local used book store to purchase books about art and artists. I typically buy books that biographically deal with the life and work of a single artist, but am also attracted to books that speak of art and the art world in general. This particular book was obtained online, so I did not have an opportunity to scan its contents and read sections of it before I purchased. But it looked like something that would be of high interest to me. "Pictures of Nothing", what a great title for a book about abstract art. Based on subject matter and reader review I made the purchase. When my pachage arrived in the mail I quickly tore open the box and fanned the book. Taking in the multitude of fine color reproductions of work that I recognized and work that I did not (but which looked very interesting) I was in anticipation of spending a good bit of time engaged in reading and expanding my knowledge and understanding of my favorite subject - abstract art. As I began my journey into the pages of my latest acquisition, I realized that the book is a verbatum transcription of a series of six lectures give by the author in the 90's on the subject of abstract art. OK, that's fine, that doesn't mean its bad. Until I continued reading. Maybe I am not enough of a scholar to understand this book. Maybe the fact that I was not at the lectures removes me one generation from the context. Or maybe its that the dialog it completely bloated, way too obscure and simply unreadable. More likely it's the fact that the man who gave the lectures died shortly after they were given and did not have the luxury of time to take those lectures and reinterpret them into a readable book format. As the days went on, I began to think about what my next art book purchase will be. As I only read one book at a time, I has to force myself not to stop at the book store to buy my next art book. I thought "I'm reading a book right now, I have to finish this before I start my next book." It started to become a chore to read this book. There are interesting tidbits here and there, but I found myself wading through a bunch of overwritten text to get to them. This book is 272 pages - on page 255 I had to close the book and declare "no mas". I could not even finish this book. I look forward to my next purchase. At least I can look at the pictures.

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5 out of 5 stars

Pictures of Nothing, 2007-10-13
This is a very good collection of lectures given about abstract art. It gives some valuable clues as to the genealogy of modern art.

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