penetrating

Always Looking: Essays on Art

This book, part of Updike's three renowned collections of art essays (Fleeting Glimpses, Unblinking Eyes, and Penetrating Wood), was first published in 2012 and contains 15 art criticism essays. Drawing on over two decades of exhibition-going experience since the 1990s, the author brings readers into close proximity with the works of great artists. From an American perspective, he offers a comprehensive assessment of nearly two hundred years of Western masterworks, from classical to modern, from Impressionism to Pop culture. He analyzes the works of over a dozen artists, including Monet, Degas, Miró, Vuillard, Beckmann, Magritte, and Lichtenstein. A dedicated essay on the renowned collectors, the Clark brothers, expounds on the unique relationship between art and humanity, exploring how art, as an adjunct to civilized life, can become both a spiritual gamble and an investment in the future.
As a literary artist of the human soul, Updike attempts to use his own philosophy and aesthetics as the unlocking code of art, summoning a hint, a poem, or even a demon hidden in his paintings; extending the visual embrace to spiritual contemplation, achieving a leap from "look" to "see." The book is accompanied by nearly 200 images of works of art.

2024-05-01

上海译文出版社

228

9787532794874