Art is Magic is artist Jeremy Deller's attempt to tie up the key works of his career alongside the art,pop music,film,politics and history that have inspired his work. Much has been written about Deller over the decades but this is the first time he has pulled together all of his cultural touchstones.
It is divided into three sections: a visual guide through his favourite work,in-depth reflections on his life and art and,finally,a scrapbook of images to explain what drives him (from Rod Stewart to bats,the perfect jukebox to neolithic axe heads). The book features work from across Deller's life and art - much of it never seen before. These include his inflatable Stonehenge for the Glasgow International festival,the Miners'Strike (his Battle of Orgreave film),bats (a subject in at least three of Deller's works),Andy Warhol (whom he met in 1986),the links between the Industrial Revolution and Heavy Metal,and hen harriers pecking out the eyes of a Tory MP (featured in his mural against grouse shooting created for the Venice Biennale). Art is Magic gives us the most rigorous account of Deller and his work to date. Something for everybody.
Publisher: Profile Books LtdISBN: 9781800811645Number of pages: 240Weight: 1220 gDimensions: 262 x 208 x 30 mmEdition: Main
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Art is Magic,for sure. And when Jeremy Deller's involved,it's an education,irreverently British and a re-telling of the world around us. And if that's not enough to entice you,buying the book will,as promised by the artist,"bring you good luck and help you do sex better". Bargain.Art Is Magic reveals the full,dizzying range of Deller's work to date.Art is Magic is,like a lot of Deller's work,generous in spirit. It should,I think,be essential reading not just for the culturally curious but for the next generation looking to put their own artistic stamp on the world.Art is Magic is not like other art books. It is a willfully eccentric overview of his career to date that includes episodes with saucy nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow,pro-wrestler Adrian Street and a top brass band. The text is chatty,self-deprecating,eccentric,wise,opinionated,funny - Deller's voice,in other words.an intriguing and provocative retrospective(Jeremy) lists a number of alternative working titles he had for Art Is Magic - including That's Not Art,which has been said to him a few times during his career. This book firmly proves those people wrongI get to read a lot of art coffee table books and Jeremy Deller's: Art is Magic is one of the best I've read.
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