5 Art Books for May

By Sybaris

Sybaris’ editorial team selected every month 5 books about art that stands out both for the importance of the topics they address and for offer a critical reflection about the different aspect of the art wold. Here our selection of May:

1. Beuys 2021, 2021

Next May 12 marks the 100th birth anniversary of one of the most important artists of our times. To celebrate Beuys’ legacy and thoughts, this publicaction is a comprehensive overview of the extensive program of Beuys 2021. 100 Years of Joseph Beuys—including exhibitions, lectures and performances—and examines what it is that makes this artist so controversial and still so very topical. Further more than being a catalog, this project was conceived as a imaginary conversation with the artist through questions such as What do our thoughts, our feelings and desires have to do with sculpture? Is art the only revolutionary force? Is the future a category of art? Are these even the questions we need to be asking?

Published by Steidl

2. Carole Scheemann’s Parts of a Body House Book, 2020.

Originally published in 1972 by Beau Geste Press, this new version is conceived as an art objetc including sketches, photographs, poem-like texts and different contents reviewing her artistic career. Parts of a Body House is also an exploration of bodily autonomy, sexualidy and creativity as conceived by feminist, painter and performance artist Carolee Schneemann. The name of the book, by the way, comes from the 1966 piece Parts of a Body House:

Published by Women’s Studio Workshop

Be prepared: to have your brain picked
to have the pickings misunderstood
to be misunderstood
to be mistreated whether your success increases or decreases
to have detraction move with admiration—in step.

3. Cahier’s d’Art: Cildo Meireles, 2021.

Edited by Guilherme Wisnick and Diego Matosiego Matos in collaboration Cildo Meireles, this book explores various dimensions of the artists work: the question of origin and territory, linked to the indigenous universe; the question of architecture, place and scale; the relation between object and body. It also analyses the synaesthetic aspect of Cildo’s works, as well as his particular exploration of language, through unpublished texts and notes dedicated.

Published by Cahier’s d’Art

4. Object Lessons: Case Studies in Minimal Art, 2021

What is minimal art? What is an installation? Why light is so important for contemporary art practices? Those question came to light together with Minimal Art, that is why this publications tries to reflect about key aspects of this period through the collection of the Guggenheim Museum. What is An ambitious, 10-year study project, Object Lessons focuses on four works by key figures of 1960s Minimalism and Conceptual art: Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Robert Morris and Lawrence Weiner.

5. Talk Art: Everything you wanted to know about contemporary art but were afraid to ask, 2021.

Would a book be a good option to understand contemporary art rather than an artwok? Yes! Even more when the foreword is by art critic Jerry Saltz. With an informal and jargon-free language, this book is a interesting guide to navigating and engaging with contemporary art. The publication includes interview with important artists and curators, suchs as Tracey Emin, Rose Wylie, Helen Cammock, Jordan Casteel, Edward Enninful, Jerry Saltz, Elton John, Billy Porter, Grayson Perry, Michael Stipe, Lena Dunham, Rose McGowan, Ian McKellen, Deborah Frances-White, David Shrigley, Toyin Ojih Odutola and Michael Craig-Martin, among others. And the editors reflect about key issues like art and feminism, phothojournalims as art, art and political change, how to navigate the art woldr, ho do i create my own collection?, and make your own art.