John Waters (American Originals)
Category: Books,Humor & Entertainment,Movies
John Waters (American Originals) Details
From Library Journal While the publisher refers to these brief volumes as "biographies," they are better described as lengthy interviews (or "Artists in Dialogue") with some added material (padding is too harsh a word because much of it is interesting). Few biographical facts are included, especially in the Byrne and Anderson volumes. Each volume contains an essay by the interviewer on the artist in question, the interview itself, and then, depending on the volume, such items as a tour diary excerpt (Byrne), storyboards and sketches (Anderson), interviews with colleagues (Waters), plus filmographies and discographies. The stated intention of this series is to provide insight into the creative process of popular yet visionary artists. This goal is achieved in the dialogs. Ives succeeds most fully because Waters is the most forthcoming of the three artists. Also, Ives poses more direct questions than does Howell. One of the most interesting things about this series is its choice of subjects. Performance artist Anderson, musician-and-other-things Byrne, and filmmaker Waters are all in mid-career (formerly avant-garde, perhaps, or fringe main stream), and only time will tell if they achieve a permanent place in the American cultural pantheon. Recommended for popular culture collections of public libraries.-- Martin R. Kalfatovic, Natl. Museum of American Art/Natl. Portrait Gallery Lib., Smithsonian Inst., Washington, D.C.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more
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