Art Essays

Really showed the best and worst of essay collections. Some were overwritten, others close to perfection. I was reintroduced to Leonora Carrington, for which I am eternally grateful.

The essays collected in this book are beautifully written and intellectually valuable, providing the reader with both pleasure and challenge. Despite the thematic guide that suggests the reader consume only a selection of the essays that center around a particular theme (a useful tool for those who know exactly what they want out of this book, and probably something that should be included in more essay collections) I decided to read the essays sequentially and not miss out on any of them. I’m glad I did–I was introduced to so many artists in such great depth, and so many ways of approaching writing about art.
My favorites in this collection are Sheila Heti’s essay on Sara Cwynar and the way artists shop, Chris Kraus on the art scene in LA in the 90s and early 2000s, Ben Lerner on art vandalism, and Hanya Yanigahara, whose essay on David Wojnarowicz concludes the book purely by alphabetical accident but is somehow the perfect final act.
The emphasis of this collection is on the art essay as a literary form, so I understand the decision (and the practicalities) behind not including more images in this book, but I can’t help wishing there were more, as long stretches of description or ekphrasis are often easier to comprehend with a visual aid.
Art Essays is a fantastic bridging of the literary and art-historical worlds, and I think it would be an amazing addition to an art or book lover’s library, as well as a useful resource as part of a syllabus for a writing or art history course.

It was my pleasure to feature this title in my annual holiday gift books guide for The Globe & Mail national newspaper (Saturday Nov 20, 2021 print edition; also on AppleNews), organized thematically by giftee archetype. Feature online at related link.