Tom Wesselmann

Exploring Wesselmann's steadfast focus on the fundamentals of art making, this generously illustrated volume casts him as an heir to both Ingres and Matisse, and a forerunner to contemporary artists such as Eric Fischl, Richard Phillips, and Mickalene Thomas. While famous for his Great American Nude series and still lifes of the early 1960s, Wesselmann consistently reinvented himself as an artist. He explored a variety of techniques from plastic bas-relief still lifes to laser-cut landscapes and three-dimensional nudes. More so than that of any other of his contemporaries, Wesselmann's art lies at the intersection of the great classical culture that shapes art history and the universal commercialization that defines our world today. From his early collages to his later drawings in steel, Wesselmann's forceful compositions turn implements of civilization, as well as its inhabitants, into objects of consumer and sexual desire. His images exude cool objectification and rich sensuality, and exemplify the shift in cultural paradigms, between the old world and the new that began in the 1960s. Wesselmann also wrote country music, including the classic song "I Love Doing Texas with You," which appears on the soundtrack to Brokeback Mountain. Including scholarly essays and numerous illustrations, this monograph reveals the astonishing visual impact and superb aesthetic quality of Wesselmann's work