Open Questions: Thirty Years of Writing about Art

by Helen Molesworth, Donna Wingate (Editor)

An illustrated reader featuring a collection of essays from trailblazing curator and writer Helen Molesworth – the first book of her collected writings Over the past three decades, Helen Molesworth’s singular voice and lively curatorial vision has established her as one of the most dynamic and influential voices in the art world. This generously illustrated reader – the first ever collection of her writings – presents 24 essays from the past 30 years, gathered from exhibition catalogs and art publications such as Artforum , Documents , frieze , and October . The volume opens with a new essay that lays out Molesworth’s belief in art’s unique capacity for merging knowledge and feeling. It also includes new critical and reflective commentary on her past writing, an innovative approach that will position Open Questions as an indispensable volume for viewing and thinking about contemporary art for generations to come.

Genres: Art, Essays, Art History

304 pages, Paperback

Published November 15, 2023

About the author

Helen Molesworth is Chief Curator at the Institute for Contemporary Art, Boston. She edited Louise Lawler's "Twice Untitled and Other Pictures (looking back)", published by the Wexner Center for the Arts and distributed by the MIT Press.

Reviews

[Jas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful, yet also approachable, set of essays that remind me that I too really love art.

[Literatūras ceļvedis]

"Ņujorkas kuratores un publicistes Helēnas Moulsvortas (Helen Molesworth) "Open questions" iekļāvu savā vasaras literatūras sarakstā ar vēlmi palasīt ko intelektuāli kutinošu, mākslas pasaulē vedošu, bet ne smagnēji akadēmisku. Kopumā izdevumā iekļautas 24 esejas, kas aptver autores 30 gadus ilgo darbību kuratores, mākslas kritiķes un publicistes amatā.

Moulsvortas esejas ir lasāmas lēni, pa vienai, izbaudot teksta plūdumu un iedziļinoties tēmā."

Vairāk par Helen Molesworth eseju krājumu "Open Questions : thirty years of writing about art" lasiet Ievas Ēkenas apskatā LNB izdevuma “Literatūras ceļvedis” maija/jūnija numurā.

https://www.literaturascelvedis.lv/po...

Ieva Ēkena ir LNB Speciālo krājumu departamenta Mākslas un mūzikas centra mākslas krājuma eksperte.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helen Molesworth's writing about art is clear and concise. She tries to understand things from an artist's point of view. Plus, she studied at UCSD with Manny Farber, among others. And I love that she mentions JP Gorin's films, Routine Pleasures and Poto and Cabengo. That adds plenty of points from me. Wish I could have seen her exhibition of termite art.

[Klara Plessis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of these essays are virtuosic.

[Joe Fusaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great collection of writing. Inspiring, thoughtful, honest. You may not agree with everything, but it’s hard to resist the clarity and conviction.

[lia 🐩 · Rating 4 out of 5]

nunca pensé que alguien podría hacer que me interesara duchamp! helen molesworth es una virtuosa escritora

[Minnow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Molesworth is a truly gifted writer. Not every essay here is amazing, but the ones that are simply took my breath away, and I would say this is a worthwhile read simply for those very special sections. The passages that stunned me are "My Funny Valentine: Etant donnes" and "Lisa Yuskavage: Meissen v. Hummel", although there are many others that others will likely find equally as compelling. Those are simply the ones that resonated the most with myself and my own experiences.