Into Words: The Selected Writings of Carroll Dunham

by Carroll Dunham (Contributor), Paul Chan (Editor), Scott Rothkopf (Introduction)

Dunham writes about what is made and why it matters with incisiveness, wit and candor Artist Carroll Dunham is one of the most acclaimed and innovative painters of his generation. But he is also an astute writer who has engaged with a wide variety of artists in the form of reviews, catalog essays and interviews. Collected here for the first time, Into The Selected Writings of Carroll Dunham reveals the true depth of Dunham’s writing. From reviews of Pablo Picasso and Jasper Johns to a gonzo Peter Saul interview, to an appreciation of Kara Walker’s films and reflections on his own practice, Dunham writes about what is made and why it matters with incisiveness, wit and candor. Considering the work of a range of artists with a perspective inflected by a deep knowledge of art making, Dunham’s writings provide an alternative history of the art of the past 100 years. Featuring an introduction by Scott Rothkopf, Chief Curator of the Whitney Museum of American Art and a publisher’s foreword by Paul Chan, Into Words is an expansion of the prescribed art history curriculum, and an invaluable reader for anyone interested in contemporary art and culture. Carroll Dunham was born in New Haven in 1949. Working since the late 1970s in painting, drawing and printmaking, Dunham has fruitfully mixed abstraction and representation. His work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions, including a midcareer retrospective at the New Museum, New York, as well as group exhibitions at institutions in the United States and abroad. His writings have appeared in Artforum , Bomb , The Journal and numerous exhibition catalogs.

256 pages, Paperback

Published July 25, 2017

Reviews

[Ric Dragon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of these essays or interviews are pure gold. Various are a bit humdrum art criticism sort of stuff, but for the most part, you can see and feel Dunham sussing out his passions through seeing others´art.

[Noah Haeck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, an artist writing about artists.
Content aside, Dunham writes beautifully, and adapts to the topic and the person who he's writing about. In all forms, dialogue, review, lyrically embellished, or rather dry and to the point. He does it in his way without falling into incomprehension.

[Cori Ready · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was alright.

[Matteo Cordero · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Into Words” is a collection of essays on artists such as Picasso, Philip Guston, Kara Walker, and many others, written by the world-renowned artist Carroll Dunham. Dunham, an established contemporary painter who focuses on the medium of painting, has recently contributed articles to well-known magazines such as Artforum, which were later compiled into this book.

As a big fan of Carroll Dunham’s paintings, I couldn’t say the same of his writings. However, it was interesting to read his perspective on art in general. Furthermore, I particularly admire many of the artists he discusses in the book.