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Close Reading: Chuck Close and the Artist Portrait
One of the most admired and innovative contemporary artists working today, Chuck Close has pioneered ideas of scale, form, and color through the theme of portraiture, a genre that he has fundamentally redefined. The first book to focus on Close's self-portraits and the portraits he has made of fellow artists, Close Reading is a uniquely intimate portrait of Close's life and work by the former director of the Walker Art Center, Martin Friedman, a longtime friend who has had unprecedented access to the artist.
After covering the biographical details of Close's life-including the sudden illness in 1988 that led to near-complete paralysis, and the degree of recovery that enabled him to continue his painting career-Friedman moves on to a probing examination of Close's self-portraiture. The final section deals with Close's paintings of artist subjects, among them Cindy Sherman, Francesco Clemente, Jasper Johns, and William Wegman. Included here are Close's insightful comments about these works and Friedman's discussions with the artists themselves, which reveal much about Close's accomplishments and issues of self-portraiture in both Close's art and their own.
After covering the biographical details of Close's life-including the sudden illness in 1988 that led to near-complete paralysis, and the degree of recovery that enabled him to continue his painting career-Friedman moves on to a probing examination of Close's self-portraiture. The final section deals with Close's paintings of artist subjects, among them Cindy Sherman, Francesco Clemente, Jasper Johns, and William Wegman. Included here are Close's insightful comments about these works and Friedman's discussions with the artists themselves, which reveal much about Close's accomplishments and issues of self-portraiture in both Close's art and their own.
- GenresBiography
352 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 14, 2022
The author’s name—Martin Friedman—sounded vaguely familiar to me when I started this book. When I finished, I looked him up, discovering that he had been director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, one of the few influential modern art museums in the Midwest. His Wikipedia page was brief but pithy: evidently he had a reputation for being exacting, even to the extent of having groundskeepers cover up piles of snow that had become dirty and unsightly.
His interest in aesthetic control makes him a perfect match for the staggeringly rigorous techniques of Chuck Close. The two were friends for decades, and it seems Friedman took up this book after he retired to Manhattan. I’m delighted he did so, as it was a surprisingly engaging read.
Published in 2005, long before Close lost face (pun intended) due to accusations of sexual harassment, this book is a detailed account of the painter’s career-long engagement with large-scale portraits. There is no one quite like him in the history of art. Once he produced that spectacular Big Self-Portrait in 1967/68 (almost 9 feet in height), the portrait was his preferred subject and realism (in all its varied guises) provided the philosophical and technical framework.
Friedman is utterly absorbed by and adores these portraits—both self portraits and artist portraits. Like Close himself, he is able to discern the minute differences in each. He describes with precision, but never in a remote way: the portraits fascinate Friedman and he shares his deep looking with the reader.
What a joy to read, particularly after Close was shamed and scolded and ostracized for the last four years of his life. While most of us are in no real position to judge the nature and magnitude of what happened, it was heartbreaking to see his reputation and work so diminished. If we held Picasso to the same standard, every museum would divest themselves of his work.
Pre-scandal, "Close Reading" focuses on the work, and very naturally on its careful (if distanced) relationship with the mind of the artist (which no one, perhaps including the artist, can really know). Despite the consistency of the foundational subject—a closely observed and close-up face—Close managed to astonish with each variation. While the sheer mastery of technique was always impressive, Close continued to innovate every decade. Instantly recognizable, his portraits continued to change and to challenge with each new iteration.
Friedman makes sure we pay attention to each one.
His interest in aesthetic control makes him a perfect match for the staggeringly rigorous techniques of Chuck Close. The two were friends for decades, and it seems Friedman took up this book after he retired to Manhattan. I’m delighted he did so, as it was a surprisingly engaging read.
Published in 2005, long before Close lost face (pun intended) due to accusations of sexual harassment, this book is a detailed account of the painter’s career-long engagement with large-scale portraits. There is no one quite like him in the history of art. Once he produced that spectacular Big Self-Portrait in 1967/68 (almost 9 feet in height), the portrait was his preferred subject and realism (in all its varied guises) provided the philosophical and technical framework.
Friedman is utterly absorbed by and adores these portraits—both self portraits and artist portraits. Like Close himself, he is able to discern the minute differences in each. He describes with precision, but never in a remote way: the portraits fascinate Friedman and he shares his deep looking with the reader.
What a joy to read, particularly after Close was shamed and scolded and ostracized for the last four years of his life. While most of us are in no real position to judge the nature and magnitude of what happened, it was heartbreaking to see his reputation and work so diminished. If we held Picasso to the same standard, every museum would divest themselves of his work.
Pre-scandal, "Close Reading" focuses on the work, and very naturally on its careful (if distanced) relationship with the mind of the artist (which no one, perhaps including the artist, can really know). Despite the consistency of the foundational subject—a closely observed and close-up face—Close managed to astonish with each variation. While the sheer mastery of technique was always impressive, Close continued to innovate every decade. Instantly recognizable, his portraits continued to change and to challenge with each new iteration.
Friedman makes sure we pay attention to each one.
January 15, 2008
Wonderful retrospective of the artist and his work. Especially love the explanations of his post-accident work.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews