Jim Shaw, Everything Must Go

by Jim Shaw

Published on the occasion of his retrospective at the Casino Luxembourg, Jim Shaw's Everything Must Go is the first catalogue to incorporate examples of the full range of the artist's profoundly original and idiosyncratic work. A survey of his career from 1974 to the present, Everything Must Go showcases his obsessive cultural cataloguing and the depth of his colorful, eccentric interior world. From the massive 170-piece multimedia work My Mirage, which traces the roller-coaster life of a white-bread American named Billy-a work that brought him international recognition-to Thrift Store Paintings, Dream Drawings, and Dream Objects, Shaw has consistently created a fantastic visual narrative that references myriad heterogeneous sources, moments of personal history, and fragments of our collective cultural consciousness. His highly individualized "outsider" perspective, which is situated in contemporary art discourse, as well as his focus on mainstream American culture have established Shaw as a seminal figure for young artists in Europe and the United States. Includes an extensive interview with Shaw by Mike Kelley.

150 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

About the author

Jim Shaw is a contemporary American artist.He received his B.F.A. from University of Michigan in 1974 and his M.F.A. from the California Institute of the Arts in 1978.

Reviews

[Kerfe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't even remember what image of Jim Shaw's caught my eye, but whatever it was, it was enough to cause me to take a book about his art out of the library.

A lot of the time I like Shaw's ideas more than the actual execution of them. He takes pop culture, especially objects and images that he absorbed growing up, and processes them through his own psyche and dreams to make his art. He is open about both his borrowing and his debt to other artists. He dislikes those who spend their lives repeating themselves instead of continually exploring and generating new and different ideas.

"For Shaw, consistency is a trap."

I agree with that.

Although, as he acknowledges, the Art World wants a signature look. They want to be able to pigeonhole an artist because it's easier to promote. Everyone knows what a Warhol looks like right?

But "a Jim Shaw"? Not at all.

The Mike Kelly interview makes for a great dialogue. Don't dismiss Shaw: he's not asking you to like it all, or any of it for that matter. But take a look. It's definitely not boring.

*Addendum: This book was published in 1999. Looking at Shaw's work from 2000+ I found, as could have been predicted, totally new and different ideas. The sculptural Dream Objects are pretty fabulous. And check out the untitled broken/abstract face paintings too.