Overlay: Contemporary Art and the Art of Prehistory

by Lucy R. Lippard

Back in print, Overlay is Lucy Lippard's classic book on contemporary art and its connection to prehistoric sites and symbols. Viewed by critics, artists, art historians, and students as the essential text on how prehistoric images have been "overlayed" onto contemporary art by today's artists, Overlay is for anyone interested in the possibility of reintegrating art into the fabric of society as a whole, as in prehistoric times. From megalithic monuments such as Stonehenge to Richard Long's minimalism, from the earliest examples of cave drawings to Ana Mendieta's Cuban site art, from the matriarchal fertility rituals of the ancient Celts to Judy Chicago's Dinner Party , Lippard shows a continuum in the forms, materials, symbols, and imagery that artists have employed for thousands of years. Lavishly illustrated with over 320 black-and-white photographs and 8 pages of color images, Overlay includes the work of artists Carl Andre, Louise Bourgeois, Robert Smithson, Robert Morris, Charles Simonds, Mary Beth Edelson, Anna Sofaer, Michelle Stuart, Sol LeWitt, Ad Reinhardt, Alice Aycock, Nancy Holt, Emily Carr, Dennis Oppenheim, and many others.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art Design

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Since 1966, Lippard has published 20 books on feminism, art, politics and place and has received numerous awards and accolades from literary critics and art associations. A 2012 exhibition on her seminal book, Six Years: The Dematerialization of the Art Object at the Brooklyn Museum, titled "Six Years": Lucy R. Lippard and the Emergence of Conceptual Art", cites Lippard's scholarship as its point of entry into a discussion about conceptual art during its era of emergence, demonstrating her crucial role in the contemporary understanding of this period of art production and criticism. Her research on the move toward dematerialization in art making has formed a cornerstone of contemporary art scholarship and discourse.

Co-founder of Printed matter (an art bookstore in New York City centered around artist's books), the Heresies Collective, Political Art Documentation/Distribution (PAD/D), Artists Call Against U.S. Intervention in Central America, and other artists' organizations, she has also curated over 50 exhibitions, done performances, comics, guerrilla theater, and edited several independent publications the latest of which is the decidedly local La Puente de Galisteo in her home community in Galisteo, New Mexico. She has infused aesthetics with politics, and disdained disinterestedness for ethical activism.

Reviews

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an investigation into contemporary arts connection to the prehistoric. Through images, landscapes, sentiments and materials, we have remembered (unwittingly or not) this continued cycle of the earth and the things that make humans feel a connection to it. This book has been of continued importance to myself and I reread it nearly every year. It re-establishes the notion that looking into the past can help to navigate the future, to remember how important it is to remember the many lives the earth has.

[Areena · Rating 2 out of 5]

So much great material here and clearly, extensive research. But I really struggled with the format of the book (the labels on the images not matching the essay notations) and felt it wasn't strongly edited. It's historical and covers alot of area (geographically, cross-culturally and diff historical periods), so this is really important and in fact, necessary. It has great short references but wanted more some of the essays to elaborate more on her particularly thoughts, rather than simply... stating what the artist practice is / what they did etc. I also found the writing style / syntax long winded at times. This is perfect if you want to be informed of many artists, their practices and some information on prehistory, something to flip through, but not for something you would read in its entirety.

[Ziortza Pereira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Si te interesa la performance de la posthistoria-postmodernidad y/o la escultura monumental este es tu libro. Tiene buenas referencias y muy completo en cuanto a la interpretación prehistórica de las obras mencionadas.
Demasiado introductorio para un público más avanzado pero igualmente interesante.

[Marsha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. I thought it would help me understand how prehistoric shapes/images were incorporated into contemporary art. I'm sure it does that, but it's way too hard for me to understand. Or maybe I should say....I don't have the time to read it slowly enough to figure out what it means.

I think this is mostly an art book....it philosophizes about the function of art and the shape/color/textures of art. It's more than I can digest at this time.

[Megan O'Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it is... the book that got me through college....

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Future (and past) inspiration.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hugely influential book!