Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists' Enumerations from the Collections of the Smithsonian Museum
"This book makes a nice pairing with Obsessive Consumption, above, providing another way to peer inside the surprisingly mundane lives of artists. Curator Liza Kirwin has gathered from the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art dozens of examples of unremarkable lists made by remarkable men and women.The lists themselves demonstrate clearly that geniuses truly are just like you and me. But it is precisely those actual accomplishments outside of the mundane list-making realm that make these lists worthy of collection, curation, and in the case of this book, further study. We see lists of paintings sold, lists of appointments, lists of books to read and more. Many of the lists give us more than just daily ephemera: we see Pablo Picasso listing his recommendations for the epoch-making Armory Show in 1912, Alexander Calder's address book is a who's who of the Parisian scene when he lived there." --my3books"`Lists' is by turns funny, telling and mundane. There are plenty of price lists, invoices and other pieces of financial arcana that demystify art-making. At times, the creative process doesn't seem any different or more magical than, say, plumbing."But what's most remarkable about the show is its ability to stir emotion, through something as prosaic as a list." --The Washington Post"From a February 13, 1967, postcard sent by artist Robert Morris to collector Samuel Wagstaff, describing `earthworks', artworks created in nature with dirt, stones, and other found materials. The postcard is included in Lists, a collection of artists' lists and visual inventories in the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art, edited by Liza Kirwin, out this month from Princeton Architectural Press."  --Harper's Magazine"Its a book that turns the trivial into treasure. " -- Rosecrans Baldwin --The Morning News, May 17, 2010"... looking at this new book from Princeton Architectural Press, I am realizing I am missing the beauty of the handmade list." -- Liza Kirwin  --Books By Its Cover, May 13, 2010"With often funny and poignant illustrations or fanciful scrawl, the lists shed some light on the artistic process." -- Eva Medoff  --CITYist, May 7th, 2010"If you're a list-maker yourself, I suggest adding reading this book to your must-read list." -- Marion Boddy-Evans  --About.com"Now, here's a gift idea for the ephemera lover on your list that has everything!"   --Ephemera Blog, May 4, 2010"...produced with Princetons usual aplomb."   --Its Nice That, May 2010