The nature of Arp
By: Catherine Craft ; with essays by Lewis Kachur, Walburga Krupp, Tessa Paneth-Pollak
Contributors: Arp, Jean, 1887-1966, artist; Arp, Jean, 1887-1966; Kachur, Lewis, author; Krupp, Walburga, author; Paneth-Pollak, Tessa, author; Nasher Sculpture Center; Peggy Guggenheim Collection
Publisher: Nasher Sculpture Center
Published: 2018
Place of publication: Dallas, Texas]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 227
ISBN-13: 9780991233885
Copyright date: 2018
Subjects: Exhibitions; Criticism and interpretation; Themes, motives; Abstract Sculpture; Abstract Art; Modern Arts; Male artists
Description: "Over a career spanning more than six decades, Jean (Hans) Arp (1886-1966) produced a remarkably influential body of work in a rich variety of materials and formats, creating drawings, prints, books, textiles, collages, painted reliefs, and sculptures. Disillusioned by the destructiveness of World War I, Arp sought creative strategies analogous to processes found in nature, such as growth, gravity, decay, and chance. A founder of the Dada movement and a pioneer of abstraction, he developed a vocabulary of curving, organic forms that moved fluidly between abstraction and representation and became a common point of reference for several generations of artists. Born in the politically fraught region of Alsace, between France, Germany, and Switzerland, Arp responded to the crises of the early twentieth century with an adamant rejection of nationalism and militarism, along with a pioneering exploration of practices now common in today's global art world. Switching easily between Alsatian dialect, French, and German (signaled by the dual Jean/Hans of his name), Arp deftly negotated boundaries between cultures, movements, and mediums, at ease being identified as a Dadaist, a Surrealist, or an abstractionist, a painter or a sculptor, an artist or a poet. Defying the sectarian currents that would fuel two world wars, he befriended and collaborated with artists and writers of many different nationalities and sensibilities. Accompanying a major retrospective organized by the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, this publication offers a richly illustrated and deeply research examination of Arp's life and work. Featuring more than ninety full-page color plates and numerous archival photographs, it reveals as never before Arp's contributions to modern art, the legacy of his commitement to an art drawing its inspiration from processes found in nature, and his embrace of interdisciplinary, collaborative means of expression. Essays by exhibition curator Catherine Craft and scholars Lewis Kachur, Walburga Krupp, and Tessa Paneth-Pollak explore Arp's wide-ranging, innovative body of work in relation to his forerunners and contemporaries, its subversive challenges to artistic convention, his response to two world wars, and his lifelong dedication to engagement with other artists, writers, and artisans. An introduction to the list of artworks assesses the state of reseach on the artist's complex oeuvre, and a biography and bibliography offer up-to-date references for understanding and appreciating Arp's extraordinary achievements."
Notes: Published on the occasion of the exhibition of the same name organized by, and held at, the Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, Texas, September 15, 2018-January 6, 2019. Also to be held at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, April 12-September 2, 2019.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 222-225).

"The Nature of Arp" : September 15, 2018-January 6, 2019, the Nasher Scultpure Center, Dallas, Texas, United States.

"The Nature of Arp" : April 12-September 2, 2019, the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy.

Text in English.
Table of contents: title: Foreword and acknowledgments / Jeremy Strick; title: The nature(s) of Arp / Catherine Craft; title: Strange addition: the "Arpocryphal" cardboard reliefs / Tessa Paneth-Pollak; title: Der Arp ist da: exhibition presence and display practice / Lewis Kachur; title: The artistic partnership of Jean (Hans) Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp / Walburga Krupp; title: Plates; title: List of works; title: Biography.