James Rosenquist – “Painting Below Zero”

Posted on by The Wandering Art Historian

Welcome to my 400th blog post!!! 

If you have followed this blog for any amount of time, then you know that I enjoy reading books about artists.  Mostly, these books come in the form of historical fiction by highly regarded authors like Tracy Chevalier and Susan Vreeland.  However, it is always good to hear from an artist directly and that is why I am recommending, Painting Below Zero: Notes on a Life in Art, by James Rosenquist.

Rosenquist provides a visceral and intense look at the post-war art world through his vivid first-hand experiences.  He shows us what life is like in NYC as it adapts to becoming the new capital of the art world and how the art world itself transitions away from Abstract Expressionism and towards Pop Art.  As a Floridian, I am also endeared to the fact that he splits his time between NYC and Florida’s gulf coast.

Throughout this book, Rosenquist shares his interactions with a whole host of characters including Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Yayoi Kusama, Claes Oldenburg, Salvador Dali, Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Marcel Duchamp and many more.  While always honoring their contributions to the art world, through Rosenquist’s eyes we are forced to acknowledge that these were just people who were trying to survive while remaining true to their creative selves.  It is a powerful perspective and it makes for one heck of a story!

For more information on this book, please visit…

 

 

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I am writer and artist with a degree in art history who loves to talk to people about art. I have spent the last seven years building up The Wandering Art Historian “brand” as a way to connect with people who want to learn more about art. I give lectures and presentations and teach classes and host book club discussions with a creative or artistic connection. I also write about local artists, events, museums, and exhibitions to promote the arts in Central Florida. In 2021, I had a creative crisis. I struggled with authenticity in the art making process. I decided to make myself vulnerable and find out what a real, genuine Adrienne H. Lee artwork would look like. The process was challenging and emotional and revelatory. I learned that if necessity is the mother of invention, then authenticity is the mother of reinvention. I reinvented myself and learned an entirely new medium. The resulting artwork surprised me, and it will surprise you, too. Some people wish for a fairytale ending. For me, the fairy tale is only the beginning.