Order John Evans: Collages from W.W. Norton & Company
"A year's worth of these works are beautifully reproduced in a new book, the first ever dedicated to Mr. Evans' work . . . Selected to span the almost four decades of their creation, the images form a pictorial diary, documenting both the artist's life and that of his neighborhood . . . . In rescuing and dignifying scraps of local life--a matchbook from a bar, someone's tossed-off photo-booth portrait--Mr. Evans can be thought of as a historical preservationist, operating on an unusually intimate scale."--John Strausbaugh, New York Times (2005) To read the whole article, click here:
"A world of romantic invention conjured out of odd juxtapositions of weird and familiar things." --Hilton Kramer, New York Times (1976)"A stunning visual record of Evans' journey and our own through the last four decades of the 20th century." --New-York Historical Society
Every day, beginning in 1964, painter John Evans created a collage from found objects ranging from clippings, business cards, product stickers or labels, and ticket stubs to bits of ephemera or anonymous snapshots found on the streets of his East Village neighborhood. Using colored inks, he built upon and embellished the collage elements, creating lively, vibrant compositions. His astonishing work continued through the end of 2000, which seemed an appropriate date to stop.Apart from their beauty, Evans collages are mini-time capsules that mark the end of the Vietnam war, the fiscal crisis in New York City during the 1970’s, the burgeoning economy, club scene and are market of the 1980’s, and the AIDS crisis. They are also autobiographical with postcards, snapshots, and other connections to Evan’s daily life. The 365 collages selected for this monograph, focusing on the 1970s through the 1990’s, represent a year, but are drawn from different years. They illustrate the full range of Evans’ mastery of his medium and attest to the artist’s self discipline and also his wit and whimsical sense of humor.
Also available as an Autographed Limited Edition with a debossed front cover and full cloth slipcase. 100 copies. Contact the publisher at: quantucklane@wwnorton.com for details.JOHN EVANS was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He grew up in California. He received B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees from the Art Institute of Chicago, and moved to New York City in 1963. Shortly thereafter, he began his daily collages.
ROBERT M. MURDOCK is an independent curator and art historian based in New York. He is the author of numerous exhibition catalogues and articles on modern and contemporary art.
October 2004
$75.00 clothbound (Can. $110.00) 8 1/2 by 11 inches 365 color plates 384 pages ART/ART