Wayne Koestenbaum je autor, ktorého diela sa ponárajú do hlbín túžby, opery a homosexuality. Jeho kritická próza skúma fascinujúce prepojenie medzi umením a osobnou identitou, často s jedinečným, poetickým nádychom. Koestenbaumov štýl je zároveň prenikavý aj lyrický, čo čitateľom ponúka neopozeraný pohľad na témy, ktoré sú mu blízke.
This publication serves as a daybook, survey, and artist's book, compiling eight previous works by American artist Jack Pierson. It showcases his unique photographic style that evokes nostalgia and emotional depth, exploring themes of intimacy and celebrity culture. The books are reproduced in original size and chronological order.
Wayne Koestenbaum considers the meaning of humiliation in this eloquent work of cultural critique and personal reflection. The lives of people both famous and obscure are filled with scarlet-letter moments when their dirty laundry sees daylight. In these moments we not only witness the reversibility of “success,” of prominence, but also come to visceral terms with our own vulnerable selves. We can’t stop watching the scene of shame, identifying with it and absorbing its nearness, and relishing our imagined immunity from its stain, even as we acknowledge the universal, embarrassing predicament of living in our own bodies. With an unusual, disarming blend of autobiography and cultural commentary, noted poet and critic Wayne Koestenbaum takes us through a spectrum of mortifying circumstances—in history, literature, art, current events, music, film, and his own life. His generous disclosures and brilliant observations go beyond prurience to create a poetics of abasement. Inventive, poignant, erudite, and playful, Humiliation plunges into one of the most disquieting of human experiences, with reflections at once emboldening and humane.
"A new book of essays by the cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum, author of The Queen's Throat and Jackie Under My Skin"--
Painter, filmmaker, photographer, philosopher, all-round celebrity, Andy Warhol is an outstanding cultural icon. He revolutionised art by bringing to it images from popular culture - such as the Campbell's soup can and Marilyn Monroe's face - while his studio, the Factory, where his free-spirited cast of 'superstars' mingled with the rich and famous, became the place of origin for every groundswell shaping American culture.In many ways he can be seen as the precursor to today's 'celebrity artists' such as Tracey Emin and Damian Hurst. But what of the man behind the white wig and dark glasses?
From her media canonization at the time of JFK's death to the rash of criticism provoked by her marriage to Onassis, Jackie has always managed to elude definition and has left us the legacy of a legend. In this take on his subject, Wayne Koestenbaum interprets the cultural impact of this public figure. He considers her status as a gay icon, and compares it with those of other divas such as Maria Callas and Liz Taylor. Koestenbaum derives axioms from Jackie's wardrobe, teases home truths from her White House memoranda, and attaches symbolic significance to the chic and the tragic in Jackie's life.
The images in Bill Jacobson’s when is a place suggest risks and uncertainties. They question both the nature of perception and our existential place in the world, themes explored throughout his five decades of making photographs. Jacobson’s use of a defocused lens, bleached out skies, and an otherwise curious tonal range challenge boundaries of traditional photographic practice. Diffuse horizon lines dramatically bisect distant landscapes, the subtle curves of vague human bodies, and unknown spaces suggestive of architecture play prominent intertwining roles. Jacobson’s original large-scale prints are analog silver gelatin, printed by him in a traditional black and white darkroom. Created between 2018 and 2020, the images were made in Virginia, the south of France, upstate New York, and a studio in New York City.
Wayne Koestenbaum, Kritiker und Dozent an der amerikanischen Yale-Universität, läßt den Leser teilhaben an den Träumen und Sehnsüchten seines Lebens als Homosexueller und Opernliebhaber, insbesondere als leidenschaftlicher Verehrer der Opern-Diva. "Koestenbaum ist der Archäologe einer bestimmten Form schwuler Ästhetik und Lebensgeschichte. Aber in der Hingabe an diese Grabungen in der Jugend des eigenen Begehrens gelingt es ihm, an einem Spezialbeispiel vorzuführen, was alle erleben, wenn sie sich auf den mühsamen und abenteuerlichen Weg machen, jemand sein zu wollen - was immer auch heißt: wie jemand sein zu wollen."
