My Art World: Recollections and Other Writings

As a young man, art writer John Seed had a knack for meeting extraordinary people. Mentored by Bay Area artist Nathan Oliveira and introduced to modern art by collectors Hunk and Moo Anderson, Seed was perfectly positioned to observe the explosive growth of the art world in the early 1980s. He had his portrait done by Jean-Michel Basquiat, met Richard Dienbenkorn, worked for an intense young art dealer named Larry Gagosian, got advice from painter Robert De Niro Sr. and became a founding staff member of MOCA in Los Angeles. My Art World includes Seed's vivid recollections-including essays on Joan Brown, Sam Francis and Frank Lobdell- as well as samples of his later essays for the HuffingtonPost. Once called an "Art World Anthony Bourdain" John Seed's writings are revealing, readable and honest. My Art World brings together writings that were previously published in magazines, in art catalogs, on the author's personal website, on the HuffingtonPost and on Hyperallergic.com. Table of Contents: 1. Nathan Oliveira: A Mentor and a Friend 2. Hunk and Moo Anderson: Passions Cannot Be Denied 3. A David Park Drawing: A Gift 4. Frank Lobdell: "Nothing Worth Anything Is Easy" 5. My Visit with Richard Diebenkorn 6. A Critical Piece of Advice Robert De Niro Senior Gave Me About Art 7. Mazurki: The Multiple Meanings of a Philip Guston Drawing 8. Joan Brown: Towards Unexpected Joy 9. Working for Larry Gagosian (1982-83) 10. The Angry One: Jean Michel Basquiat 11. MOCA Memories: 1983-85 12. F. Scott Hess: A Contemporary Realist 13. Nathan Oliveira: Forgetting the Self 14. Masks and Other Spectral Presences: Prints by Nathan Oliveira, 1952 - 1972 15. "Basel Mural I" by Sam Francis: An Artist at the Height of His Powers 16. Richard Diebenkorn: The Berkeley Years 17. The Other End of the Stick: Richard Diebenkorn's Ocean Park Series 18. Saying "Goodbye" to Diebenkorn 19. When Art Likes You Back 20. Contemporary Art (TM) is a Now a 'Brand' 21. Is Having an 'Eye' for Art a Thing of the Past? 22. A Brief Rant on the Exhaustion of the Avant-Garde 23. So These Three Artists Walk Into a Jeff Koons Show: Thoughts on Art and Skill 24. Hell Has Frozen Over: Figurative Art Is Poised to Become the 'Next Big Thing' 25. On Art and Empathy 26. Bo Bartlett: The Intermediary 27. Margaret Bowland: They Say It's Wonderful 28. Kerry James Marshall: "Mastry" at MOCA

• | Author: John Seed
• | Publisher: Independently published
• | Publication Date: Apr 27, 2019
• | Number of Pages: 176 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1095997920
• | ISBN-13: 9781095997925