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Rating: 
Summary: re: the photographic record
Review: I just studied both the book and the exhibition in Chicago. The works are wonderful first hand. The book is a nice supplement in some ways, the quality of the prints is good on the surface, and there are some contextual pictures of studio environment etc. But the book is enormously disappointing in one very important way: Most of the photographs of works in the first section are taken from only one angle, head on, and lit evenly so they give *no* idea of the geometry and depth of the works. The actual works have very dramatic physical depth, but the photographs make them look as flat as paintings. It's great that there is at least an inventory presented here, unfortunately, this book missed the rare opportunity to definitively fill the need for a photographic record of Bontecou's major works. It would have been greatly improved with multiple angles or more informative lighting for the works that demand it. You still have to see an exhibition to really have any idea what her works are like. Regrettably, Amazon guidelines do not allow me to provide the URLs to Bontecou's own press release response to Storr's statements (search for "bontecou" on ereleases.com headlines).
Rating:
Summary: re: the photographic record
Review: I just studied both the book and the exhibition in Chicago. The works are wonderful first hand. The book is a nice supplement in some ways, the quality of the prints is good on the surface, and there are some contextual pictures of studio environment etc. But the book is enormously disappointing in one very important way: Most of the photographs of works in the first section are taken from only one angle, head on, and lit evenly so they give *no* idea of the geometry and depth of the works. The actual works have very dramatic physical depth, but the photographs make them look as flat as paintings. It's great that there is at least an inventory presented here, unfortunately, this book missed the rare opportunity to definitively fill the need for a photographic record of Bontecou's major works. It would have been greatly improved with multiple angles or more informative lighting for the works that demand it. You still have to see an exhibition to really have any idea what her works are like. Regrettably, Amazon guidelines do not allow me to provide the URLs to Bontecou's own press release response to Storr's statements (search for "bontecou" on ereleases.com headlines).
Rating: 
Summary: Catalog is a Wonderful Companion to the Exhibition
Review: It is difficult to review the exhibition catalog without first taking in the Lee Bontecou survey at one of the museum exhibitions currently traveling the US. Unfortunately the exhibition will travel to only three museums in the three largest cities in the US, yet most of the works come from public and private collections throughout the country. Luckily, readers get to see all of the pieces in a carefully written, scholarly book full of full-color reproductions, several essays about the artist and her process, essays about the artist and surrounding influences from (and in) art history, and a detailed exhibition checklist with thumbnail photos of each work in the full exhibition. There are over 150 works in the traveling exhibition presented in a catalog of 240 pages. The photographs are standard for a catalog presentation but photographs of the sculptural works may not give accurate renderings of scale or detail; once again, this is a catalog and not a coffee table book of a few of the artist's better-known works. For just a few dollars more than the softcover, get the hardbound edition; you will want to keep this book for a lifetime.
Rating:
Summary: Catalog is a Wonderful Companion to the Exhibition
Review: It is difficult to review the exhibition catalog without first taking in the Lee Bontecou survey at one of the museum exhibitions currently traveling the US. Unfortunately the exhibition will travel to only three museums in the three largest cities in the US, yet most of the works come from public and private collections throughout the country. Luckily, readers get to see all of the pieces in a carefully written, scholarly book full of full-color reproductions, several essays about the artist and her process, essays about the artist and surrounding influences from (and in) art history, and a detailed exhibition checklist with thumbnail photos of each work in the full exhibition. There are over 150 works in the traveling exhibition presented in a catalog of 240 pages. The photographs are standard for a catalog presentation but photographs of the sculptural works may not give accurate renderings of scale or detail; once again, this is a catalog and not a coffee table book of a few of the artist's better-known works. For just a few dollars more than the softcover, get the hardbound edition; you will want to keep this book for a lifetime.
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