Orozco in Gringoland: The Years in New York

Rating:
Summary: Skim, don't buy.
Review: Alejandro Anreus' Orozco In Gringoland (0-8263-2067-8, ...) profiles the great Mexican muralist and the years he spent in New York, focusing on the major projects done during the period. More general overviews provide casual focus; this in-depth profile is recommended for any who want a more detailed analysis of his works and achievements.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyed reading it, lousy illustrations
Review: Anreus' "Orozco in Gringoland" is a good read; clearly written with a profound understanding of context and a genuine love for the art itself. Even if one does not share the author's leftist methodology, the seriousness of his scholarship cannot be questioned.
The design of the book is terrible, so are the lousy illustrations, which are a diservice to the author's seriousness.
As a PhD candidate working on the art of Mexico and this very period, I must say that Anreus is a voice of clarity and unpretentiousness, one unfortunately missing from the Hood Museum catalogue of 2002.

Rating:
Summary: Scholarly life and times
Review: Author Alejandro Anreus produces a compelling look at the life and times of Jose Clemente Orozco during hisr stay in New York. The author points out the issues bothering Orozco, his resulting attitude and ultimitely his creative surges. Orozco, the lesser known of the "tres grandes"(three great) Mexican muralists is brought to life as the brilliant one armed artist in a foreign land. The book can be a little confusing at times as the time period, issues and art work created goes back and forth and there is somewhat of a lack of continuity. It helps to have some background information on the subject for clarity. As a single piece of analysis it is very good. The author draws upon various sources that came before his project. The book is good but like a dress shirt with too much starch it can be a bit much. Definitely on the scholarly side the book demands your attention and deserves to be read for what it is, an examination of Jose Clemente Orozcos years in New York. If you want an Orozco art book this is not for you, however there are plenty of oversized full color reproduction books available. This is a book to be read and enjoyed for it's scholarship.

Rating:
Summary: Skim, don't buy.
Review: This book is only useful because there has been so little published recently on Orozco's important work. The book is not fun to read (text needed some serious editing) and the illustrations (in black and white) look like they were scanned from photocopies--worthless. UNM is to be blamed for the terrible production values here. A book to skim, but not own.