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Perfect Wave

Perfect Wave

More Essays on Art and Democracy

by Dave Hickey
CD-Audio
Publication Date: 23/01/2018

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When Dave Hickey was 12, he rode the surfer's dream: the perfect wave. And, like so many things in life we long for, it didn't quite turn out--he shot the pier and dashed himself against the rocks of Sunset Cliffs in Ocean Beach, which just about killed him. Fortunately, for Hickey and for us, he survived, and continues to battle, decades into a career as one of America's foremost critical iconoclasts, a trusted, even cherished no-nonsense voice commenting on the all-too-often nonsensical worlds of art and culture.

Perfect Wave brings together essays on a wide range of subjects from throughout Hickey's career, displaying his usual breadth of interest and powerful insight into what makes art work, or not, and why we care. With Hickey as our guide, we travel to Disneyland and Vegas, London and Venice. We discover the genius of Karen Carpenter and Waylon Jennings, learn why Robert Mitchum matters more than Jimmy Stewart, and see how the stillness of Antonioni speaks to us today.

Never slow to judge--or to surprise us in doing so--Hickey powerfully relates his wincing disappointment in the later career of his early hero Susan Sontag, and shows us the appeal to our commonality that we've been missing in Norman Rockwell. With each essay, the doing is as important as what's done; the pleasure of listening to Dave Hickey's words lies nearly as much in spending time in his company as in being surprised to find yourself agreeing with his conclusions. Bookended by previously unpublished personal essays that offer a new glimpse into Hickey's own life--including the aforementioned slam-bang conclusion to his youthful surfing career--Perfect Wave is not a perfect book. But it's a damn good one, and a welcome addition to the Hickey canon.

ISBN:
9781543687019
9781543687019
Category:
Short stories
Format:
CD-Audio
Publication Date:
23-01-2018
Language:
English
Publisher:
Brilliance Publishing, Inc.
Country of origin:
United States
Dimensions (mm):
171.45x133.35x12.7mm
Weight:
0.08kg
Dave Hickey

Dave Hickey is a distinguished American art and cultural critic. He was Professor of English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and Distinguished Professor of Criticism for the MFA Program in the Department of Art & Art History at the University of New Mexico.

He has written widely, including for Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum, Interview, Harper's Magazine, Vanity Fair, Nest, New York Times, and Los Angeles Times.

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