Art History, After Sherrie Levine

This insightful exploration of Sherrie Levine's work highlights her critical role in postmodernism and challenges traditional art narratives. Art History, After Sherrie Levine offers a fresh perspective.

This book provides a comprehensive examination of the career of New York-based artist Sherrie Levine, focusing on her influential 1981 series of photographs titled 'after Walker Evans.' These photographs, which draw from Evans' iconic depression-era documentation of rural Alabama, have become pivotal in discussions surrounding postmodernism in the visual arts during the 1980s. Through this in-depth analysis, readers are invited to explore how Levine's work challenges traditional notions of authorship and artistic identity.

Howard Singerman, the author, delves into a diverse range of historical and theoretical sources to present a nuanced understanding of Levine's artistic journey. From the outset, Levine's work has been recognized for its ability to question the very definition of an 'artist' and the concept of an oeuvre. Over the past thirty years, she has crafted a significant body of work that not only responds to her predecessors but also asserts her unique voice within the contemporary art landscape.

In addition to exploring Levine's engagement with Evans, the book also addresses her interactions with other influential figures such as Brancusi and Malevich. Singerman presents Levine's artistic practice as an experimental approach to art history, highlighting how her work serves as a material reenactment of the complexities inherent in the language of art history itself. This examination reveals the intricate ways in which art resists categorization and challenges conventional narratives.