From Library Journal
It may surprise many that the actor/director Dennis Hopper best known as the auteur of the 1969 counterculture anthem Easy Rider has since the 1950s been a dedicated and prolific photographer, painter, and sculptor. Hopper's identity has changed from greasy eminence to minence grise, and he has now acquired celebrity as an art-world icon. This book accompanies a retrospective held at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum of Modern Art. Included with the plentiful illustrations of the more than 100 artworks in the exhibition are an essay by critic Fuchs (contributor to monographs on Karel Appel, Peter Halley, and others) in which we get a full picture of the peripatetic lifestyle of the filmmaker-artist, and an interview by Stedelijk curator Sassen highlighting the palpable influence of Hopper's friends Richard Diebenkorn and Edward Kienholz upon his art. The formal language of Hopper's paintings places him within the West Coast school of abstraction, while his far less interesting photographs of the 1960s are largely snapshots of friends and associates. As the first book on an important art name, this is recommended for all larger collections. Douglas F. Smith, Oakland P.L., CA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
Dennis Hopper's artistry has always extended to all facets of his life--from the films he as written, directed, and starred in, to his patronage of the arts and the avant-garde company he has kept, to his own photography and his painting. This new publication focuses on his paintings, which often refer to his cinematic and photographic work--Hopper incorporates photos and film stills into his canvases, arraying his works in diptychs and triptychs. "Dennis Hopper: Paintings, Photographs, Films" presents this complicated artist in all of his diversity, showing the outgoing public figure, the voyeuristic photographer, and, above all, the introverted painter. In addition to extensive full-color documentation of his paintings, "Dennis Hopper: Paintings, Photographs, Films" features texts--an essay by prominent art critic Rudi Fuchs and an interview between Hopper and Jan-Hein Sassen--that explore Hopper's visual art in unprecedented depth, situating him within the contemporary American art scene, and looking at his relationships with other artists, including Richard Diebenkorn, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and Alex Katz. Hardcover, 13.5 x 9.5 inches, 144 pages, 60 color and 16 b&w illustrations.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dennis Hopper's artistry has always extended to all facets of his life—from the films he as written, directed, and starred in, to his patronage of the arts and the avant-garde company he has kept, to his own photography and his painting. This new publication focuses on his paintings, which often refer to his cinematic and photographic work—Hopper incorporates photos and film stills into his canvases, arraying his works in diptychs and triptychs. "Dennis Hopper: Paintings, Photographs, Films" presents this complicated artist in all of his diversity, showing the outgoing public figure, the voyeuristic photographer, and, above all, the introverted painter. In addition to extensive full-color documentation of his paintings, "Dennis Hopper: Paintings, Photographs, Films" features texts—an essay by prominent art critic Rudi Fuchs and an interview between Hopper and Jan-Hein Sassen—that explore Hopper's visual art in unprecedented depth, situating him within the contemporary American art scene, and looking at his relationships with other artists, including Richard Diebenkorn, Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, and Alex Katz.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal