A01=Dave Hickey
Age Group_Uncategorized
Age Group_Uncategorized
american literature criticism
art
Author_Dave Hickey
automatic-update
Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=AB
Category=APFA
Category=ATFA
Category=AVC
Category=DS
Category=JHMC
collected writings
COP=United States
critical iconoclasts
Delivery_Delivery within 10-20 working days
disneyland
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
essay collection
essays
jimmy stewart
karen carpenter
Language_English
las vegas
movie history
nevada
no-nonsense voice
norman rockwell
ocean beach
PA=Available
popular culture
post-bush america
Price_€10 to €20
PS=Active
robert mitchum
santa barbara
softlaunch
sunset cliffs
surfing career
susan sontag
terry castle
tourism
travel
venice
waylon jennings
william claxton
Product details
- ISBN 9780226333144
- Weight: 313g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 06 Oct 2023
- Publisher: The University of Chicago Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
A collection of essays by American art critic Dave Hickey, nicknamed “The Bad Boy of Art Criticism.”
When Dave Hickey was twelve, 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 nearly killed him.
Hickey went on to develop a career as one of America’s foremost critical iconoclasts, a trusted no-nonsense voice commenting on the worlds of art and culture. Perfect Wave brings together essays on a wide range of subjects from throughout Hickey’s career, displaying his 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 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.
Bookended by previously unpublished personal essays that offer a new glimpse into Hickey’s own life—including the aforementioned conclusion to his surfing career—Perfect Wave is a welcome addition to the Hickey canon.
When Dave Hickey was twelve, 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 nearly killed him.
Hickey went on to develop a career as one of America’s foremost critical iconoclasts, a trusted no-nonsense voice commenting on the worlds of art and culture. Perfect Wave brings together essays on a wide range of subjects from throughout Hickey’s career, displaying his 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 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.
Bookended by previously unpublished personal essays that offer a new glimpse into Hickey’s own life—including the aforementioned conclusion to his surfing career—Perfect Wave is a welcome addition to the Hickey canon.
Dave Hickey (1938–2021) was the executive editor of Art in America and the author of 25 Women: Essays on Their Art,The Invisible Dragon: Essays on Beauty, and Air Guitar. He served as a contributing editor for the Village Voice and as the arts editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
