OPEN TODAY 11-6 PM. NEW IN THE BOOKSHOP: SIGMAR POLKE - GIRLFRIENDS (AFTERALL BOOKS: ONE WORK SERIES) (2017) - The artist Sigmar Polke (1941โ2010) worked across a broad range of mediaโincluding photography, painting, printmaking, sculpture, and filmโand in styles that varied from abstract expressionism to Pop. This volume in Afterallโs One Work series offers an illustrated exploration of Freundinnen (Girlfriends 1965/66), one of Polkeโs important early paintings. Taken from a found image of two young women, and using the raster dots also found in mass media reproductions, Girlfriends offers a statement about the use and social function of images. - Stefan Gronert approaches Girlfriends through its deliberate and elusive ambiguity, providing technical detail and historical background that allow some of the workโs motivation and depth to become clearer. Gronert analyzes Polkeโs relationship to his tutors and peers, especially Gerhard Richter; describes the art historical context in which Polke worked; and discusses some of the social and political issues to which Girlfriends refers. Considering such topics as the distinction between Polke and Alain Jacquet in their use of photographed material, between Polkeโs use of the raster technique and that of Roy Lichtenstein, and the feminist discourse of the time, Gronert draws on a variety of critical interpretations of Polkeโs work, including some material that has not yet been translated into English. - About the Author Stefan Gronert is Curator of Photography and New Media at Sprengel Museum Hannover. A lecturer in art history at the Braunschweig University of Art, he is the author of Jeff Wall: Specific Pictures and coeditor of Gerhard Richter: Editions 1965-2013. - Available in the bookshop today and via our website. - #worldfoodbooks #sigmarpolke #afterall #onework #themitpress (at WORLD FOOD BOOKS)
