Best known for his monumental images of bathrobes, tools and hearts that became icons of Pop art during the 1960s and 70s, Jim Dine remains one of the most inventive and prolific printmakers of our time. His prints currently number some 1,000 items, and at age 75, he continues to produce new works with remarkable zest and boundless energy. Dine’s prints are rooted in the spontaneous, gestural aesthetic of American Abstract Expressionism. Intensely physical in execution, they celebrate the artist’s touch. He supplements his energetic, full-body strokes not only by hand coloring but also by collaging with nontraditional media. He may also subtract, scratching or even gouging his surfaces, sometimes with power tools. The results show his great joy in working with the thick paper and rich inks and colors, or in the artist’s words, his love for “leaving my tracks.” Jim Dine Printmaker: Leaving My Tracks explores Dine’s etchings, woodcuts, lithographs and illustrated books from the last 50 years, drawing from the prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where the artist has created an archive of his life’s work. Some 160 lush full-color images, along with text based on conversations between the artist and MFA curator Clifford S. Ackley, offer an intimate look into Dine’s deeply personal approach to his favorite subject matter.
Featured image, a 1966 screen print and collage on mylar entitled "Tool Box V," is reproduced from Jim Dine, Printmaker: Leaving My Tracks.
In MFA Boston's stunning exhibition catalog for Jim Dine, Printmaker: Leaving My Tracks, an entire chapter is given over to the artist's iconic use of stylized hearts. Dine comments, "I consider myself a romantic artist. And my romance is often about the fact that I'm an artist. I'm romantic about the way I put down red, for instance. One of the kids said, in the sixties when they were at a show with me and there was this whole wall of hearts, 'My dad's in love.' But it's true, I'm in love—with making art, and working, working." Featured image, the 1971 lithograph, screen print, blockprint and collage, "The World (for Anne Waldman)," is reproduced from Jim Dine, Printmaker. continue to blog
FORMAT: Hbk, 11 x 9 in. / 176 pgs / 160 color. LIST PRICE: U.S. $55.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $72.5 GBP £50.00 ISBN: 9780878467778 PUBLISHER: MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston AVAILABLE: 3/31/2012 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WORLD
Published by MFA Publications, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Text by Clifford S. Ackley, Patrick Murphy.
Best known for his monumental images of bathrobes, tools and hearts that became icons of Pop art during the 1960s and 70s, Jim Dine remains one of the most inventive and prolific printmakers of our time. His prints currently number some 1,000 items, and at age 75, he continues to produce new works with remarkable zest and boundless energy. Dine’s prints are rooted in the spontaneous, gestural aesthetic of American Abstract Expressionism. Intensely physical in execution, they celebrate the artist’s touch. He supplements his energetic, full-body strokes not only by hand coloring but also by collaging with nontraditional media. He may also subtract, scratching or even gouging his surfaces, sometimes with power tools. The results show his great joy in working with the thick paper and rich inks and colors, or in the artist’s words, his love for “leaving my tracks.” Jim Dine Printmaker: Leaving My Tracks explores Dine’s etchings, woodcuts, lithographs and illustrated books from the last 50 years, drawing from the prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where the artist has created an archive of his life’s work. Some 160 lush full-color images, along with text based on conversations between the artist and MFA curator Clifford S. Ackley, offer an intimate look into Dine’s deeply personal approach to his favorite subject matter.
