Published by D.A.P./University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive Edited by Lawrence Rinder, Dena Beard. Text by Alex Baker, Natasha Boas, Germano Celant, Jeffrey Deitch.
Published on the occasion of the first major survey of Barry McGees work, this monumental volume records more than two decades of incredible fecundity, over the course of which McGee has pioneered a new iconography of sharp street vitality and graphic snap. McGee began as a graffiti artist on the streets of San Francisco, working under such tags as Ray Fong, Twist and Twisto, and his work since then has hugely expanded the terms of both street art and contemporary art. The freshness of McGees work stems in part from his virtuoso handling and consolidation of a whole panoply of influences, from hobo art, sign painting and graffiti to comics, Beat literature and much else. His extraordinary skill as a draughtsman is energized by his insistence on pushing at the parameters of art--his work can be shockingly informal in the gallery and surprisingly elegant on the street--and by his keen nose for social malaise. This volume revisits McGees most influential installations in art spaces, and considers the evolution of his aesthetic within institutional settings. Previously unseen photographs by Craig Costello document the artists work on the streets of San Francisco in the early 90s, highlighting the contributions of his friends and mentors. Also included are images from the artists famous slide lecture, compiled and refined over the past 20 years, and an oral history of the Bay Areas Mission School by McGees friends, mentors and collaborators. Featuring 450 images, including many never before published, the book is designed by the artist in collaboration with Conny Purtill.
Barry McGee (born 1966) began exhibiting his work in the 1980s--not in a museum or gallery setting but on the streets of San Francisco. In the early 90s he was closely associated with the Mission School and the San Francisco Bay Area’s graffiti boom. In 2001 his work was included in the Venice Biennale.
Featured image is reproduced from Barry McGee.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
W Magazine
Hilarie Sheets
As a teen in the eighties, Barry McGee practiced the outlaw art of graffiti in San Francisco's public spaces; these days, he routinely gets invited to make his mark on museum walls..."His cluster aesthetic," says [University of California's Berkeley Art Museum's] director, Lawrence Rinder, "echoes the experience of the street...he really captures that cacophony of an inner-city American landscape."
Flare Magazine
Ryan Porter
Two decades of the graffiti artist's genre-defying work are collected in all their art-for-all glory.
Weeks after launching his first major solo museum show at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Barry McGee set up camp in Brooklyn to install this monumental wall mural on the exterior of the Mark Morris Dance building in Forte Greene. Coming soon: the exhibition catalog, co-published by D.A.P. and the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. continue to blog
Barry McGees distinctive style, collaborative approach, and celebration of the energy of the street have profoundly influenced a generation of international artists. Barry would be the first to say that his contribution is not singular, that he was just one of many who broke out of the confines of art schools, galleries, and museums in the 1980s and 1990s to make the city itself a living space for art and activism. Yet his work has been unusually bold, generous, and effective. His images and themes have resonated globally. From the tragic loneliness of a social outcast to the transgressive idealism of a youthful tagger, the characters in McGees art can be found anywhere. Similarly, the two emotional poles of his workcompassion and vivacityare universal. Barrys art cogently and beautifully cuts to this core of human experience.
- Lawrence Rinder and Dena Beard, excerpted from the Foreword to Barry McGee.
NEW YORK Showroom by Appointment Only 75 Broad Street, Suite 630 New York NY 10004 Tel 212 627 1999
LOS ANGELES Showroom by Appointment Only
818 S. Broadway, Suite 700 Los Angeles, CA 90014 Tel. 323 969 8985
ARTBOOK LLC D.A.P. | Distributed Art Publishers, Inc.
All site content Copyright C 2000-2023 by Distributed Art Publishers, Inc. and the respective publishers, authors, artists. For reproduction permissions, contact the copyright holders.
The D.A.P. Catalog www.artbook.com
Distributed by D.A.P.
FORMAT: Hbk, 6.75 x 9 in. / 448 pgs / 450 color / 15 b&w. LIST PRICE: U.S. $49.95 LIST PRICE: CANADA $60 ISBN: 9781935202851 PUBLISHER: D.A.P./University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive AVAILABLE: 10/31/2012 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Out of print AVAILABILITY: Not available TERRITORY: WRLD Export via T&H
Published by D.A.P./University of California, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. Edited by Lawrence Rinder, Dena Beard. Text by Alex Baker, Natasha Boas, Germano Celant, Jeffrey Deitch.
Published on the occasion of the first major survey of Barry McGees work, this monumental volume records more than two decades of incredible fecundity, over the course of which McGee has pioneered a new iconography of sharp street vitality and graphic snap. McGee began as a graffiti artist on the streets of San Francisco, working under such tags as Ray Fong, Twist and Twisto, and his work since then has hugely expanded the terms of both street art and contemporary art. The freshness of McGees work stems in part from his virtuoso handling and consolidation of a whole panoply of influences, from hobo art, sign painting and graffiti to comics, Beat literature and much else. His extraordinary skill as a draughtsman is energized by his insistence on pushing at the parameters of art--his work can be shockingly informal in the gallery and surprisingly elegant on the street--and by his keen nose for social malaise. This volume revisits McGees most influential installations in art spaces, and considers the evolution of his aesthetic within institutional settings. Previously unseen photographs by Craig Costello document the artists work on the streets of San Francisco in the early 90s, highlighting the contributions of his friends and mentors. Also included are images from the artists famous slide lecture, compiled and refined over the past 20 years, and an oral history of the Bay Areas Mission School by McGees friends, mentors and collaborators. Featuring 450 images, including many never before published, the book is designed by the artist in collaboration with Conny Purtill.
Barry McGee (born 1966) began exhibiting his work in the 1980s--not in a museum or gallery setting but on the streets of San Francisco. In the early 90s he was closely associated with the Mission School and the San Francisco Bay Area’s graffiti boom. In 2001 his work was included in the Venice Biennale.
