Images from the World Between: The Circus in Twentieth-Century American Art

by Donna Gustafson (Editor)

The circus as a focal point of twentieth-century American art. Images from the World Between is an engaging survey of circus imagery in twentieth-century American art. In her introductory essay, curator Donna Gustafson chronicles the history of the American circus, showing how and why it came to be an important subject for American art. Through a discussion of a wide range of paintings, sculptures, prints, and photographs, Gustafson examines how the circus has been represented both as a microcosm of society and as an alternative reality. Some artists have been drawn to the abstract beauty of the circus ring, tent, and performances. Others have immortalized individual performers such as trapeze artist Alfredo Codona, animal trainer Clyde Beatty, and aerialist Lillian Lietzel for their physical prowess, grace, and courage. Still others have focused on the darker aspects of circus life, such as the danger inherent in many of the performances and the appeal of the grotesque.The book accompanies an exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts. Among the artists discussed are Diane Arbus, George Bellows, Rhona Bitner, Alexander Calder, John Stuart Curry, Charles Demeuth, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Lisette Model, and Bruce Nauman. In addition to Gustafson's, the book contains essays by Karal Ann Marling on the postwar revival of interest in circus motifs and on the clown in popular culture, by Ellen Handy on the circus in twentieth-century photography, by Lee Siegel on the circus in twentieth-century literature, and by Eugene R. Gaddis on A. Everett "Chick" Austin's collection and exhibition of paintings with circus themes. As director of the Wadsworth Atheneum and the Ringling Museum of Art, and as a performing magician, Austin united the worlds of art and the circus.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art History, Art

184 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2001

Reviews

[CD · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Circus.

not maximus
nor du soleil
or even - Circus!

The all time magical, if a bit scary for some, Circus with focus on Americana. A grouping of artwork from promotional to documentary this work is a must view/read for any nostaligiatarian (a made up word of my own I truly believe), historian of the performing arts, etc. Rare or certainly rarely seen images of the great clowns, fliers, and personalities of the road show. The famed poster of "The Last Stand Under the Bigtop" of Ringling Brothers is here too.

While this work is a selection of images and many of the standards are missing or poorly reproduced, overall this is a very worthy compliment to any personal circus memorabilia collection. While the curators of the various represented collections of course had say so, there are some missing pieces of art and notes on collections.

Not enough or little from the Mid-western circus winter camps (Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, etc) is included. The Florida of an era is mentioned, but the breadth of the historical inclusions seem to stop around the mid 1960's. Certainly a re-birth and new generation came along in the Circus world and it is worth more mention than it receives.

Overall the work is valid for the material it covers and it does include some, if only a nodding acknowledgement, of the more famous works from the best documentarians. Highly recommended to art history students/buffs/librarians for it providing another chapter in this history and generally recommended to visual artists and connoisseurs of the same for the quality of the better part of the work.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is split up into 4 sections. The first deals with paintings, the second with photography, the third with clowns, and the fourth is about a circus art museum - I'm assuming it's the only one of its kind to get its own chapter. The text is more about circus history than about the art, and while that was interesting, the focus on American art meant that much of circus history was left out.

It was interesting, however, to see the vast difference between the circus in paintings versus the circus in photographs. The paintings were full of color and life and captured a lot of the vitality of circus - though not necessarily appearing especially realistic. The photographs, for the most part - and perhaps because most were black and white - were very still, capturing dark or quiet moments around the circus. I understand that it took some time before photography developed to where it could capture movement as more than a blur, yet it amazed me that none of the photographs in this collection showed much movement. Most were portraits or abstractions.

The section on clowns went into more detail about the clown in literature and film than art, and more about the fear of clowns. John Wayne Gacy was discussed, though none of his clown paintings were included. I found toward the end of the photography section that many of the images were film stills rather than photographs. While film is an art, I wasn't really expecting a rundown of the circus in movies.

This was an interesting collection for lovers of the circus, but if you are looking for bright, beautiful photographs, you won't find those here. I'd recommend Cirque Du Soleil: 20 Years Under the Sun - An Authorized History for great images of modern circus.