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Awake in the Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger
Otherworldly, provocative, and strange, Awake in the Dream World channels the looming, historical grimness of the classic fairy tale, illuminating the dichotomy between the real and imagined through the context of fantasy, and bringing to life a macabre ensemble of folkloric characters. Awake in the Dream World is a mid-career retrospective of artist and author Audrey Niffenegger (The Time Traveler's Wife, bestselling novel turned feature film), reflecting her talent for cultivating a captivating narrative exclusively through pictures and her own confrontations with life, mortality, and magic.
Niffenegger's fantastical body of work is reminiscent of renowned pen and ink predecessors such as Edward Gorey, Aubrey Beardsley, Egon Schiele, Edward Dulac, and Horst Janssen, but with a brutally honest and unapologetically strange female perspective that touches upon the universal trials of life-death and decay, love, jealousy, redemption, and the inevitability of change. Her works on paper, lithographs, and aquatints reflect the often surreal narratives of her artist's books. Through self-portraiture, Niffenegger reveals her own self-assurance and whimsy alongside anxiety and loneliness, probing darker corners of the human heart and mind, often exploring the hopeless struggle with what Shakespeare called "this bloody tyrant, Time."
Essays by Audrey Niffenegger, National Museum of Women in the Arts Curator of Book Arts Krystyna Wasserman, and Art Institute of Chicago Curator and School of the Art Institute Professor Mark Pascale explore the artist's influences and work.
Published in conjunction with the June 21-November 10, 2013 exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
Niffenegger's fantastical body of work is reminiscent of renowned pen and ink predecessors such as Edward Gorey, Aubrey Beardsley, Egon Schiele, Edward Dulac, and Horst Janssen, but with a brutally honest and unapologetically strange female perspective that touches upon the universal trials of life-death and decay, love, jealousy, redemption, and the inevitability of change. Her works on paper, lithographs, and aquatints reflect the often surreal narratives of her artist's books. Through self-portraiture, Niffenegger reveals her own self-assurance and whimsy alongside anxiety and loneliness, probing darker corners of the human heart and mind, often exploring the hopeless struggle with what Shakespeare called "this bloody tyrant, Time."
Essays by Audrey Niffenegger, National Museum of Women in the Arts Curator of Book Arts Krystyna Wasserman, and Art Institute of Chicago Curator and School of the Art Institute Professor Mark Pascale explore the artist's influences and work.
Published in conjunction with the June 21-November 10, 2013 exhibition at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
120 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2013
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About the author
Audrey Niffenegger
44 books12.4k followersAudrey Niffenegger (born June 13, 1963 in South Haven, Michigan) is a writer and artist. She is also a professor in the MFA Creative Writing Program at Columbia College Chicago.
Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife (2003), was a national bestseller. The Time Traveler's Wife is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his constant absence.
Her Fearful Symmetry (2009), Niffenegger's second novel, is set in London's Highgate Cemetery where, during research for the book, Niffenegger acted as a tour guide.
Niffenegger has also published graphic and illustrated novels including: The Adventuress (2006), The Three Incestuous Sisters (2005), The Night Bookmobile (2009), and Raven Girl (2013). Raven Girl was adapted into a ballet by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and the Royal Opera House Ballet (London) in 2013.
A mid-career retrospective entitled "Awake in the Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger," was presented by the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C.) in 2013. An accompanying exhibition catalogue examines several themes in Niffenegger's visual art including her explorations of life, mortality, and magic.
Niffenegger's debut novel, The Time Traveler's Wife (2003), was a national bestseller. The Time Traveler's Wife is an unconventional love story that centers on a man with a strange genetic disorder that causes him to unpredictably time-travel and his wife, an artist, who has to cope with his constant absence.
Her Fearful Symmetry (2009), Niffenegger's second novel, is set in London's Highgate Cemetery where, during research for the book, Niffenegger acted as a tour guide.
Niffenegger has also published graphic and illustrated novels including: The Adventuress (2006), The Three Incestuous Sisters (2005), The Night Bookmobile (2009), and Raven Girl (2013). Raven Girl was adapted into a ballet by Resident Choreographer Wayne McGregor and the Royal Opera House Ballet (London) in 2013.
A mid-career retrospective entitled "Awake in the Dream World: The Art of Audrey Niffenegger," was presented by the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C.) in 2013. An accompanying exhibition catalogue examines several themes in Niffenegger's visual art including her explorations of life, mortality, and magic.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
May 2, 2022
Felt a bit pretentious.
Not sure why most of the book was devoted to showing art from her books. For example, they showed The Three Incestuous Sisters, seems like a waste. I also didn't care for the way it was organized. Instead of describing the art and commenting on it in a lengthy paragraphs proceeding the actual art, why not provide the commentary along side-by-side with the art itself?
Not sure why most of the book was devoted to showing art from her books. For example, they showed The Three Incestuous Sisters, seems like a waste. I also didn't care for the way it was organized. Instead of describing the art and commenting on it in a lengthy paragraphs proceeding the actual art, why not provide the commentary along side-by-side with the art itself?
February 6, 2016
Kahlo, Schiele and Beardsley (maybe a little Christina Rossetti?) alongside death and cats...
November 18, 2022
Brilliant catalog of Niffenegger'swork and exhibition, Alive in a Dream World. contains illustrations from many of her books, stand alone pieces and other wondrous works.
January 5, 2024
Some nice work.
May 19, 2013
I would have given this four stars but was hoping to see more examples of artwork not found in her books that I already own... love her work, though.
August 3, 2015
Niffenegger is so talented - I'm a fan of her books and her artwork. Dark and mysterious yet whimsical and charming.
July 16, 2013
I feel as if the older I get, the more empty my head will be, save for a bunch of weird and dreamlike images such as the ones found in this book of art.
June 3, 2013
This is a book about an exhibition of her artwork. She's very talented, but seeing the works in person would have been much more powerful.
June 19, 2013
Read every last word of text in this book. Her artwork is so much a part of her storytelling that this is a must for Niffenegger fans.
July 17, 2013
A beautiful catalog of an exhibition of artistic works of a very talented artist/author.
September 21, 2013
I wish I could have seen this exhibition in person. I did, however, love reading the essay Audrey include.
December 27, 2013
I was fortunate enough to see the exhibition. The book was a good reminder of the show. Would have liked more of Niffenegger's commentary on individual pieces.
March 5, 2014
a wonderful and different look at the art and bookmaking of this popular author.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews