Andy Warhol: "Giant" Size

by Dave Hickey, Phaidon Press

Tracing Warhol's origins as the sickly child of Ruthenian immigrants in working-class Pittsburgh to his transformation into New York's dark prince of Pop and finally into the world's most successful 'business artist', Andy Warhol "Giant" Size provides an appropriately larger-than-life look at the celebrated artist's career. Cultural critic Dave Hickey provides a compelling essay on Warhol's geek-to-guru evolution while chapter openers by Warhol friends and insiders give special insight into the way the enigmatic artist led his life and made his art. More than 2,000 illustrations culled from rarely seen archival material, documentary photography and artwork not only provide a full picture of the artist's life but a telling look at late twentieth-century popular culture. Warhol's little-explored early career as a successful commercial illustrator and designer, his importance as a co-creator of the Pop movement, his mid-career switch to filmmaker and manager of the Velvet Underground, his founding of Interview magazine, and his bid for the hearts and pocketbooks of the high-flying glitterati are shown throughout this stunning new volume.

Genres: Art, Biography, Nonfiction, Collections, Photography, Art and Photography, Design

624 pages, Hardcover

First published February 21, 2006

About the author

David Hickey (born circa 1939) is an American art and cultural critic. He has written for many American publications including Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum, Harper's Magazine, and Vanity Fair. He is currently Professor of English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Distinguished Professor of Criticism for the MFA Program in the Department of Art & Art History at the University of New Mexico.

Known for his arguments against academicism and in favor of the effects of rough-and-tumble free markets on art, his critical essays have been published in two volumes: The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty (1993) and Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy (1997). In 2009, Hickey published a revised and updated version of The Invisible Dragon, adding an introduction that addressed changes in the art world since the book's original publication, as well as a new concluding essay. He has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report, Texas Monthly, and elsewhere. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called "genius grant."

Hickey graduated from Texas Christian University in 1961 and received his PhD from the University of Texas two years later. In 1989, SMU Press published Prior Convictions, a volume of his short fiction. He was owner-director of A Clean Well-Lighted Place, an art gallery in Austin, Texas and director of Reese Palley Gallery in New York. He has served as Executive Editor for Art in America magazine, as contributing editor to The Village Voice, as Staff Songwriter for Glaser Publications in Nashville and as Arts Editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In 1994, he received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for art criticism from the College Art Association.[1] In 2003, he was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Friends of the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Walking out of the library with this book feels like a triumph in and of itself. It's over the top and enjoyable.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew almost nothing about Andy Warhol when I read this and it actually made me think I should see some Warhol films- even though the book describes them as bad, as almost unwatchable.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final word on anything and everything you wanted to know about Andy. I read small segments at a time (since reading this tome all at once is a Herculean task). Great to flip through for artistic inspiration.

[Kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

wowzers.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ridiculously large, definitive Warhol coffee table book.

[Daniela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ridiculously large! The best and most definitive book on Andy complete with early work, film stills and behind the scenes photos and info. If you're an Andy fan this is a must have!

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nifty Valentine's Day present. Can't wait to read it. I already leafed through a lot of nifty photos and Interview magazine covers and whatnot. Good stuff.

[Rose Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I checked out this book because I didn't know anything about Warhol's works. Now I do. It is mostly photographs but there is accompanying that explains his methods and his themes.

[David Fulmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic overview of Andy Warhol with a few short essays and tons and tons of pictures from every part of his life. It goes from baby pictures to a picture of his grave and in between there are most of his famous works like portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Campbell’s Soup cans and lots of lesser known works including his early advertisements for shoes. Throughout there’s tons of quotes and illustrations to give you a taste of Warhol’s philosophy, attitude, and style. Whether you are new to Warhol or already well-versed in his art you will definitely find something to love in this book.

[Peter J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. The scope of it going from start to finish and chronicling - through brief essays and numerous pictures - Warhol's entire career, for me brought Warhol the person, the artist out from behind Warhol the caricature that can so easily be conjured. There were portions of the book where I really began to appreciate his work and others where I'm still not entirely sold. I don't know if a more in depth biographical work- which would almost certainly have to drop most of the pictures in favor of more text - would have the same effect.

[Peter Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is 16 3/4" tall, 13" wide, and 2 1/4" thick. If you don't have your ruler handy, let me assure you that it is a BIG book. Giant Size is pretty literal. My neighbors gave me this book when they moved away which now makes sense to me in retrospect as they probably didn't want to lug this huge thing around with them. I've read a Warhol biography before which was more informative than this, but this book does have a lot of his works and is a nice overview of his career. For such a big book, it still had plenty of space for more words.

[Jon FK · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Visual Biogrpahy" is the key wording here. My only complaint with the book is that when there was text, at times it didn't go into enough detail and there were some big omissions, like the circumstances of his death. But overall it's a brilliant book with great insights, quotes, and amazing photos. I did gain a deeper understanding of Andy through this. A great Artist Profile.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific overview of Warhol's career featuring comprehensive art, photos and essays. The current in- print edition is not as "giant" (dimensions) as the original, which I'm sorry I missed. Still highly recommended.

[Taylor W. Rushing · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING

[Jamil · Rating 3 out of 5]

massive.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book would totally rule if I gave a crap about Andy Warhol.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitive . . .

[Sepideh Saied · Rating 5 out of 5]

اگه دوست دارین مجموعه ای کارهای با کیفیت و کامل از عکاسی و نقاشی های اندی وارهول رو با ذکر تاریخ و جزئیات داشته باشید، خیلی کتاب پر خوبیه، از داشتنش خیلی خوشحالم.

[Dylan Kiewel · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love andy so much

[Marcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

blow job - 1963

[Fifi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Build up muscle hoisting this fabulous book into your lap!