Alfred Kubin: The Other Side (1908-) [Spanish, English, Italian]

“Alfred Kubin (1877-1959) was one of the major graphic artists of the 20th century who was widely known for his illustrations of writers of the fantastic such as Balzac, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Gustav Meyrink and Edgar Allan Poe. In his combination of the darkly decadent, the fantastic and the grotesque, in his evocations of dream and nightmare, his creation of an atmosphere of mystery and fear he resembles Mervyn Peake.

The Other Side tells of a dream kingdom which becomes a nightmare, of a journey to Pearl, a mysterious city created deep in Asia, which is also a journey to the depths of the subconscious. Or as Kubin himself called it, ‘a sort of Baedeker for those lands which are half known to us’.” (from book jacket)

Originally published in German as Die andere Seite, Christa Spangenberg, Munich, 1908

English edition
Translated by Mike Mitchell
Publisher Dedalus, UK, 2000
Dedalus European Classics series
ISBN 1873982690
249 pages

publisher (EN)
Kubin at Wikipedia

La otra parte (Spanish, trans. Juan Jose del Solar, 1988)
The Other Side (English, trans. Mike Mitchell, 2000)
L’altra parte (Italian, trans. Lia Secci, 2nd edition, 2000/2012)

John F. Moffitt: Alchemist of the Avante-Garde: The Case of Marcel Duchamp (2003)

“A fascinating book demonstrating the influence of alchemy and esoteric traditions on the mature art of Marcel Duchamp.

Acknowledged as the “Artist of the Century,” Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) left a legacy that dominates the art world to this day. Inventing the ironically dégagé attitude of “ready-made” art-making, Duchamp heralded the postmodern era and replaced Pablo Picasso as the role model for avant-garde artists. John F. Moffitt challenges commonly accepted interpretations of Duchamp’s art and persona by showing that his mature art, after 1910, is largely drawn from the influence of the occult traditions. Moffitt demonstrates that the key to understanding the cryptic meaning of Duchamp’s diverse artworks and writings is alchemy, the most pictorial of all the occult philosophies and sciences.”

Publisher SUNY Press, 2003
Suny Series in Western Esoteric Traditions
ISBN 0791457095, 9780791457092
468 pages

Publisher

PDF (updated on 2021-5-16)

Exter, Goncharova, Popova, Rozanova, Stepanova, Udaltsova: Amazons of the Avant-Garde (2000)

“Amazons of the Avant-Garde presents work by six Russian women who contributed to the development of modern art in the first quarter of the 20th century: Alexandra Exter, Natalia Goncharova, Liubov Popova, Olga Rozanova, Varvara Stepanova, and Nadezhda Udaltsova. The catalogue includes several essays that discuss the hindrances and influences affecting women in Russian avant-garde art circles. In addition, each artist featured in the exhibition (originally set up at the Deutsche Guggenheim Berlin in 1999, next year travelled to the New York’s Guggenheim through London, Venice, and Bilbao) is individually discussed at length, along with biographical timelines and excerpts of their writings from letters and publications. Color reproductions of the works in the exhibition accompany the essays to form a cohesive illustration of the art world in Russia during the first decades of the 20th century and the women who changed the aesthetic canons of their time.”

Contributions by Natalia Adaskina, John E. Bowlt, Charlotte Douglas, Matthew Drutt, Ekaterina Dyogot, Laura Engelstein, Nina Gurianova, Georgii Kovalenko, Alexander Lavrentiev, Olga Matich, Nicoletta Misler, Vasilii Rakitin, Dmitrii Sarabianov, and Jane A. Sharp

Edited by John E. Bowlt and Matthew Drutt
Published by The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 2000
ISBN 0892072253
366 pages

Review: Patricia Railing (Art Book 2000).

Publisher

PDF (23 MB, updated on 2012-7-18)
Internet Archive (multiple formats)
Guggenheim flipping book (Flash)