Ep 96: Book Talks: Notes from the Woodshed by Jack Whitten w/ Mandolyn Wilson Rosen
Pep Talks for ArtistsShow Notes
In this new Book Talks episode, Mandolyn Wilson Rosen is back to help me review a new art book: Jack Whitten: Notes From the Woodshed, Edited by Katy Siegel for Hauser & Wirth. Equal parts profound, strident and hilarious, Jack Whitten's (1939-2018) 50 year studio log packs a wallop. And it's meaty at 581 pages, so we had lots to discuss! Stick around to hear some sage advice, inspiring tales of studio experimentation and even some positive affirmations from this incredible painter and sculptor.
Links to shows, videos, articles mentioned:" Jack Whitten: The Messenger" Exhibition at MOMA 2025 "Jack Whitten: Ready-nows" Two Coats of Paint Blog Xerox PARC Artist-in-Residence (PAIR) program Jack Whitten – ‘The Political is in the Work’ by TateShots Jack Whitten: An Artist's Life | Art21 "Extended Play" Uncovering Jack Whitten’s mysterious abstractions | HOW TO SEE (MOMA)
Artists mentioned: Willlem DeKooning, Robert Blackburn, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Norman Lewis, Barnett Newman, Franz Kline, Gerhard Richter, Richard Serra, Ron Gorchov, Sol Lewitt, Frank Stella, Caravaggio, Berrisford Boothe, Kerry Downey, Amy Sillman, Jake Berthot Whitten works mentioned: "The Messenger: For Art Blakey," "Homecoming: For Miles," "Black Monolith 2: Homage to Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man," "Head IV Lynching," Homage to Malcolm," "King's Wish (Martin Luther's Dream)," "King's Garden," The Slab Paintings, "Asa's Palace," Gray Paintings, Greek Alphabet Paintings, "Dead Reckoning I," "9-11-01," "Apps for Obama," "Nine Fire CDS: For the Fire Spitter (Jane Cortez)," "Zeitgeist Traps (For Michael Goldberg)," "Quantum Wall VIII for Arshile Gorky (My First Love in Painting)," "Crystal Palace: For Jeanne Siegel" Philosophers Jack loved: Immanuel Kant, Martin Heidegger, Edmund Husserl, Taha Hussein (Egyptian, Arab Renaissance), Friedrich Nietzsche, Slavoj Žižek Other artist logs: Day Book by Anne Truitt The Andy Warhol Diaries Edited by Pat Hackett Philip Guston: Collected Writings, Lectures and Conversations Edited by Clark Coolidge Agnes Martin: Painting, Writings, Remembrances Edited by Arne Glimcher
Where to get the book: Hauser & Wirth , Abe Books, Thrift Books, Ebay, Amazon
Please find Mandolyn Wilson Rosen online here: mandolynwilsonrosen.com and IG @mandolyn_rosen
Thank you, Mandy! Thank you, Peps Listeners!
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