Every interview with the California artist Raymond Pettibon (born 1957) reveals his affinity for an eclectic group of historic literary figures, and his drawings abound with quotations from their works. Here, for the first time, Pettibon juxtaposes his own art with an extensive selection of writings by authors whose works resonate with his own. Among these are Francis Bacon, Samuel Beckett, William Gustave Flaubert, Martin Heidegger, Alice James, Henry James, Charles Manson, H. L. Mencken, Walter Pater, Marcel Proust, Henry Reynolds, Rainer Maria Rilke, Mickey Spillane, Jonathan Swift, and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Completed by a series of thoughtful essays, the book invokes Pettibon's interests, not only in literature but also in such diverse topics as religion, economics, art history, film, and music.
About the Authors
Ann Temkin is the Muriel and Philip Berman Curator of Twentieth-Century Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Hamza Walker is the director of the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago.