By Michael W. Twitty
A descendant of enslaved people as well as enslavers, Twitty goes from figuring out his family tree to dissecting the origins of the foods he grew up on, southern food. There's a lot to absorb here, in terms of food making, history, DNA tests. Some chapters were easier and faster for me to read, others were slower, not as interesting. Overall, quite a fascinating and illuminating journey [non-fiction; 444 pp.].
By Timothy Hyman
This book is a great introduction to modern art if you're not only interested in abstract expressionism (AbEx). As a newbie to art history, I found it fascinating and very informative, though at times I had to look at some artists' works online to compare past paintings to those included in the book.
Artists included in this book are varied in background, gender, race, and nationalities. Some are 'outsiders' who painted outside of the art world. Others had gained their name as AbEx, but realized they needed more, and as a consequence were shunned by the art scene when they switched to figurative. Different periods in the 20th century are discussed in the context of art. It's beautiful to see all the different ways artists find to express their ideas and thoughts in an era that doesn't appreciate seeing recognizable figures in paintings, and, later on, paintings in general. Many of the artists mentioned here I haven't heard of, and it's not completely due to my ignorance. They were literally erased from art history books. I'm glad things are changing now. [256 pp., including bibliogrpahy, illustration list, and index]
A Catalog
By Hilton Als. Foreword by Jeremy Lewison
A collection of paintings and drawings by Alice Neel, some of them accompanied by beautiful essays by Hilton Als that offer a combination of historical background on the subject of the work, some insight into Alice Neel's thoughts, and Als's own experience and perspective that relate to the painting. [144pp.]
Link to book and exhibition
