Diaries

"The important element here is not to focus on women artists to the exclusion of their (often white) male counterparts, but to show a more complete picture of the history of modern art. This is why we are so curious about these women’s visions and voices. We are motivated to learn more about these lives. And this is also why I have chosen the Diaries of Eva Hesse. The Diaries represent just one book among a number of hers that we might have spoken about. Her work was a pivotal moment in 20th-century art, and I cannot overstate the importance of the Diaries in understanding this. It’s worth noting the huge interest we received when we first published this book, which is now to be released as a second edition. The interest in her art, her life and her words is very strong, and I would situate these Diaries in a larger context of other artists’ writings from the 1960s and 70s—think of Donald Judd’s landmark writing about art between 1959 to 1975. This has also been recently reprinted, as have the studio log notes— Notes from the Woodshed by Jack Witten. I see all these titles having a massive impact and finding an amazing audience for their different perspectives on understanding the social and artistic environment of the time. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Now this commentary is being complemented finally by the perspectives of women artists working at the time, and other hitherto underrepresented artists such as African American artists, Latinos and others. Taking all of this together clearly gives us such a close reading of these times, such a nuanced view of how art was shaped and how communities interacted. The legacy of this period is still very much present in work being made by contemporary artists today, so this context is incredibly important. That’s just a part of this artistic, intellectual and social economic milieu, in this case the United States and in particular, New York. I took Hesse’s Diaries as one example also for the work we are doing, since I am happy to see that our own program of artists’ writings is growing. We are currently working on a book bringing together interviews and lectures and writings of Phyllida Barlow , for example. Aside from her art, she taught for many years, and her lecture notes are so clear and smart and eloquent, discussing her own work, the process of making it and her influences. But she also has an unusual generosity and breadth of interest, which shows in her texts. Her thinking and talking and writing showcases to a great degree the work of other artists. It’s not that an artist has to circulate words about their own creativity necessarily, but we learn so much through the eyes of artists about what surrounds them, the social and creative context in which they’re working, and the very process of being an artist, the challenges that are involved in leading a creative life. It’s also worth noting that these Diaries were not originally intended for publication. Reading them is a very intimate experience. The self-analysis from childhood onwards, the drama of her life is very much found in her texts. It was an integral part of elaborating and working through considerable self-doubt. She succeeded in contributing to the discussion of material and the performative process of material in 20th century sculpture in a way that paved the road for subsequent generations of artists to explore. We now recognise her importance, although she was in fact very unsure, driven by a strong ambition but constantly questioning the meaning of her work and methods. She created artworks that are masterpieces, which changed the understanding of what sculpture is, and she did so in a male-dominated context, again. There were few opportunities at the time for someone like Hesse to show work and she really succeeded. Hers was a very big step in the history of 20th century culture."