Disturbing Art Lessons

Some art lessons can inspire. Others are useless or even harmful. Eli Levin has written an amusing recollection of his art-student years and subsequent development. We witness his struggles to overcome the clichés and bombast so prevalent in the art world from 1950 to 1990. From every lesson the author hopes to find something useful, even occasionally a moment of insight. In the form of an artist's memoir, this book concentrates on the difficult question "what can artists learn?" It is a close study of the crises and breakthroughs that make up the lifetime effort of one particular artist to develop his personal vision. ELI LEVIN is one of New Mexico's best-known living, working artists. Starting his career in Santa Fe in 1964, he became recognized for his paintings of local night life. While returning often to his Social Realist roots, his work has also explored mythology, still life, landscape and the nude. The son of novelist Meyer Levin, he has written art reviews and taught art history. He hosts two artist's gatherings, a model drawing group since 1969 and The Santa Fe Etching Club since 1980. Levin studied painting with Raphael Soyer, George Grosz and Robert Beverley Hale among others, and has Master's degrees from Wisconsin University and St. John's College. He is also the author of "Santa Fe Bohemia, The Art Colony, 1964-1980," and "Why I Hate Modern Art," both from Sunstone Press.