Nothing Is Lost

September 1, 2018
Urbane essays from a noted fashion, art, and culture critic.As editor-in-chief of Artforum and Interview magazine and contributor to the New Yorker and Vanity Fair, Sischy (1952-2015) was immersed in the worlds of art and fashion from the 1980s until her death. Warmly introduced by artist and musician Laurie Anderson, these smart, stylish, and perceptive essays, selected by Sischy's wife, Brant, impressively display the range of her interests and talents. Praising painter Alice Neel for deciding to "represent the powerful instead of the powerless" as subjects, Sischy wrote that Neel "seems to have been born to paint this world, a world in which she had one foot in and one foot out." Sischy also observed art and fashion with clarity and a certain detachment, and she respected individuals who did not flaunt their celebrity: Miuccia Prada, for example, who brings to her designs "consciousness of the history of beauty" and yet is not "fooling herself with pronouncements that she will revolutionize fashion with her latest move." Nicole Kidman, the subject of a Vanity Fair profile, struck Sischy as modest, sincere, dependable, "a person who doesn't let others down" and "hasn't undergone the kind of narcissistic transformation that can turn extremely famous people into absolute bores or unbearable phonies." Sischy seemed drawn, as well, to the vulnerable: photographer Bob Richardson, whose struggle with drugs and alcohol led to homelessness; Calvin Klein, whose retirement from fashion precipitated a substance abuse relapse; Jeff Koons, who "can be as hot-blooded as Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire"; John Galliano, "a highly functioning addict, relying on an almost lethal mix of alcohol and pills to stay on top of his game"; and Keith Haring, feverishly ambitious, who died of AIDS at 31. Sischy was also sensitive to "vicissitudes of taste" that affected artists' reputations. "The notion that art speaks for itself is appealing but unrealistic," she wrote in an essay about 19th-century photographer Clementina, Lady Hawarden, largely ignored during her lifetime.A shrewd eye investigating worlds too often dominated by hype.

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September 15, 2018

More than 30 essays on art, fashion, photography, and celebrity by the late Sischy (former editor in chief, Artforum and Interview; consulting editor, The New Yorker; contributing editor, Vanity Fair) feature in-depth profiles of Nicole Kidman, Calvin Klein, artist Francesco Clemente, and photojournalist Sebastiao Salgado, among others. Rich background details and revealing anecdotes include how Jeff Koons's traditional childhood is reflected in his art to Sam Wagstaff's collectible silver spoons at a fine restaurant dinner. Sischy's comparison of the Victorian-era photos of Clementina, Lady Hawarden, with the contemporary images of Cindy Sherman, and an examination of American attitudes toward celebrities vs. those of the Japanese regarding stars of the Takarazuka Revue theater group are outstanding. Thoughtfully edited by the author's wife, Brant, this title captures the essence of culturally significant figures and trends and reflects Sischy's charismatic spirit. A foreword by artist Laurie Anderson and well-chosen accompanying photographs enhance the text. VERDICT General readers interested in all forms of art and celebrity will enjoy these intriguing and educational essays.--Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2018
South African-born Sischy's (1952-2015) passion for art, fashion, photography, controversy, and the synergy of New York City propelled her high-profile career. In 1980, she began an eight-year run as editor-in-chief for Artforum, after which she took the helm of Interview from 1989 to 2008, then served as consulting and contributing editor, respectively, for the New Yorker and Vanity Fair. In her sparkling foreword to this generous, career-spanning, chronologically ordered collection of Sischy's stellar profiles and essays, multitalented artist and composer Laurie Anderson, a close friend, brings Sischy into focus as an irrepressible, truth-seeking, socially conscious, empathic, witty, mischievous, and zestful individual who loved life. Sischy's essays are vigorous and delectable, ranging from a vital portrait of artist Keith Haring to reflections on how Bruce Weber's South Africa photographs unlocked long-cached childhood memories to illuminations of Miuccia Prada, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jeff Koons, James Rosenquist, Calvin Klein, Francesco Clemente, Nicole Kidman, and many more. For Sischy admirers, this is a treasure; for everyone interested in art journalism at its crisp, inquisitive, and resonant best, this is gospel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)