Mention Woody Guthrie, and people who know the name are likely to
think of the ""Okie Bard,"" dust storms behind him, riding a boxcar
or walking a red-dirt road, a battered guitar strapped to his back.
But unlock Guthrie from the confines of rural folk and Hollywood
mythology, as Will Kaufman does here, and you'll find an abstract
painter and sculptor who wrote about atomic energy and Ingrid
Bergman and developed advanced theories of dialectical materialism
and human engineering - in short, a folk singer who was deeply
engaged with the art, ideas, and issues of his time. Guthrie may
have been born in the Oklahoma hills, but his most productive years
were spent in the metropolitan centers of Los Angeles and New York.
Machines and their physics were among his favorite metaphors, fast
cars were his passion, and airplanes and even flying saucers were
his frequent subjects. His career-long immersion in radio,
recording, and film inspired trenchant observations concerning mass
media and communication, and he contributed to modern art as a
prolific abstract painter, graphic artist, and sculptor. This book
explores how, through multiple artistic forms, Guthrie thought and
felt about the scientific method, atomic power, and war technology,
as well as the shifting dynamics of gender and race. Drawing on
previously unpublished archival sources, Kaufman brings to the fore
what Guthrie's insistently folksy popular image obscures: the
essays, visual art, letters, verse, fiction, and voluminous
notebook entries that reveal his profoundly modern sensibilities.
Woody Guthrie emerges from these pages as a figure whose immense
artistic output reflects the nation's conflicted engagement with
modernity. Capturing the breathtaking social and technological
changes that took place during his extraordinarily productive
career, Woody Guthrie's Modern World Blues offers a unique and
much-needed new perspective on a musical icon.
General
Imprint: |
University of Oklahoma Press
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Series: |
American Popular Music Series |
Release date: |
October 2017 |
Authors: |
Will Kaufman
|
Dimensions: |
229 x 152 x 27mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Hardcover - Cloth over boards
|
Pages: |
328 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-8061-5761-0 |
Categories: |
Books >
Arts & Architecture >
General
|
LSN: |
0-8061-5761-5 |
Barcode: |
9780806157610 |
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