Ben Shahn, on Nonconformity

A richly illustrated new exploration of the painting, photography, and illustration of the politically progressive American artistBen Shahn, On Nonconformity offers a fresh and wide-ranging account of the work of Ben Shahn (1898-1969), a Jewish immigrant from Russian-controlled Lithuania who became one of America's most prominent and prolific "social viewpoint" artists from the Great Depression through the Vietnam War.Revealing why Shahn remains so relevant today, the book examines his commitment to progressive political causes, from combating fascism to fighting for civil rights. Incorporating international perspectives, it investigates his World War II poster art, labor-related work, and engagement in postwar artistic debates. It brings new insights to Shahn's social realist and documentary styles and their evolution into allegorical, lyrical, and often abstract idioms that embrace the philosophical and the spiritual. And it demonstrates the underappreciated complexity of Shahn's layered visual language and how he experimented with modernist conceptual strategies-often involving photography-to create his paintings, murals, drawings, prints, posters, illustrated books, and commercial designs.Shahn's guiding credo-formulated in the Cold War-asserted that nonconformity was the precondition for all significant art and great social change. Ben Shahn, On Nonconformity illuminates why the artist's work should be seen as a series of "nonconformities" driven by his steadfast dedication to social justice and humanistic values.Published by the Jewish Museum, New York and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, in association with Princeton University PressExhibition ScheduleThe Jewish Museum, New YorkMay 23-October 12, 2025

Product details

• Authors: Laura Katzman, Laura/ Martfn Katzman
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 22.04.2025
• EAN: 9780691273112
• ISBN: 978-0-691-27311-2
• No. of pages: 288
• Dimensions: 206 mm x 260 mm x 20 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Art history; ART / Individual Artists / General, ART / History / Modern (late 19th Century to 1945), ART / History / Contemporary (1945-), ART / American / General, 20th century, c 1900 to c 1999, History of art & design styles: from c 1900 -, Later 19th century c 1850 to c 1899, United States of America, USA, Individual artists, art monographs, Illustration and commercial art