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State of the Arts

California Artists Talk About Their Work

Barbara Isenberg

If California is a state of mind, Barbara Isenberg's interviews with more than fifty of California's prominent painters, writers, composers, architects, directors, and performers help explain why. They include Dave Brubeck, Joan Didion, Clint Eastwood, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Frank Gehry, David Hockney, Randy Newman, Maxine Hong Kingston, Luis Valdez, Larry Gelbart, Matt Groening, Robert Graham, Carol Burnett, Michael Tilson Thomas, and many others. Some were born in California; others came from afar for its light, space, natural beauty, and opportunity. In these conversations, they talk about how they became artists and how living in California influences their work. They offer a kaleidoscopic view of the many ways that environment affects and nurtures the creative process.
  • Details
  • Details
  • Author
  • Author
  • Reviews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Features
Ivan R. Dee
Pages: 382 • Trim: 6 x 9¼
978-1-56663-631-5 • Paperback • April 2005 • $19.95 • (£14.99)
Subjects: Art / Criticism & Theory
Barbara Isenberg has been writing about the arts for the Los Angeles Times since 1976 and is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Author of the critically acclaimed Making It Big: The Diary of a Broadway Musical, she has received a Distinguished Artists Award from the Los Angeles Music Center and has been a Getty Visiting Scholar. She lives in Los Angeles where she is associate director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at the University of Southern Califorina.
Reading these interviews is like eavesdropping on the artists' ruminations.
— The New York Times


The book is the single best example of how creativity inspires creativity in the hothouse environment of California.
— Los Angeles Times


Probing interviews...plumbs the qualities of the Golden State that inspire those who were born or moved there.
— Time


Even as a non-Californian, I find great delight in reading this book, and in the richness and contributions its heroes have made in life.
— Studs Terkel


Her book is filled with wonderful insights and anecdotes—funny, moving, and fascinating.
— Milton Esterow; Artnews


Interesting and eclectic...this is an illuminating book.
— Library Journal


A vivid sampler of perspectives on California's unique and inspiring ambience and its significant contribution to world culture.
— Booklist


Isenberg's approach, to simply transcribe and edit her interviews, results in frank, deeply personal narratives, each in its distinctive voice.
— Erin Lindholm; Performances


These diverse firsthand stories…make great reading.
— Patricia M. Hancock; Naea News


The pleasures and influences of California culture

State of the Arts

California Artists Talk About Their Work

Cover Image
Paperback
Summary
Summary
  • If California is a state of mind, Barbara Isenberg's interviews with more than fifty of California's prominent painters, writers, composers, architects, directors, and performers help explain why. They include Dave Brubeck, Joan Didion, Clint Eastwood, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Frank Gehry, David Hockney, Randy Newman, Maxine Hong Kingston, Luis Valdez, Larry Gelbart, Matt Groening, Robert Graham, Carol Burnett, Michael Tilson Thomas, and many others. Some were born in California; others came from afar for its light, space, natural beauty, and opportunity. In these conversations, they talk about how they became artists and how living in California influences their work. They offer a kaleidoscopic view of the many ways that environment affects and nurtures the creative process.
Details
Details
  • Ivan R. Dee
    Pages: 382 • Trim: 6 x 9¼
    978-1-56663-631-5 • Paperback • April 2005 • $19.95 • (£14.99)
    Subjects: Art / Criticism & Theory
Author
Author
  • Barbara Isenberg has been writing about the arts for the Los Angeles Times since 1976 and is a former reporter for the Wall Street Journal. Author of the critically acclaimed Making It Big: The Diary of a Broadway Musical, she has received a Distinguished Artists Award from the Los Angeles Music Center and has been a Getty Visiting Scholar. She lives in Los Angeles where she is associate director of the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities at the University of Southern Califorina.
Reviews
Reviews
  • Reading these interviews is like eavesdropping on the artists' ruminations.
    — The New York Times


    The book is the single best example of how creativity inspires creativity in the hothouse environment of California.
    — Los Angeles Times


    Probing interviews...plumbs the qualities of the Golden State that inspire those who were born or moved there.
    — Time


    Even as a non-Californian, I find great delight in reading this book, and in the richness and contributions its heroes have made in life.
    — Studs Terkel


    Her book is filled with wonderful insights and anecdotes—funny, moving, and fascinating.
    — Milton Esterow; Artnews


    Interesting and eclectic...this is an illuminating book.
    — Library Journal


    A vivid sampler of perspectives on California's unique and inspiring ambience and its significant contribution to world culture.
    — Booklist


    Isenberg's approach, to simply transcribe and edit her interviews, results in frank, deeply personal narratives, each in its distinctive voice.
    — Erin Lindholm; Performances


    These diverse firsthand stories…make great reading.
    — Patricia M. Hancock; Naea News


Features
Features
  • The pleasures and influences of California culture

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