Nature Morte: Contemporary Artists Reinvigorate the Still-Life Tradition

Current twists on the still life reflect the tradition’s ongoing obsession with death in this survey featuring the work of John Currin, Renata Hegyi, Gabriel Orozco, Cy Twombly, and many others. For Petry (Installation Art in the New Millennium), director of London’s Museum of Contemporary Art, these images are considered nature morte (“dead nature”), as exemplified by the volume’s amusing lenticular cover of an exploding floral arrangement. After discussing the “mortal edge” present in the past five centuries of the still life, Petry traces broad historical changes alongside artistic developments, with selected contemporary works organized into chapters dedicated to “Flora,” “Food,” “House and Home,” “Fauna,” and “Death.” Chapter introductions provide snapshots of history and philosophy as context for the author’s focus on mortality, with Petry allowing himself wide latitude in selecting artwork. Artists are linked primarily by their superficial subject matter, although they are occasionally grouped by political views, style, or approaches to media, as discussed in Petry’s summaries of the their work and careers. The volume culminates in the chapter “Death,” in which Petry reminds the reader that “death is certain, our lives are short, and we should enjoy ourselves while we can.” The allure of the images is unfortunately compromised by Petry’s unwavering devotion to his theme. 391 illus., 366 in color. (Oct.)