vocal antagonism would suggest. Bill Seitz, representing the museum, acquired a Marilyn painting for $250 from Warholâs 1964 show at the Stable Gallery. When Selz called his associate to disparage the show, asking, âIsnât that the most ghastly thing youâve ever seen?â Seitz purportedly responded, âYes, isnât it? I bought one.â 7
In an ironic turn of events, Selz may prove to have been at least partly justified. Warhol, as the emperor of Pop, is undergoing rather strenuous reevaluation. His anointment as the leading heir to Marcel Duchamp is increasingly questioned. 8 It is not exactly that the emperor has no clothes, but perhaps his suit is off the rack. And if the suit is the sum and substance of the art, then it may be time to question the entire enterprise. If that in fact proves to be the art-historical eventuality, the Peter Selz position, at the time unpopular, may assume the authority of prescience. However the dust on that particular issue settles, the theme in connection with Peterâs career remains valid: that is to say, Selz very often swam against the prevailing current of popular interest, critical endorsement, and even scholarly validation.
What is remarkable, and defines Selzâs position, is an unfaltering conviction about the wayâhis wayâto approach and understand art and artists. His fundamental and frequently contrary vision of how art best functions as a worthy metaphor for âsignificant human experienceâ is unwavering. In the end, it remains the hallmark of Peter Selzâs distinctively unconventional life. Seduced by a vision of art, the Munich teenager carried it with him to his new world and found a way to apply it to his life, thereby creating a career, an identity, and a way to be in the world.
Selected Bibliography and Exhibition History
The following selected bibliography and exhibition history have been compiled by Jeff Gunderson, longtime librarian at the San Francisco Art Institute, the intended repository for the Peter Selz library. Gunderson worked closely with the author of this book, along with Selz himself, in setting up the guidelines for inclusion. For a full bibliography of articles, essays, books, and catalogues by Peter Selz, as well as a complete list of exhibitions for which he was curator, see www.ucpress.edu/go/peterselz .
The lists presented here demonstrate Selzâs wide range of interests and expertise, as well as his advocacy for fine artists and his belief that art can be a fitting vehicle for social and political commentary. For the two bibliographic sections, âBooks and Cataloguesâ and âJournal Articles and Essays,â the selection of titles was made on the basis of their significance and the contribution that they represent. Although Selz has been involved in and responsible for numerous exhibition-related publications, the extent of his involvement in these catalogues has varied widely. Those listed here (and indicatedby an asterisk) are for the projects in which he took the lead authorial role, whatever his position in conceiving or producing the accompanying exhibition. Selz wrote a great number of magazine articles and reviews as well, many of them as West Coast correspondent for
Art in America
. With few exceptions, the regional exhibition reviews are not included. On the other hand, independent articles that represent the development and application of his thinking about modernist art are cited. In this section, too, exhibition catalogues are indicated by an asterisk.
Over an extensive career, Peter Selz has been responsible for a long list of innovative and challenging exhibitions, many outside the âmainstreamâ of modern and contemporary focus. Again, the selection listed here is based on the importance of the exhibitions and the role Selz played in conceiving and realizing them.
BOOKS AND CATALOGUES
Elsen, Albert Edward, Peter Selz, Joseph Masheck, and Debra
In an ironic turn of events, Selz may prove to have been at least partly justified. Warhol, as the emperor of Pop, is undergoing rather strenuous reevaluation. His anointment as the leading heir to Marcel Duchamp is increasingly questioned. 8 It is not exactly that the emperor has no clothes, but perhaps his suit is off the rack. And if the suit is the sum and substance of the art, then it may be time to question the entire enterprise. If that in fact proves to be the art-historical eventuality, the Peter Selz position, at the time unpopular, may assume the authority of prescience. However the dust on that particular issue settles, the theme in connection with Peterâs career remains valid: that is to say, Selz very often swam against the prevailing current of popular interest, critical endorsement, and even scholarly validation.
What is remarkable, and defines Selzâs position, is an unfaltering conviction about the wayâhis wayâto approach and understand art and artists. His fundamental and frequently contrary vision of how art best functions as a worthy metaphor for âsignificant human experienceâ is unwavering. In the end, it remains the hallmark of Peter Selzâs distinctively unconventional life. Seduced by a vision of art, the Munich teenager carried it with him to his new world and found a way to apply it to his life, thereby creating a career, an identity, and a way to be in the world.
Selected Bibliography and Exhibition History
The following selected bibliography and exhibition history have been compiled by Jeff Gunderson, longtime librarian at the San Francisco Art Institute, the intended repository for the Peter Selz library. Gunderson worked closely with the author of this book, along with Selz himself, in setting up the guidelines for inclusion. For a full bibliography of articles, essays, books, and catalogues by Peter Selz, as well as a complete list of exhibitions for which he was curator, see www.ucpress.edu/go/peterselz .
The lists presented here demonstrate Selzâs wide range of interests and expertise, as well as his advocacy for fine artists and his belief that art can be a fitting vehicle for social and political commentary. For the two bibliographic sections, âBooks and Cataloguesâ and âJournal Articles and Essays,â the selection of titles was made on the basis of their significance and the contribution that they represent. Although Selz has been involved in and responsible for numerous exhibition-related publications, the extent of his involvement in these catalogues has varied widely. Those listed here (and indicatedby an asterisk) are for the projects in which he took the lead authorial role, whatever his position in conceiving or producing the accompanying exhibition. Selz wrote a great number of magazine articles and reviews as well, many of them as West Coast correspondent for
Art in America
. With few exceptions, the regional exhibition reviews are not included. On the other hand, independent articles that represent the development and application of his thinking about modernist art are cited. In this section, too, exhibition catalogues are indicated by an asterisk.
Over an extensive career, Peter Selz has been responsible for a long list of innovative and challenging exhibitions, many outside the âmainstreamâ of modern and contemporary focus. Again, the selection listed here is based on the importance of the exhibitions and the role Selz played in conceiving and realizing them.
BOOKS AND CATALOGUES
Elsen, Albert Edward, Peter Selz, Joseph Masheck, and Debra
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