Ｏｎｌｉｎｅ Ｐｒｅｍｉｕｍ VVIP+++ So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard

Penguin Books (March 26, 2019)

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard is If you haven't read Knausgaard before, this book may come as a surprise to you. That's because most books about Artists are written by “experts” who more often than not have axes to grind, theories to advance in art criticism.Not Knausgaard.Like his novels where he foolishly lays out his bad behavior, raw emotions, and his reactions to everyday life, here he writes about his personal responses to Munch's work. And like his prior books, he is a master at describing the complex, often contradictory feelings that are aroused in him by Munch's paintings.Knausgaard doesn't canonize Munch; he depicts a flawed, often amatuerish, and always insecure artist who nonetheless pursues his ambition relentlessly. Munch left behind a lifetime's cache of works, many of which are not very good, but the aggregate of those paintings articulate the remarkable journey he took.Knausgaard understands the artist's process; the Doubt and Belief in Painting, as Gerhard Richter spoke about. I think he would be the first to admit that much of his own writing is not very good, but he is still working on it.

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard is More genius.

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard is Really interested in the subject but book provided little background in a language which is mediocre to the best. Not sure if it is same in original or issue is in translation

So Much Longing in So Little Space: The Art of Edvard Munch by Karl Ove Knausgaard is So Much Longing in So Little Space by Karl Ove Knausgard is part art criticism, part simply art appreciation, part biography, and part memoir. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book when I started but I was quickly caught up in every distinct aspect of the work.Knausgard, by his own admission not an art critic or historian, takes an approach to Munch's entire artistic output that makes more sense than it might initially seem. Because he is simply interested in Munch and not in promoting a particular school of thought, he looks at the things that many people who enjoy art might also think about. Of course he looks at Munch's life and circumstances and how these play into his art. But he looks also at where and how art is viewed and produced. He does this by looking, such as is possible, at where Munch worked but also by interviewing contemporary artists about their work and work environments.As a guest curator for a Munch exhibit, he has the opportunity to arrange a selection of paintings along thematic strands that he sees running through the works. Would someone "trained" in art history or an experienced curator made the same decisions? Likely not. We walk with him through the process of pondering the works, thinking about similarities and differences, and about how best to display the works to bring these things to the fore.If you're looking strictly for either a biography of Munch or a critique of Munch heavily steeped in art theory, you may well be disappointed. But I think even if you're disappointed on those points you'll still find a lot to appreciate about Knausgard's unusual approach to art appreciation as it applies to Munch. And I think his perceptive comments about the arc of Munch's life give the already known facts of his life a new perspective and meaning. Plus there are some wonderful prints of Munch's work.Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via Edelweiss.