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Description: Image Duplicator: Roy Lichtenstein and the Emergence of Pop Art
Acknowledgments
PublisherYale University Press
https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00065.002
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Acknowledgments
I could not have completed this project without the professional, institutional, and personal support I received throughout. This book began as a dissertation for the History of Art department at Yale University. I am indebted to Jonathan Weinberg, my primary advisor at Yale, for his crucial support and encouragement; his incisive comments on my early work gave shape to the project. Romy Golan and Bryan Wolf provided substantive critical feedback on the text. Thomas Crow not only responded to my written work but also offered invaluable advice and support as the project developed.
Research for the book was made possible by grants from the History of Art department at Yale University, the Hagley Museum and Library, and the Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies. A postdoctoral fellowship at the Getty Research Institute for the History of Art and the Humanities afforded me the time and resources necessary to finish the book. My colleagues in the Scholars and Seminars program at the Research Institute provided a stimulating environment in which to work; I particularly want to acknowledge Malcolm Baker, Dorinne Kondo, Sherrie Levine, Maria Loh, Rani Singh, and Anne Wagner for their support and comments on my project. During the final stages of writing my work benefited from frequent—and lively—conversations with Alastair Wright. The staff at the Research Institute offered much-needed support, and my research assistant, Rebecca Epstein, provided invaluable help with photographic rights and reproductions. I would also like to thank Andrew Perchuk, who offered feedback with customary good humor and insight. My time at the Getty brought me into contact with a vibrant community of scholars in Los Angeles, and I am grateful for the advice and encouragement I received from David Joselit, Juliet Koss, and Steven Nelson.
My work benefited from access to a wide range of archives and libraries, including the Archives of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art library, and the Whitney Museum of American Art library. The following individuals provided substantial assistance with my research: Allan Duffy, Leo Castelli Gallery; Dave Smith, Walt Disney Archives; Kristine Kaske-Anthony, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution; Molly Donovan, National Gallery of Art; Marla Hand, Robert B. Mayer Memorial Loan Collection; Charles Simonyi and Karen Lambright; Allan Asherman, DC Comics; and Anita Duquette, Whitney Museum of American Art. I would especially like to thank Roy Lichtenstein’s friends, colleagues, and family members who generously offered insights and historical details about the artist’s work, including Bob Adelman, Bruce Breland, Allan Kaprow, Dorothy Lichtenstein, and Idelle Weber.
Both the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation and the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein were particularly helpful and supportive. The Foundation provided a much-needed grant to offset the substantive costs of permissions. Jack Cowart, Executive Director of the Foundation, offered encouragement, advice, and valuable criticism. Shelley Lee worked tirelessly to assist me with the enormous task of compiling reproductions of the artist’s work. Cassandra Lozano patiently fielded my questions and allowed me access to Lichtenstein’s studio on several occasions to photograph notebooks and source materials. She also arranged for me to interview the artist in March 1997. The course of my research—as well as my appreciation of the artist’s work—was deeply affected by that interview. Roy Lichtenstein proved himself a gracious interviewee, and I was shocked and saddened when he passed away in October of the same year. There are many more questions I wanted to ask him. I hope that this book contributes to a greater understanding of the historical and theoretical implications of his practice.
My work has benefited from discussions with numerous colleagues, among whom I would particularly like to acknowledge Beth Handler, Richard Meyer, Sarah Rich, Kim Smith, and Cécile Whiting. I also received useful feedback from the participants and audiences at academic symposia where I presented earlier versions of the material in this book. I want to thank those who invited me to speak at the Department of Art History, University of Southern California; the Hagley Museum and Library; the “Popism” symposium sponsored by the History of Art department at Yale; the Rhode Island School of Design; and the “Media Pop” symposium co-sponsored by the Getty Research Institute, University of California, Irvine, and UCLA. An earlier version of Chapter Three (“Technology Envisioned: Lichtenstein’s Monocularity”) originally appeared—under the same name—in the Spring 2001 issue of the Oxford Art Journal.
Walter Cahn generously offered funds from the Yale Publications in the History of Art series to help offset reproduction costs. As duplication is one of the major themes of this book, perhaps it is fitting that its life at Yale University Press has been marked by a certain degree of doubling. Judy Metro initially acquired the manuscript for the Press. When Judy left Yale, Patricia Fidler stepped in and took over stewardship of the project. I am extremely grateful for the care with which she has guided the book through the production process. The manuscript was also split between two copy editors, and I want to acknowledge both Heidi Downey and Margaret Otzel for their careful attention to the text. Richard Hendel’s design carefully and thoughtfully brings text and images together.
I owe a great debt of gratitude to my family and friends. My parents Adele and Sheldon Lobel and my brother Adam provided support throughout. My brother Richard, sister Marci Lobel-Esrig, and brother-in-law Marc Esrig sustained me with their good humor, insight, and thoughtful advice. The writing of this book would have been immeasurably more difficult without the numerous visits I made to my nephew, Caleb Esrig. I am deeply grateful to Linda Rosenberg for our conversations, which left a deep imprint on my work. Martin Berger, Bruce Hainley, Nancy Marshall, Arikha Moses, and Paul Young offered their support and saw me through all that it took to complete this project. Uli Baer contributed to this book in innumerable ways; he provided invaluable feedback on the manuscript and buoyed me with his friendship, advice, and constant encouragement. Finally, words cannot adequately express the strength and energy I draw from my friendships with Susan Beren and Vincent Fecteau, who challenge, inspire, and sustain me.
This book is dedicated to the memory of Mary Risley, an artist and teacher who was central to my intellectual and creative development. Mary was my undergraduate advisor at Wesleyan University, where I majored in studio art. It was she who, after my graduation from college, pushed me to pursue graduate studies in art history and provided constant encouragement through my early years in academia. During the time I studied with her at Wesleyan she taught me about the value of looking closely and critically, in an aesthetic sense but also in a moral, political, and ethical sense. As our relationship continued outside the classroom, my appreciation of her good humor, thoughtfulness, and honesty only grew. I miss her deeply, and wish she could have seen this book completed. I only hope that her spirit of critical thought, deep love of teaching, and commitment to artistic practice live on in my own work.
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