In 1947 the young Raimonds Staprans emigrated with his family from Latvia to America, and for the past half century the artist and playwright has lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Raimonds Staprans: Art of Tranquility and Turbulence, Paul Karlstrom investigates the realism and abstraction in Staprans's work, focusing on the more edgy and self-revealing paintings by bringing the artist's life experience and personal psychology prominently into the equation. Karlstrom recognizes that the meaning of Staprans's work cannot be understood solely in terms of the painterly skill and aesthetic beauty that characterize the landscapes, marines, and still lifes. Neither can it be fully appreciated in the minimalist abstraction with which Staprans qualifies his realism. Rather, the key to understanding is hidden in the secret life and philosophical preoccupation that emerged in the author's interviews with the artist.Two prominent writers provide brief essays dealing with Staprans as a "trans-Atlanticist": Latvian cultural critic Helena Demakova brings the perspective of the artist's native country to his American emigre story.
American art historian Peter Selz examines realism's rich modernist potential in Staprans and other artists who have pushed realism to discover new conceptual and aesthetic truths.Staprans is also a writer, known in Latvia mainly for his work for the stage, and excerpts from his writings provide insight into his painting.
- ISBN10 0295985844
- ISBN13 9780295985848
- Publish Date 23 December 2005
- Publish Status Out of Stock
- Out of Print 13 July 2009
- Publish Country US
- Imprint University of Washington Press
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 160
- Language English