B. Dogancay The Artist, The Realist, The Visionary

Dogancay, the artist, through his art of the "Walls Paintings" of the innumerable cities that he visited has captured the mood of the masses of the second part of the 20th century.

Dogancay's art speaks to us of the reality- mainly of the concerns, daily lives, feelings and hopes for the future of the peoples of the world. He has presented us with the day to day reality be it of "Overpopulation 1960, Population Explosion 1960, Hearts-Two Plus One 1974" and others to give us a glimpse of ourselves.

This artist who is really a visionary has pointed out in his interviews the possibility of the rise of terrorism in the next century. As I read through the pages, I could not help but think of September 11.

The breadth and width of his talent and the subjects that he has covered is immense.

I have enjoyed Dogancay's art for years. I believe that he is recognized today and, will always be admired for what he has done through his art to preserve his observations of the second part of the most dynamic century of our world.

If the layout and the illustrations of this beautiful book are a feast to the eye, the life-story of Dogancay is a gift to the intellect! The artist's interest in life, in the human mind and soul has led him to observe the world around in unique ways, starting with impressive paintings of the cities he has lived in and of people he has known or not known, moving then to big-sized collages and depictions of walls and the language of the walls: graffiti. "Burhan Dogancay: A Retrospective" is a book that opens up a wonderful new world for anyone, artist or not. Some of the many colourful pictures of the works of the artist are a joy to look at, some are food for thought and yet others are instruments for us to really see what we so often look at but simply walk past.
After putting down this good-sized book (not too big so I could actually take it around with me), I was decided to not walk past any wall without seeing what is on it, nor to let life pass me by!

This retrospective catalog provides an excellent overview of this highly prolific and multi-faceted artist's life and artistic career. The texts, written by noted international art experts, are insightful, and the design of this lavishly illustrated book matches in its originality Dogancay's rich and diverse oeuvre. - The way Dogancay looks at walls and renders their messages in his work, is an eye opener for everyone and changes forever the way we look at walls and the world.

Often times, in the art world, pedantry and an overwrought sense of aesthetics make anything written on the subject unbearable for all but the snobbiest. Fortunately for the rest of rest, Mr. Hodin wrote this book. He is an engaging, lucid writer who has studied his subject thoroughly and actually knew Edvard Munch in his later years which enables him to offer a good deal of important personal information that other authors are simply not able to do. This additional insight is important, for Edvard Munch is one of the truly original geniuses of art and his work carries an urgent message for the dissociated psyche of modern man. My only complaint with this volume is that the publisher elected to print only about one third of the prints in color which, while unfortunate, is by no means devastating. If youre interested in this greatest of expressionists and interested in delving into the spiritual crisis of modern man, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. On the other hand, if youre an elitist art critic looking for stodgy literature, look elsewhere this is not your book.

An excellent and scholarly work covering all of Munch's work. Over 160 plates are discussed in depth and there are cross references to the wherabouts of each of the plates at the end of the book. The major fault is the lack of colour plates (30), and the relativly poor quality of the reproductions but all in all a valuable and comprehensive work.