Description
Charles Sheeler was a prominent figure in American modernism, known for his photography and paintings that focused on the industrialized capitalist ethic. However, a new analysis of his work argues that his relationship to progress was actually negative and his "precisionism" was flawed. The book delves into Sheeler's entire body of work, pointing out inconsistencies and curiosities that reveal a deeper critique of modernity. It also suggests that his late work, often dismissed, can only be understood through a radical shift in our understanding of Sheeler's work.
Charles Sheeler was the stark poet of the machine age. Photographer of the Ford Motor Company and founder of the painting movement Precisionism, he is remembered as a promoter of--and apologist for--the industrialised capitalist ethic. This major new rethink of one of the key figures of American modernism argues that Sheeler's true relationship to progress was in fact highly negative, his "precisionism" both skewed and imprecise. Covering the entire oeuvre from photography to painting and drawing attention to the inconsistencies, curiosities and "puzzles" embedded in Sheeler's work, Rawlinson reveals a profound critique of the processes of rationalisation and the conditions of modernity. The book argues for a re-evaluation of Sheeler's often dismissed late work which, it suggests, may only be understood through a radical shift in our understanding of the work of this prominent figure.
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