2007. Interviews with Sixteen Contemporary Artists by Richard Whittaker. 240 pages. 22 illustrations. Softcover.

In the mid-nineteen nineties, philosopher and cultural critic Richard Whittaker founded a magazine called works and conversations to fill a gap in the contemporary discourse. In the magazine, conversations with important artists have played a central role, and Mr. Whittaker’s understated but perceptive questions have allowed the artists to comment on their work, their philosophies, their influences, the difficulty of creating art and the failures that are part of the creative process. The result of Mr. Whittaker’s attentive dialog has been a series of fascinating and highly personal interviews, which frequently contradict what others have said elsewhere about these artists.

The Conversations brings together Richard Whittaker’s selection of what he considers the sixteen most relevant interviews, providing insight into the individual artists’ work, mistakes and philosophies as well as the social and cultural values in which they worked. The artists interviewed are Richard Berger, Jim Campbell, Squeak Carnwath, James Doolin, Viola Frey, James Hubbell, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Michael C. McMillen, Nathan Oliveira, David Parker, Judy Pfaff, Irene Pijoan, Jane Rosen, Katherine Sherwood, James Turrell, and Ursula von Rydingsvard.

RICHARD WHITTAKER is the publisher and editor of the magazine works + conversations.