On July 9, 1975, artist Bas Jan Ader set sail from Chatham, Massachusetts, for Palmouth, England, on the second leg of a three-part piece titled In Search of the Miraculous. His damaged boat was found south of the western tip of Ireland nearly a year later. He was never seen again. Since his untimely death, Ader has become a legend in the art world as a figure literally willing to die for his art. Considering the artist's legacy and oeuvre beyond the mysterious circumstances of his peculiar end, Alexander Dumbadze resituates Ader's art and life within the Los Angeles conceptual art scene of the early 1970s. Blending biography, theoretical reflection, and archival research to draw a detailed picture of the world in which Ader's work was rooted, Bas Jan Ader is a thoughtful reflection on the necessity of the creative act and its inescapable relation to death.

About the Author
Alexander Dumbadze is associate professor of art history at George Washington University.

Reviews
"Dumbadze strips away the romantic-tragic myth to reveal a deliberate, ambitious, and philosophical artist. He compares Ader to other important Southern California figures like Chris Burden, Jack Goldstein, and Allen Ruppersberg....And he suggests that Ader's spectacular final voyage is just one of many reasons we should be thinking about him today." (New York Times)



Book Information
ISBN 9780226269856
Author Alexander Dumbadze
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint University of Chicago Press
Publisher The University of Chicago Press
Weight(grams) 312g
Dimensions(mm) 23mm * 16mm * 1mm