| Jeff Whipple chronicles his first years as a professional artist when he developed his work into the highly distinctive themes, style and format he’s used since 1983. This is the genesis of his acclaimed, award-winning four-decade career when his work evolved from basic photorealism to a multilayered format laced with metaphorical imagery. There are detailed analyses of the poetic meaning behind dozens of provocative paintings and drawings. He shows sketchbook drawings from the earliest concepts to finished layouts. The book features over 900 photographs of artwork, the young artist, and his studios. In these years he became friends with Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist and Jim Dine who were the most famous artists of that era and his stories of those encounters are revealing and often humorous. Whipple describes his early efforts to get his peculiar artwork exhibited in commercial and nonprofit galleries. The story is set in Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Captiva Island, Jacksonville and Miami forty years ago when the population was much smaller, Interstate 75 was still being built, and Miami Beach was a slum. There is also a touching love story woven into the pages. The transformation of a young, destitute grad student into a confident, bold artist is often exciting, funny and profound. |
“Portrait of the Artist Strapped to a Vacuum” by Jeff Whipple
244 pages, 800+ photographs, $40
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CY95FV1V
Amazon has a 13% discount on the book: $34.90
You can get a copy from Jeff’s studio by appointment. (Cash/check only) memoir@jeffwhipple.com
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