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First  presented in It is magazine (# 3, Winter-Spring 1959, pages 77-78)   this piece originally included six opinions by Frank O�Hara, Thomas B. Hess and William Ronald, Paul Jenkins, Milton Resnick and Irving Sandler.  We�ve included 3 of the shorter pieces here written by the latter 3 authors.  Each offers a unique perspective of then contemporary abstract art in relation to other countries.

In this brief essay self-proclaimed expert (with caveat) Joe Walentini provides a quick guide for looking at and appreciating abstract art.  This is particularly aimed at those who may feel intimated by abstraction.  Cheer up - you�re smarter than you think!

 

Reprinted from the Autumn 1959 issue of It is magazine, Jack Tworkov recorded these written snapshots from the early 50s of thoughts, impressions and observations.

Natalie Edgar is a painter and writer whose work was profiled on these pages in our April 2000 issue  She is also the wife of Philip Pavia, the sculptor and a founding member of The Club.  In this conversation with Joe Walentini she discusses the role of women as artists and members of the New York School in the 50s and 60s.
 

In this essay, Joe Walentini contrasts how memorials to tragic events have changed since World War II to incorporate more abstract elements.  With this basis he makes his case that abstract art is a unique form of visual self-expression that moves beyond the confines of the art world.

Taken from It is magazine #2 from autumn 1958, Editor and Publisher Philip Pavia analyses a uniquely new vision of space born of contemporary abstract art within the context of history.  This piece was the second in his Manifesto-in-Progress series at the time.