War, Myth, Desire

Since the mid-1970s, David Levinthal has been exploring the relationship between photographic imagery and the fantasies, myths, events, and characters that shape contemporary America’s mental landscape. War, Myth, Desire is the most comprehensive monograph ever produced on the artist, containing major contributions to scholarship on the artist by curator Lisa Hostetler and contemporary art specialist Joanna Marsh, as well as commentary by art critic Dave Hickey. The volume is illustrated with examples from all of Levinthal’s major series to date – including Hitler Moves East, Modern Romance, Wild West, Desire, Blackface, Barbie, Baseball, and History. Levinthal’s work has been a touchstone for conversations about theories of representation in photography and contemporary art for four decades, as the artist has investigated the overlapping of popular imagery with personal fantasy in the contexts of romance, sex, war, history, sports, space, and social stereotypes. This publication gives readers the opportunity for the first time to consider the full scope of this major artist’s career.