RaveThe RumpusThe book meticulously examines the raw, nervy exit wounds her artist father created when he died in 2000. What begins as an unimaginable loss is transmuted into an unforgettable story about love, artistic influence, addiction, and legacy. From Joe Schactman’s impact on the New York gallery scene to his enduring influence on his wildly talented daughter, Negative Space is an emotional archive of an unbearable loss and the proof—and detritus—of the value of love ... Dancyger pivots nimbly through the convergence of...multiple, vivid histories ... For all its analysis of the past, Dancyger’s perspective never veers into the schmaltzy side of nostalgia ... Although Dancyger often imagines [her father] as a lattice, a guide, and a muse, she is also unsparing in her judgment ... The sheer scope of the project is a testament to two ideas: one, that paying attention is the purest form of love, and two, that art is inextricably linked to the essence of the artist. Look, and look again, and forget looking away.
