Mechanics of a Gaze

Branka Petrovic's sophisticated debut collection delves into the life and work of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt, exploring his muses, the male gaze, and the eroticized female body. The poems take as their starting point various objects from Klimt's estate (photographs, paintings, sketches) and the 400 or so postcards he wrote to his friend and confidant, Emilie Floge. The book fashions an original narrative while imagining the day-to-day life of one of the most important painters of the 20th century. The collection stunningly captures the Vienna Secession as it celebrates a critical period in art history.