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City of Melbourne Libraries

Acute misfortune : the life and death of Adam Cullen

Jensen, Erik (Editor)2014
Book
An unflinching portrait of talent and addiction. In 2008 the artist Adam Cullen invited journalist Erik Jensen to stay in his spare room and write his biography. What followed were four years of intense honesty and a relationship that became increasingly claustrophobic. At one point Cullen shot Jensen, in part to see how committed he was to the book. At another, he threw Jensen from a speeding motorbike. The book contract Cullen used to convince Jensen to stay with him never existed. Acute Misfortune is a riveting account of the life and death of one of Australia's most celebrated artists, the man behind the Archibald Prize-winning portrait of David Wenham. Jensen follows Cullen through drug deals and periods of deep self-reflection, onwards into his court appearance for weapons possession and finally his death in 2012 at the age of forty-six. The story is by turns tender and horrifying: a spare tale of art, sex, drugs and childhood, told at close quarters and without judgement.
Imprint:
Collingwood, VIC : Black Inc. Books, [2014], c2014.Collingwood, VIC : Black Inc. Books, [2014]©2014.
Collation:
195 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : colour illustrations ; 22 cm.
ISBN:
9781863956932
Dewey class:
759.994
Language:
English
BRN:
26991
LocationCollectionCall numberStatus/Desc
Library at the Dock-BiographyBIOG 759.994 CULLAvailable
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