Alice Coltrane: Monument Eternal traces the cultural and spiritual legacy of one of jazz's most radical figures, placing archival ephemera — handwritten sheet music, unreleased recordings, rarely seen footage — in dialogue with works by 19 contemporary American artists.
About This Book
Published to accompany the eponymous exhibition at Los Angeles' Hammer Museum, this volume positions Alice Coltrane not merely as a musician but as a spiritual leader, independent producer, and visionary who recorded and released music entirely on her own terms — decades before such autonomy became common practice. Editor Erin Christovale brings together works by artists including Rashid Johnson and Cauleen Smith alongside primary materials from Coltrane's personal archive, tracing threads of spiritual transcendence, sonic innovation, and architectural intimacy across the whole. The book's title is drawn from Coltrane's own 1977 autobiography and devotional text, grounding the project in her voice and vision rather than external interpretation.
Key Features
- 192 pages of exhibition documentation, archival ephemera, and commissioned contemporary artworks
- Edited by Erin Christovale; contributions from Rashid Johnson, Cauleen Smith, and 17 further contemporary American artists
- Archival materials including handwritten sheet music, unreleased audio recordings, and rarely seen footage from Coltrane's personal archive
- Published by DelMonico Books, [Details available upon request]
What You'll Discover
- How Coltrane's 1977 autobiography Monument Eternal framed her spiritual beliefs and practice of self-discovery, and why that text gives the exhibition its conceptual centre
- The relationship between sonic innovation and spiritual transcendence in Coltrane's work, examined through both archival primary sources and contemporary artistic response
- Coltrane's significance as one of the first Black female American jazz musicians to record in her own studio and release music entirely independently — a lineage the exhibition makes visible
- How the juxtaposition of ephemera and contemporary art opens a space between documentation and devotion, between cultural legacy and living practice
About the Author
Erin Christovale is the editor of this volume. [Details available upon request]
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 192
- Dimensions: 25 x 32 cm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9781636811567
- Publisher: DelMonico Books
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Readers at the intersection of music history, contemporary art, and cultural theory; those with an interest in Black American creative practice, spiritual art, and independent artistic production; exhibition catalogue collectors.