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Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 709
EAN: 9780500238189
ISBN: 0500238189
Label: Thames & Hudson
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 688
Publication Date: March 15, 2005
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Studio: Thames & Hudson
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Editorial Review:
Here's an exceptional rarity: a large, sweeping art history text book so well-done it almost makes the reader wish she or he were back in school. It's rather amazing that it took so long for a book like Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, and Postmodernism to exist: a balanced, seven hundred page historical tome written with multiple perspectives in mind. As any undergrad knows, H.W. Janson's ubiquitous History of Art was written as if art history were some sort of race to colonize ideas and imagery; you'll likely not miss Janson's fetish for pointing out who did what first. Penned by a nimble crew who all teach at Ivy League universities, Art Since 1900, which mirrors the development of psychoanalysis and the creation of a huge international art scene, is on a smaller scale a history of contemporary theory and the art world almost as much as it is the art itself. Attention is paid throughout to important exhibits and texts, pointing out the rippling effect throughout the art community of these mirrors and portals. The book is arranged so that there are one or two essays per year. In such a novel format, often undervalued movements are given as much respect as Cubism and Minimalism. There are entire chapters here on Fluxus, feminist art, the Assemblage movement, Lettrism, the Independent Group, Gutai, Kineticism, the Harlem Renaissance, Aktionism, earthworks, video art, and the aesthetics of ACT UP. As with any history, there are personalities whose works are emphasized over that of others; the scant attention given to Jean-Michel Basquiat, for instance, is a rather large question mark. Quibbles aside, it's a very important, and nearly immaculate, work. --Mike McGonigal
Images from Art Since 1900
A landmark in art history and the most anticipated art publishing event of the new millennium.
In this groundbreaking and original work of scholarship, four of the most influential and provocative art historians of our time have come together to provide a comprehensive history of art in the twentieth century, an age when artists in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere sought to overturn the traditions of the past and expectations of the present in order to invent new practices and forms.
Adopting a unique year-by-year approach, Foster, Krauss, Bois, and Buchloh present more than 100 short essays, each focusing on a crucial event—the creation of a seminal work, the publication of an artistic manifesto, the opening of a major exhibition—to tell the story of the dazzling diversity of practice and interpretation that characterizes the art of the period. All the turning points and breakthroughs of modernism and postmodernism are explored in depth, as are the frequent and sustained antimodernist reactions that proposed alternative visions of art and the world. Illustrating the authors' texts are more than 600 of the most important works of the century, many reproduced in full color.
The book's flexible structure and extensive cross-referencing allow readers to follow any one of the many narratives that unfold, whether that be the history of a medium such as photography or painting, the development of art in a particular country, the influence of a movement such as surrealism or feminism, or the emergence of a stylistic or conceptual category like abstraction or minimalism. Boxes give further background information on the important figures and issues.
In their insightful introductions, the four authors explain the different methods of art history at work in the book, providing the reader with the conceptual tools for further study. Two roundtable discussions —one at midcentury, the other at the close of the book—consider the questions raised by the preceding decades and look ahead to the art of the future. A glossary of terms and concepts completes this extraordinary volume. 600 illustrations, 400 in color.
The contributors: - Yve-Alain Bois, Harvard University
- Benjamin Buchloh, Barnard College
- Hal Foster, Princeton University
- Rosalind Krauss, Columbia University
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - better than Sudoku!
Ok, parts of this book, especially the first few chapters, are really, really hard. But if you slow down enough, you can sometimes figure out what the author(s) are saying. Some of it is clearly written, so there must be at least one writer on board who can write for the educated masses.
This book does deal with a lot of issues that are important to contemporary visual artists, especially in the second half of the book. The roundtable discussion at the end is worth the price of admission ... Read More
Rating:  - One of the worst books I've ever read.
As a visual studies major, I've read my fair share of theory and art history books, and this is by far the worst. It is filled with statements that ramble on for full paragraphs leave you looking for both the period and the point. The reader gets the impression that an intoxicated art historian is rambling on at a party, completely unaware of how uninteresting he or she is, or how little sense is being made. The legitimate information in this book could be presented in a pamphlet. I was forced to read ... Read More
Rating:  - An amazing piece of work
Not that long ago, I finished work on an MFA. I bought this book for an art history course. The authors are leading scholars on twentieth century art and the book is written to a relatively high level of intellectual discourse. The authors also have a rather different way of presenting art history. They are not telling the narrative as much as they are critically analyzing the work that emerged during the period.
Consequently, the authors make no effort to divide history into convenient, bite ... Read More
Rating: - WHO KNEW THAT ART HISTORIANS STILL THINK THIS WAY?
The best example I've ever seen of art historians taking themselves so seriously that almost every paragraph drips with pretension.
Rating: - beating their cannons into canon
I suspect that a number of these comments were inspired by a scathing review in the Wall Street Journal by Eric Gibson (the "culture war" ones at least). But maybe not...
I would have liked to write a more critical review of this book, although, or perhaps, because I liked it so much, but with all of these rather "blunt" opinions, it is hard to do anything but just praise it. Still, I'll throw out a couple of points of critique:
1. It is obvious that the authors are trying to create a kind ... Read More
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