Product Description
Pop Art and the Origins of Post-Modernism examines the critical reception of Pop Art in America during the 1960s. Comparing the ideas of New York-based critics such as Leo Steinberg, Susan Sontag, and Max Kozloff, Sylvia Harrison demonstrates how their ideas bear a striking similarity to the body of thought and opinion now associated with deconstructive postmodernism.Pop Art thus arises as not only a reflection of the dominance of mass communications and capitalist consumerism in postwar American society, but also a subversive commentary on worldviews and the factors necessary for their formation. ... Read more

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A superbly illustrated overview of the major movements in the visual arts from Impressionism to Post-Modernism.Modern Art is an authoritative introduction to every important development in the visual arts from the late nineteenth century to the 1980s. Eight critical essays by noted art historians shed light on topics from Impressionism to Dada, Art Nouveau to Pop Art. The essays are ordered chronologically, and each thoroughly examines the historical context—political, social, and technological—that shaped the movement under discussion.

The text is accompanied by more than 400 color illustrations of the work of some of the most celebrated figures in art history, comprising an invigorating multiplicity of visual styles. Anyone seeking a gallery of the masterpieces of twentieth-century art, together with an informed survey of the period, will find no better single volume. 400+ color illustrations ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A bit talkative, but well illustated introduction
This is a solid introduction to the modern painting that tells a little bit about everything and is well illustrated by very good photos 50/50 in proportion to the text. The amount of text is greater than in popular histories of painting making it a bit talkative or - in other words - analytic. The analysis and publishing are good and may satisfy someone willing to explore, but maybe a bit too much for a casual reader. It does not seem to have much of competition in its class of references a notch above popular.

Modern Art!
I just purchased this book, it looks wonderful. It has the quality of a textbook, but it does not read like a textbook. that is to say it does not drone on and on, it reads well for those who have an interest in modern art. I cover all the periods of modern art and gives concise background to the artists and events of the perod in which the mode of art occurred.
I highly reccomend this book. ... Read more

Product Description
From roughly 1965 to 1980, Conceptual Art and Performance Art took center stage throughout the western world, introducing new and complex ideas to the practice of contemporary art which reverberate to this day. Thomas McEvilley's The Triumph of Anti-Art not only explains the origins of these controversial and compelling art forms, but also uncovers many relatively unrecognized yet indisputably important artists, American and European. He guides the reader through a thicket of seemingly arcane meanings of these nonrepresentational art form, and brings clarity to the intentions and agendas of these artists, as well as to their real world contexts. The long-term effects of "anti-art," and the development of the pluralistic situation known as post-Modernism, are described in vivid detail. From the Greek philosopher Diogenes, through the 19th-century German romantic tradition, to the modern art critic Clement Greenberg, McEvilley traces philosophical ideas and political impulses that temporarily led to a toppling of painting and sculpture in the decades right after World War II. Following an overview of Modernism and Marcel Duchamp's influence, a chapter on Yves Klein sets the state for surveys of Conceptual Art and its practitioners, including Bernar Venet, John Baldessari, and Francis Alys. McEvilley then gives equal focus to Performance Art with chapters on Andy Warhol, Brian O'Doherty, and Marina Abramovic and Ulay, among others. At the end of the volume the "triumph" of "anti-art" is explored in depth, as are the origins of the terms, practices, and politics of global art history. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A "must-read" for novices and experienced art connoisseurs alike
Much has been written about traditional art forms of drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, music, plays and movies; but little has been said about the more esoteric and avant-garde forms of conceptual and performance art; The Triumph of Anti-Art: Conceptual and Performance Art in the Formation of Post-Modernism handily remedies this deficiency. The Triumph of Anti-Art is an absorbing tour through the origins of the controversial art forms of conceptual art and performance art, walking the reader through the seemingly complicated and ambiguous meanings and nuances of such formats. Chapters specifically focus upon the works of Francois Morellet, Bernar Venet, Beuys and Warhol, Marina Abramovic, and many more. Offering enlightenment as to the motives, messages, and expressions of conceptual and performance art, The Triumph of Anti-Art is a "must-read" for novices and experienced art connoisseurs alike.

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