Feast of Excess

A Cultural History of the New Sensibility

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Music, Theory & Criticism, History & Criticism, Reference, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Feast of Excess by George Cotkin, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: George Cotkin ISBN: 9780190218492
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: November 13, 2015
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: George Cotkin
ISBN: 9780190218492
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: November 13, 2015
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

In 1952, John Cage shocked audiences with 4'33", his compositional ode to the ironic power of silence. From Cage's minimalism to Chris Burden's radical performance art two decades later (in one piece he had himself shot), the post-war American avant-garde shattered the divide between low and high art, between artist and audience. They changed the cultural landscape. Feast of Excess is an engaging and accessible portrait of "The New Sensibility," as it was named by Susan Sontag in 1965. The New Sensibility sought to push culture in extreme directions: either towards stark minimalism or gaudy maximalism. Through vignette profiles of prominent figures-John Cage, Patricia Highsmith, Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Anne Sexton, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Erica Jong, and Thomas Pynchon, to name a few-George Cotkin presents their bold, headline-grabbing performances and places them within the historical moment. This inventive and jaunty narrative captures the excitement of liberation in American culture. The roots of this release, as Cotkin demonstrates, began in the 1950s, boomed in the 1960s, and became the cultural norm by the 1970s. More than a detailed immersion in the history of cultural extremism, Feast of Excess raises provocative questions for our present-day culture.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In 1952, John Cage shocked audiences with 4'33", his compositional ode to the ironic power of silence. From Cage's minimalism to Chris Burden's radical performance art two decades later (in one piece he had himself shot), the post-war American avant-garde shattered the divide between low and high art, between artist and audience. They changed the cultural landscape. Feast of Excess is an engaging and accessible portrait of "The New Sensibility," as it was named by Susan Sontag in 1965. The New Sensibility sought to push culture in extreme directions: either towards stark minimalism or gaudy maximalism. Through vignette profiles of prominent figures-John Cage, Patricia Highsmith, Allen Ginsberg, Andy Warhol, Anne Sexton, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Erica Jong, and Thomas Pynchon, to name a few-George Cotkin presents their bold, headline-grabbing performances and places them within the historical moment. This inventive and jaunty narrative captures the excitement of liberation in American culture. The roots of this release, as Cotkin demonstrates, began in the 1950s, boomed in the 1960s, and became the cultural norm by the 1970s. More than a detailed immersion in the history of cultural extremism, Feast of Excess raises provocative questions for our present-day culture.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Knowing by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Evaluating Qualitative Research by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Thinking Through Breast Cancer by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Change by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Moral Mazes by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Hitchcock's America by George Cotkin
Cover of the book The Flight of Love by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Early Responses to the Periodic System by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Moving Pictures, Still Lives by George Cotkin
Cover of the book The Sound of Broadway Music by George Cotkin
Cover of the book The New Music Theater by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Remembering the Holocaust by George Cotkin
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Levinas by George Cotkin
Cover of the book The Union at Risk by George Cotkin
Cover of the book Fatal Fictions by George Cotkin
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy