What Is Contemporary Art?

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, General Art, Criticism
Cover of the book What Is Contemporary Art? by Terry Smith, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Terry Smith ISBN: 9780226131672
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: August 10, 2012
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Terry Smith
ISBN: 9780226131672
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: August 10, 2012
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

Who gets to say what counts as contemporary art? Artists, critics, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, or the public? Revealing how all of these groups have shaped today’s multifaceted definition, Terry Smith brilliantly shows that an historical approach offers the best answer to the question: What is Contemporary Art?

Smith argues that the most recognizable kind is characterized by a return to mainstream modernism in the work of such artists as Richard Serra and Gerhard Richter, as well as the retro-sensationalism of figures like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. At the same time, Smith reveals, postcolonial artists are engaged in a different kind of practice: one that builds on local concerns and tackles questions of identity, history, and globalization. A younger generation embodies yet a third approach to contemporaneity by investigating time, place, mediation, and ethics through small-scale, closely connective art making. Inviting readers into these diverse yet overlapping art worlds, Smith offers a behind-the-scenes introduction to the institutions, the personalities, the biennials, and of course the works that together are defining the contemporary. The resulting map of where art is now illuminates not only where it has been but also where it is going.

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

Who gets to say what counts as contemporary art? Artists, critics, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, or the public? Revealing how all of these groups have shaped today’s multifaceted definition, Terry Smith brilliantly shows that an historical approach offers the best answer to the question: What is Contemporary Art?

Smith argues that the most recognizable kind is characterized by a return to mainstream modernism in the work of such artists as Richard Serra and Gerhard Richter, as well as the retro-sensationalism of figures like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. At the same time, Smith reveals, postcolonial artists are engaged in a different kind of practice: one that builds on local concerns and tackles questions of identity, history, and globalization. A younger generation embodies yet a third approach to contemporaneity by investigating time, place, mediation, and ethics through small-scale, closely connective art making. Inviting readers into these diverse yet overlapping art worlds, Smith offers a behind-the-scenes introduction to the institutions, the personalities, the biennials, and of course the works that together are defining the contemporary. The resulting map of where art is now illuminates not only where it has been but also where it is going.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Microbes from Hell by Terry Smith
Cover of the book The Bhagavadgita in the Mahabharata by Terry Smith
Cover of the book The Nature of Diversity by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Symbolic Power, Politics, and Intellectuals by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Human Predicaments by Terry Smith
Cover of the book An Ecology of Happiness by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Killing the Koala and Poisoning the Prairie by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Music and Musical Thought in Early India by Terry Smith
Cover of the book The Man Who Stole Himself by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Kwaito's Promise by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Housing and the Financial Crisis by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Reading Clocks, Alla Turca by Terry Smith
Cover of the book The Book of Seeds by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Archives of the Insensible by Terry Smith
Cover of the book Business Cycles by Terry Smith
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