Beyond Modernism: Essays on Art from the 70's and 80's

by Kim Levin

Essays discuss modernism, Duchamp, Picasso, Jonathan, Borofsky, the Times Square Show, Philip Pearlstein, Andy Warhol, and Laurie Anderson

Genres: Art

258 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book consists of essays from the 70's & 80's originally published in Art Magazine, The Village Voice, and several other publications. Most of these essays are incomprehensible, a handful are interesting. Firstly, don't be misled by the title "Beyond Modernism". It really doesn't serve as an explanation of either Modernism or Post-Modernism. It's mostly Post-Modernist in it's concept though - a lot of discussions of period and style with no real context and certainly no commitment to any concrete ideas about art. Everything in the collection seems completely random. It's more than annoying. Kim Levy discusses a number of Modernist & Post-Modernist painters - I defy you to tell me whether she likes the work of the artists she discusses or whether she doesn't. The first two essays have a maddening habit of naming work after work executed by various artists with no photographs of the original work. There are also no color plates in the book, just black & white repro's of muddy quality - talk about lack of context.

[Giovanni García-Fenech · Rating 4 out of 5]

These essays offer a fascinating time capsule of the concerns of the late 70s/early 80s (Jonathan Borofsky! The Times Square show! Neo-expressionism!). And Levin's writing is very accessible, generally free of academic jargon--think of her as Jerry Saltz avant la lettre.