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Art and Alienation
Book by Read, Herbert
- GenresArtPhilosophy
Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
4 people are currently reading
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About the author
Herbert Read
410 books94 followersSir Herbert Edward Read, (1893 - 1968) was an English art historian, poet, literary critic and philosopher, best known for numerous books on art, which included influential volumes on the role of art in education. Politically, Read considered himself an anarchist, albeit in the English quietist tradition of Edward Carpenter and William Morris.
Read was co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Art & the publisher and editor-in-chief of Jung's collected works in English.
On 11 November 1985, Read was among 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner.
He was the father of the well-known writer Piers Paul Read, the BBC documentary maker John Read, the BBC producer and executive Tom Read, and the art historian Ben Read.
Read was co-founder of the Institute of Contemporary Art & the publisher and editor-in-chief of Jung's collected works in English.
On 11 November 1985, Read was among 16 Great War poets commemorated on a slate stone unveiled in Westminster Abbey's Poet's Corner.
He was the father of the well-known writer Piers Paul Read, the BBC documentary maker John Read, the BBC producer and executive Tom Read, and the art historian Ben Read.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 7, 2023
Art and Alienation is a book in two parts; one is interesting, and the second is terrible.
Part One contains four essays about what art was historically for, what Herbert Read thinks art is for, why our society's understanding of art is so bad, and how this manifests in the "style" of particular artists/groups. The central trouble is the "alienation" described by Marx, but all of the essays are only vaguely Marxist in flavor. Of the essays, I thought the first one, "The Function of the Arts in Contemporary Society," was the most thought-provoking and the one I would recommend the most. It's online, it's short, you don't have to read this whole book.
Part Two contains essays about individual artists (Bosch, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Matisse, Moore, Kandinsky, Nicholson, and Gabo), and these were bad. At a time when I personally wanted Read to dig in, to use these artists as explanations of his ideas, and most of all to get specific, I found him frustratingly vague. The overall tone was hand-wavingly laudatory and the writing itself a cliche. These add nothing to the overall experience of the book.
Read "The Function of the Arts in Contemporary Society" and skip the rest.
Part One contains four essays about what art was historically for, what Herbert Read thinks art is for, why our society's understanding of art is so bad, and how this manifests in the "style" of particular artists/groups. The central trouble is the "alienation" described by Marx, but all of the essays are only vaguely Marxist in flavor. Of the essays, I thought the first one, "The Function of the Arts in Contemporary Society," was the most thought-provoking and the one I would recommend the most. It's online, it's short, you don't have to read this whole book.
Part Two contains essays about individual artists (Bosch, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Matisse, Moore, Kandinsky, Nicholson, and Gabo), and these were bad. At a time when I personally wanted Read to dig in, to use these artists as explanations of his ideas, and most of all to get specific, I found him frustratingly vague. The overall tone was hand-wavingly laudatory and the writing itself a cliche. These add nothing to the overall experience of the book.
Read "The Function of the Arts in Contemporary Society" and skip the rest.
August 13, 2022
Herbert Read always makes me think and consider art and its source from different angles, along with educating me of the conceptual factors in the 20th century.
The first half of the book was more exciting, when he discusses art theory and being a creative, whereas the second half of the book is a series of essays discussing certain artists with half being painters and other half being sculptors. His concise essay on Van Gogh was a standout for me. I rated it four stars since I was less interested in a few of the sculptors.
The first half of the book was more exciting, when he discusses art theory and being a creative, whereas the second half of the book is a series of essays discussing certain artists with half being painters and other half being sculptors. His concise essay on Van Gogh was a standout for me. I rated it four stars since I was less interested in a few of the sculptors.
August 6, 2013
Reinforced my thought on art and artist role in past and today society. My focus was upon art in Gothic Cathedral while I got informed on creativity across centuries as well as modernism. References to unconscious art, archetypes and value of images are helpful.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews