Central and Eastern European Art Since 1950

World of Art

by Maja Fowkes, Reuben Fowkes

A groundbreaking introduction to the contemporary art of central and Eastern Europe, this wide-ranging study explores painting, sculpture, photography, performance, and conceptual work. In this pathbreaking new history, Maja and Reuben Fowkes introduce outstanding artworks and major figures from across central and Eastern Europe to reveal the movements, theories, and styles that have shaped artistic practice since 1950. They emphasize the particularly rich and varied art scenes of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Yugoslavia, extending their gaze at intervals to East Germany, Romania, the Baltic states, and the rest of the Balkans. This generously illustrated overview explores the richness of this region’s artists’ singular contribution to recent art history. Tracing art-historical changes from 1950 to now, the authors examine the repercussions of political events on artistic life―notably the uprisings in Hungary and Czechoslovakia, the Solidarity movement in Poland, and the collapse of the communist bloc. But their primary interest is in the experimental art of the neo-avant-garde that resisted official agendas and engaged with global currents such as performance art, video, multimedia, and net art. Central and Eastern European Art Since 1950 is a comprehensive, transnational survey of the major movements of art from this region. 156 color illustrations

Genres: Art

232 pages, Paperback

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that certainly filled some gaps in my art history knowledge. The book is structured chronologically, with each chapter presenting one decade. Within those chapters are shown artists active during this time and their work is contextualised with current historical, political and social events.

However, to me it read as quite a lot of name-dropping, trying to include as many artists as possible but only allowing enough space for a short description of their work. A narrower selection with a more in-depth analysis and contextualisation might have been more fruitful.

I really like the "World of Art" book series and it is interesting to see how different authors choose to structure their chosen topic. I am not sure if the chronological structure of this book is the best choice, since there are quite some themes that repeat themselves. On the other hand, in this case there are huge differences in history between some decades, the political environment changed so drastically several times, that it is quite possible that it is easier to follow a chronological order.

[ibaryba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Na túto knihu som sa extrémne tešila. Kvalitné spracovanie, aj keď ide o paperback, vytvára na prvý pohľad dojem, že sa kniha stane pokladom v knižnici. Reprodukcie diel sú síce dostatočne veľké a vo vynikajúcej kvalite, no ich náhodné umiestnenie vo vzťahu k textu ma počas celého čítania neskutočne iritovalo. Je skvelé mať za cenu knihy dobrý prierez stredo&východoeurópskym umení od roku 1950 až po súčasnosť (aj keď tá je "odbavená" veľmi stručne), po dočítaní by som si však radšej doplatila za dvakrát, vlastne pokojne aj trikrát dlhší obsah - pri 200 stranách je umenie šiestich desaťročí viacerých krajín zredukované na jednu, väčšinou pomerne neurčitú, (niekedy ani nie úplne) vystihujúcu vetu na jedno konkrétne dielo. Čitateľ tak dostane možnosť nahliadnuť do problematiky iba veľmi zbežne; čo je škoda, keďže je na prvý pohľad očividné, že na knihe niekto strávil veľa času, v konečnom dôsledku však človek nemá pocit, že sa toho aj veľa dozvedel. Asi teda treba na záver povedať, že pomer cena/výkon je skvelý, a pre nadšencov umenia ide o "must-have" publikáciu, ale tak či tak som ostala po prečítaní mierne sklamaná.