Art Since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, Vol. 1: 1900-1944

by Yve-Alain Bois, Rosalind Krauss, Yve-Alain Bois

In this groundbreaking and original work of scholarship, four of the most influential and provocative art historians of our time have come together to provide a comprehensive history of art in the twentieth century, an age when artists in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere sought to overturn the traditions of the past and expectations of the present in order to invent new practices and forms.


Adopting a unique year-by-year approach, Foster, Krauss, Bois, and Buchloh present more than 50 short essays, each focusing on a crucial event—the creation of a seminal work, the publication of an artistic manifesto, the opening of a major exhibition—to tell the story of the dazzling diversity of practice and interpretation that characterizes the art of the period. All the turning points and breakthroughs of modernism and postmodernism are explored in depth, as are the frequent and sustained antimodernist reactions that proposed alternative visions of art and the world. Illustrating the authors' texts are more than 300 of the most important works of the century, many reproduced in full color.


The book's flexible structure and extensive cross-referencing allow readers to follow any one of the many narratives that unfold, whether that be the history of a medium such as photography or painting, the development of art in a particular country, the influence of a movement such as surrealism or feminism, or the emergence of a stylistic or conceptual category like abstraction or minimalism. Boxes give further background information on the important figures and issues.


In their insightful introductions, the four authors explain the different methods of art history at work in the book, providing the reader with the conceptual tools for further study. A roundtable discussion at the close of the book considers the questions raised by the preceding decades and look ahead to the art of the future. A glossary of terms and concepts completes this extraordinary volume.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, History, Art History, Theory, School, Modern

344 pages, Paperback

First published October 18, 2016

Reviews

[Mary Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is probably the best textbook I've ever had. Ever We didn't read all of the chapters in my European Art 1885-1945 class, but it was so great that I went back and re-read the other chapters on my own. It's a pretty dense book, so I recommend bringing along a highlighter, and it covers a lot of material even though the window of focus is relatively narrow. There are a lot of interesting anecdotes and if any book can convince you that a plain black square painted on a canvas is art, it's this one. Definitely would recommend, and sometime in the future I'll probably pick up the other books that Foster has written just to have a look.

[Mills College Library]

709.04 A7847 2016

[Alessio]

this is the best textbook i've ever had and it will stay with me until i die; i only wish the book was lighter and more portable, but that is to quibble