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The Contemporary Art Book
This veritable Who's Who of contemporary art contains a generation-spanning roster of 200 of the world's most influential and talented artists, from acknowledged masters like Lucian Freud, Louise Bourgeois, and Jasper Johns to younger stars like Matthew Barney, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin. Insightful biographies, with special focus on key works, and cross-referencing to linked artists, themes, and movements, make this the essential insider's guide to the international art scene.
- GenresArt
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 19, 2010
one of the nicest looking contemporary art overview books i've ever seen. it is limited in that it covers very few artists born after 1970.
August 27, 2015
An overview of the current art scene. The focus is on quantity, not quality. Each artist gets two pages, with a brief bio and a short critical essay. The essays contain more than a bit of the stereotypical pretentious pondering that seems to be mandatory when discussing modern art. The worst part is that each artists' work is represented by a single image, and it is often not of their better known works.
I ordered this on Amazon, so I had to go off the cover and blurb provided. If I had a chance to see the book, I would not have bought it. I'm not sure who the target audience is, other than someone with absolutely no familiarity with contemporary artists. I was hoping for something with a little more depth. The inclusion of a few artists - Warhol, Lichtenstein to name a few - is curious and outside of how many define contemporary art. They might be seminal to the movement, but they are not living (and, in a few cases, haven't been around for quite a while.)
I ordered this on Amazon, so I had to go off the cover and blurb provided. If I had a chance to see the book, I would not have bought it. I'm not sure who the target audience is, other than someone with absolutely no familiarity with contemporary artists. I was hoping for something with a little more depth. The inclusion of a few artists - Warhol, Lichtenstein to name a few - is curious and outside of how many define contemporary art. They might be seminal to the movement, but they are not living (and, in a few cases, haven't been around for quite a while.)
June 6, 2013
Good sampler of modern art.
The selection of work is impressive and the examples used are (to my knowledge) very represetative.
If you have read lots of similar books you will have seen many of the works, certainly the Sarah Lucas piece and the Emin piece feel almost over saturated.
A good way to find new passions , recommended
The selection of work is impressive and the examples used are (to my knowledge) very represetative.
If you have read lots of similar books you will have seen many of the works, certainly the Sarah Lucas piece and the Emin piece feel almost over saturated.
A good way to find new passions , recommended
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews