How to Write About Contemporary Art

How to Write About Contemporary Art PDF

Author: Gilda Williams

Publisher: Thames & Hudson

Published: 2014-10-14

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0500772177

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

An essential handbook for students and professionals on writing eloquently, accurately, and originally about contemporary art How to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. Invaluable for students, arts professionals and other aspiring writers, the book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language. Brimming with practical tips that range across the complete spectrum of art-writing, the second part of the book is organized around its specific forms, including academic essays; press releases and news articles; texts for auction and exhibition catalogues, gallery guides and wall labels; op-ed journalism and exhibition reviews; and writing for websites and blogs. In counseling the reader against common pitfalls—such as jargon and poor structure—Gilda Williams points instead to the power of close looking and research, showing how to deploy language effectively; how to develop new ideas; and how to construct compelling texts. More than 30 illustrations throughout support closely analysed case studies of the best writing, in Source Texts by 64 authors, including Claire Bishop, Thomas Crow, T.J. Demos, Okwui Enwezor, Dave Hickey, John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Rosalind Krauss, Stuart Morgan, Hito Steyerl, and Adam Szymczyk. Supplemented by a general bibliography, advice on the use and misuse of grammar, and tips on how to construct your own contemporary art library, How to Write About Contemporary Art is the essential handbook for all those interested in communicating about the art of today.

What Is Contemporary Art?

What Is Contemporary Art? PDF

Author: Terry Smith

Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Published: 2012-08-10

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 022613167X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Who gets to say what counts as contemporary art? Artists, critics, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, or the public? Revealing how all of these groups have shaped today’s multifaceted definition, Terry Smith brilliantly shows that an historical approach offers the best answer to the question: What is Contemporary Art? Smith argues that the most recognizable kind is characterized by a return to mainstream modernism in the work of such artists as Richard Serra and Gerhard Richter, as well as the retro-sensationalism of figures like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. At the same time, Smith reveals, postcolonial artists are engaged in a different kind of practice: one that builds on local concerns and tackles questions of identity, history, and globalization. A younger generation embodies yet a third approach to contemporaneity by investigating time, place, mediation, and ethics through small-scale, closely connective art making. Inviting readers into these diverse yet overlapping art worlds, Smith offers a behind-the-scenes introduction to the institutions, the personalities, the biennials, and of course the works that together are defining the contemporary. The resulting map of where art is now illuminates not only where it has been but also where it is going.

Defining Contemporary Art

Defining Contemporary Art PDF

Author: Daniel Birnbaum

Publisher: Phaidon Press

Published: 2011-11-07

Total Pages: 448

ISBN-13: 9780714862095

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In the mid-1980s the sprouting of new movements that had driven modern art since the nineteenth century finally went dormant, sputtering out with a last few half-hearted lels ('pattern painting', 'neo-geo', 'commodity art'). But this was not the end of art history -- far from it. In the years since, art's creative development has remained more vibrant than ever, resulting in a staggering diversity of new forms. Defining Contemporary Art responds to this unique landscape with an innovative approach to art history. Assembled and written by eight of the most prominent curators working today, all of whom have both witnessed and shaped this period, Defining Contemporary Art tells the story of the two hundred pivotal artworks of the past twenty-five years. These artworks include not only the most talked out pieces but also the quietly influential works, those which may have been overlooked at the time of their making but which went on to change the paradigm of their era. Arranged year by year, these two hundred works provide a true chronological depiction of creativity in our era, forming a mosaic in which readers may find their own patterns..

Themes in Contemporary Art

Themes in Contemporary Art PDF

Author: Gillian Perry

Publisher:

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 326

ISBN-13: 9780300101430

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

02 In this fourth volume of the Art of the Twentieth Century series, the contributors address a fascinating variety of themes relating to art from the 1960s to the end of the century—the period of “postmodernism.”The first of the book’s seven chapters deals with the emergence in the 1960s of what has been called an “expanded field” for art activity. Other chapters discuss the consequences of Conceptual art for notions of the aesthetic; the Post-Conceptual practice of painting; practices of Post-Conceptual photography; video, performance, and installation art; and women’s practice and the question of gendered and nongendered objects. The final chapter explores the globalization of art at the end of the twentieth century. Full color illustrations are featured throughout the volume. Gill Perry is senior lecturer in art history, The Open University. Paul Wood is senior lecturer in art history, The Open University. In this fourth volume of the Art of the Twentieth Century series, the contributors address a fascinating variety of themes relating to art from the 1960s to the end of the century—the period of “postmodernism.”The first of the book’s seven chapters deals with the emergence in the 1960s of what has been called an “expanded field” for art activity. Other chapters discuss the consequences of Conceptual art for notions of the aesthetic; the Post-Conceptual practice of painting; practices of Post-Conceptual photography; video, performance, and installation art; and women’s practice and the question of gendered and nongendered objects. The final chapter explores the globalization of art at the end of the twentieth century. Full color illustrations are featured throughout the volume. Gill Perry is senior lecturer in art history, The Open University. Paul Wood is senior lecturer in art history, The Open University.

Researching and Writing on Contemporary Art and Artists

Researching and Writing on Contemporary Art and Artists PDF

Author: Christopher Wiley

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2021-07-12

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 9783030392352

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Researching and writing about contemporary art and artists present unique challenges for scholars, students, professional critics and creative practitioners alike. This collection of essays from across the arts disciplines—music, literature, dance, theatre and the visual arts—explores the challenges and complexities raised by engaging in researching and writing on living or recently deceased subjects and their output. Different sections explore critical perspectives and case studies in relation to innovative, distinctive or otherwise leading work, as well as offering innovative modes of discourse such as a visual essay and a music composition. Subjects addressed include recent scandals of Canadian literary celebrity, late-career output, the written element of music composition PhDs, and the boundaries between ethnography and hagiography, with case studies ranging from Howard Barker to Adrian Piper to Sylvie Guillem and Misty Copeland.

Making Contemporary Art

Making Contemporary Art PDF

Author: Linda Weintraub

Publisher:

Published: 2003

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 9780500284230

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

"Making Contemporary Art is the ideal launchpad for anyone wanting to understand all the essential, but sometimes elusive, aspects of art-making today. In her inimitable voice - accessible, straightforward and jargon-free - Linda Weintraub explores the conceptual and practical concerns that go into making contemporary art. Six clearly defined thematic sections - Scoping an Audience, Sourcing Inspiration, Crafting and Artistic 'Self', Expressing an Artistic Attitude, Choosing a Mission and Measuring Success - draw on the work of forty contemporary artists, including Matthew Barney, Chris Ofili, Isaac Julien, Nan Goldin and Mariko Mori, to create a complex understanding of how to make and look at contemporary art. A series of interviews with various artists sheds light on every aspect of their work, from how they conceive and create their pieces to their more prosaic, practical concerns. In addition to being a fine read for anyone who simply wants to understand how to look at contemporary art, Making Contemporary Art is also an exceptional teaching tool, and one that plugs a huge gap in the art education market." -- Product description.

Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art

Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art PDF

Author: Kristine Stiles

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 1996

Total Pages: 1262

ISBN-13: 9780520202511

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Enth. u. a.: S. 74: Concrete art (1936-49) / Max Bill. - S. 74-77: The mathematical approach in contemporary art (1949) / Max Bill. - S. 301-304: Dieter Roth.

Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction

Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction PDF

Author: Julian Stallabrass

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2006-03-23

Total Pages: 169

ISBN-13: 019157810X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Contemporary art has never been so popular - but what is 'contemporary' about contemporary art? What is its role today, and who is controlling its future? Bloody toy soldiers, gilded shopping carts, and embroidered tents. Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, flout generally received ideas, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great emotional profundity and jaw-dropping triviality. But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions. Who is really running the art world? What effect has America's growing political and cultural dominance had on art? Julian Stallabrass takes us inside the international art world to answer these and other controversial questions, and to argue that behind contemporary art's variety and apparent unpredictability lies a grim uniformity. Its mysteries are all too easily explained, its depths much shallower than they seem. Contemporary art seeks to bamboozle its viewers while being the willing slave of business and government. This book is your antidote and will change the way you see contemporary art. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Writing about Visual Art

Writing about Visual Art PDF

Author: David Carrier

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2003-03-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1621535991

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

David Carrier examines the history and practice of art writing and reveals its importance to the art museum, the art gallery, and aesthetic theory. Artists, art historians, and art lovers alike can gain fresh insight into how written descriptions of painting and sculpture affect the experience of art. Readers will learn how their reading can determine the way they see painting and sculpture, how interpretations of art transform meaning and significance, and how much-discussed work becomes difficult to see afresh.