Eyewitness: Reports from an Art World in Crisis
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Book Overview
As art critic for The New Republic , Jed Perl is renowned for combining a passion for art and a skepticism about the current art establishment with an ability to write about art in the context of our larger culture. In this collection of essays, including two written especially for this book, he delivers a brilliant mixture of first-rate art criticism and politically informed insight into the true workings of the American art world. Perl offers incisive analysis into the marketing mentality that dominates today's museums, the poverty of academic criticism, and the changing expectations of the gallery-going public. He re-evaluates the old masters, and turns an avid, unprejudiced eye on the works of his contemporaries. He laments the collapse of a gallery culture that once allowed artists to develop slowly, and argues for a radical reassessment of the way art is presented to -- and is viewed by -- the public.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0465055206
ISBN13:9780465055203
Release Date:February 2000
Publisher:Basic Books
Length:368 Pages
Weight:1.60 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 6.5" x 9.6"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
An excellent survey of contemporary art & the art world.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Eyewitness deserves ongoing mention as an excellent survey of contemporary art and the evolution of an art world in crisis. Almost thirty essays examine this modern art world and the place of contemporary artists within it, lamenting the collapse of an instructional system which allowed for artistic evolution and examining how art career have changed.
Highly recommended reading for art lovers and professionals.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
Over twenty essays provides the thoughts of contemporary artists who reflect upon trends in the art world. Eyewitness charts the collapse of institutions and traditions and their replacement with new systems in the art world; showing how the influences of major institutions have affected the content and display of art around the world. Insights on a market-dominated art world are particularly well done and revealing.
A Great Book by a Great Iconoclast
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
I hadn't read much of Jed Perl's previous work when I picked up a copy of this book. I was amazed at the acuity of Perl's criticisms. I did not agree with his assessment of each individual artist, but I thought his general philosophy of viewing art was right on, and should be required reading in high schools across the land. I note that much if not all of this book was written before the SENSATION fiasco in New York; Perl certainly saw it coming.A truly magnificent book.
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