Why Is That Art?: Aesthetics and Criticism of Contemporary Art
"Barrett is one of a very small number of non-philosophers who understands philosophical material in aesthetics sufficiently to explain it appropriately and accurately in his writing."--Julie Van Camp, Professor of Philosophy, California State University, Long Beach"This book offers art students a lucid, comprehensive description of the various philosophical approaches to Western art and their relevance to contemporary art. . . . It uses interesting and relevant examples of artists' work, combined each time with a variety of critical responses to that work. This is the book's major strength and why it is particularly useful to students in studio art courses."--Timothy Van Laar, Professor of Art, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and coauthor of Art with a Difference: Looking at Difficult and Unfamiliar Art and Active Sights: Art as Social Interaction