Conceptual Art (Movements in Modern Art)
Part of the Tate Modern's "Movements in Modern Art" series-others include Abstraction, Cubism, and Surrealism, all published by Cambridge-this title might best be read in series rather than as a stand-alone work. Its brevity suggests an introduction, but the subject demands more. Conceptual Art was a revolution within a revolution, developing parallel to and inside of Modernism while radically questioning Modernism's goals. As Wood (art history, Open Univ., London) explains, Modernism emphasized pictorial form as a means of escape from a stultifying academic tradition, while Conceptual Art-at its zenith in the late 1960s to 1970s-was an art of ideas, producing not objects but documents. Thus, it baffled many who wondered at its basic premise, which ran counter to art's traditional goals of making objects to admire and fostering contemplative looking. Ultimately, the strategies and techniques of Conceptual Art joined the mainstream, and today much contemporary art derives from this once radical project. The book is academic in tone, and, although it is clearly written and closely reasoned, the general reader may find the complexity and jargon strenuous. The ideal audience is college art students with a background in modern art theory. Recommended for college and university art libraries.Michael Dashkin, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, New YorkCopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.