The Cult of the Avant-Garde Artist


Book Description

The Cult of the Avant-Garde Artist examines the philosophical, psychological and aesthetic premises for avant-garde art and its subsequent evolution and corruption in the late twentieth century. Arguing that modernist art is essentially therapeutic in intention, both towards self and society, Donald Kuspit further posits that neo-avant-garde, or post-modern art, at once mocks and denies the possibility of therapeutic change. As such, it accommodates the status quo of capitalist society, in which fame and fortune are valued above anything else. Stripping avant-garde art of its missionary, therapeutic intention, neo-avant-garde art instead converts it into a cliché of creative novelty or ironical value for its fashionable look. Moreover, it destroys the precarious balance of artistic narcissism and social empathy that characterizes modern art, tilting it cynically towards the former. Incorporating psychoanalytic ideas, particularly those concerned with narcissism, The Cult of the Avant-Garde Artist offers a reinterpretation of modern art history. Donald Kuspit, one of America's foremost art critics, is a contributing editor to Artforum and the author of many books.




The Cult of the Avant-garde Artist


Book Description

An examination of the philosophical, psychological, and aesthetic premises for avant-garde art.




Avant-Garde Fascism


Book Description

An investigation of the central role that theories of the visual arts and creativity played in the development of fascism in France between 1909 and 1939.




Cult Artists


Book Description

WHAT MAKES A CULT ARTIST? Whether pioneering in their craft, fiercely and undeniably unique, or critically divisive, cult artists come in all shapes and guises. Some gain instant fame, others instant notoriety, and more still remain anonymous until a chance change in fashion sees their work propelled into the limelight. In this nifty little book, Ana Finel Honigman handpicks a selection of inspiring artists you should know – from the iconic Salvador Dalí and Frida Kahlo, to radical activists such as the Guerrilla Girls and Ana Mendieta. The artistic mediums explored are similarly varied, with sculptors, performance, graffiti and fine artists alike. From little knowns with small, devout followings, to superstars gracing the covers of magazines, each is special in their individuality and their ability to inspire, antagonise and delight. Cult Artists is an essential addition to any art lover's library, as well as an entertaining introduction to our weird and wonderful art world. Also in the series: Cult Filmmakers, Cult Musicians + Cult Writers The artists: Dan Attoe, Balthus, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jospeh Beuys, Christian Boltanski, Louise Bourgeois, Leigh Bowery, Chris Burden, Sophie Calle, Chapman Brothers, Judy Chicago, Joseph Cornell, Molly Crabapple, Salvador Dali, Niki de Saint Phalle, Marcel Duchamp, El Anatsui, James Ensor, H. R. Giger, Gilbert & George, Guerrilla Girls, Nan Goldin, Jenny Holzer, Donna Huanca, Dorothy Iannone, Frida Kahlo, Allan Kaprow, Mike Kelley, Yves Klein, Barbara Kruger, Yayoi Kusama, Kazimir Malevich, Christian Marclay, Ana Mendieta, Alice Neel, Herman Nitsch, Yoko Ono, Orlan, Genesis P-orridge, Carol Rama, Faith Ringgold, Mark Rothko, Mark Ryden, Carolee Schneemann, Yinka Shonibare, Malick Sidibe, Stelarc, Florine Stettheimer, Kara Walker, David Wojnarowicz.




The Originality of the Avant-Garde and Other Modernist Myths


Book Description

Co-founder and co-editor of October magazine, a veteran of Artforum of the 1960s and early 1970s, Rosalind Krauss has presided over and shared in the major formulation of the theory of postmodernism. In this challenging collection of fifteen essays, most of which originally appeared in October, she explores the ways in which the break in style that produced postmodernism has forced a change in our various understandings of twentieth-century art, beginning with the almost mythic idea of the avant-garde. Krauss uses the analytical tools of semiology, structuralism, and poststructuralism to reveal new meanings in the visual arts and to critique the way other prominent practitioners of art and literary history write about art. In two sections, "Modernist Myths" and "Toward Postmodernism," her essays range from the problem of the grid in painting and the unity of Giacometti's sculpture to the works of Jackson Pollock, Sol Lewitt, and Richard Serra, and observations about major trends in contemporary literary criticism.




Against the Avant-garde


Book Description

"This book casts the poet and filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini in a fresh light: his life and work in relation to the visual and performance arts of his time in both Europe and the US. Lavishly illustrated with both documentary and fine art images, it shows how essentially conservative Pasolini was politically and aesthetically despite his reputation as an avant-garde writer and filmmaker. But it also shows how truly advanced Pasolini was when it comes to interdisciplinary art, making him enormously relevant today"--




The Rebirth of Painting in the Late Twentieth Century


Book Description

The Rebirth of Painting in the Late Twentieth Century examines the continued validity and variety of painting in the postmodern era. Bringing a psychological perspective to the issues, Donald Kuspit argues that painting remains the premiere medium of the visual arts. He discusses a range of representational and abstract painting in the United States and Europe by artists such as Gregory Amenoff, Vincent Desiderio and Odd Nerdrum, and also examines works by Picasso, Mondrian, Pollock, Johns, and Soutine, among others, with an eye to reevaluating their art historical significance.




A Quest for Enlightenment


Book Description

The most publicly accessible art of the late Roger Kemp is perhaps the magnificent tapestries that hang in the great hall of the National Gallery of Victoria. This major figure of Australia's post war art world is the subject of Christopher Heathcote's latest book.




Artists in the Audience


Book Description

Gone with the Wind an inspiration for the American avant-garde? Mickey Mouse a crucial source for the development of cutting-edge intellectual and aesthetic ideas? As Greg Taylor shows in this witty and provocative book, the idea is not so far-fetched. One of the first-ever studies of American film criticism, Artists in the Audience shows that film critics, beginning in the 1940s, turned to the movies as raw material to be molded into a more radical modernism than that offered by any other contemporary artists or thinkers. In doing so, they offered readers a vanguard alternative that reshaped postwar American culture: nonaesthetic mass culture reconceived and refashioned into rich, personally relevant art by the attuned, creative spectator.




Theory of the Avant-garde


Book Description