47 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best overview of contemporary art, June 17, 2001
This review is from: After Modern Art 1945-2000 (Oxford History of Art) (Paperback)
I have - for professional reasons - read several introductions to contemporary art written in the late 90s, and this is by far the best. Hopkins does not only have a great knowledge on the field but he is also good at writing about it, and furthermore he is up to date with the latest scholary researches on the field without being academic in his way of formulating it.
I recommend this for students and scholars as well as for the just interested. No matter who you are, you will definitely know much more about contemporary art than before, and have a lot of good color reproductions of the works as well.
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62 of 75 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ripon College Art 370 reviews, September 28, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: After Modern Art 1945-2000 (Oxford History of Art) (Paperback)
Here are some responses of undergrads at a liberal arts college in a seminar on contemporary art-
Student 1:
1. The book was interesting and well developed...it moved at a steady pace
and was consistent.
2. Hopkins used too many difficult words that weren't familiar and he was
unclear as to the main objective in some of his chapters.
3. In some areas of the book, Hopkins only touched on some of the artists
who seemed important and went too into depth on a few others. He needed to
keep that aspect of the book consistent...the rest was well done.
Student 2:
Hopkins used many examples of Contemporary Art that were very relative to the concepts he explained. While they helped me to understand his ideas, some of his writing was very difficult to understand. He was wordy and used many uncommon terms making reading slow and hard to comprehend. This would be an excellent book for those who are in the advanced stages of learning about Contemporary Art.
Student 3:
Hopkins does a wonderful job of providing ample examples for the reader.
However, he does not do a very good job of explaining the examples without
creating some confusion. Hopkin's also uses a vocabulary that is too
advanced for the undergraduate reader that this book is intended for.
Student 4:
Hopkins used some very interesting examples to try and create a new way of looking at the transition from modern to post-modern art. I think that the book is mislabled as a beginner book, since from the start the author assumes that we have a strong basic knowledge of art history. To be fair the issue he is talking about in this book is so complex that writing an introduction is a very difficult task, I think that Hopkins did a good job.
Student 5:
-The book takes a different view on 20th century art, and helps put things
in a historic context.
-The book is difficult to understand at times, and seems to be at a higher
than introductory level.
-Some of the references to works are vague, and they are hard to connect to
the photos.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
YAY!, October 3, 2007
This review is from: After Modern Art 1945-2000 (Oxford History of Art) (Paperback)
This is one of the more interesting modern art books I've had. It's goes beyond a discussion of the artwork and places everything in a historical context. It also discusses the artist's relationships and attitudes and how they are influenced by and how they influence their times.
Overall, good book if you're into modern art.
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