Art in the Age of Mass Media, 3rd Edition [Paperback]

John A. Walker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0745317448 | ISBN-13: 978-0745317441 | Publication Date: October 1, 2001 | Edition: Third Edition

Can fine art survive in an age of mass media? If so, in what forms and to what purpose? And can radical art still play a critical role in today's divided world? These are the challenging questions addressed in this thoroughly revised, updated and expanded edition of Art in the Age of Mass Media, as John Walker examines the fascinating relationship between art and mass media, and the myriad interactions between high and low culture in a postmodern, culturally pluralistic world. Using a range of historic and contemporary works of art to illustrate theoretical points, Walker explores the variety of ways in which modern artists have responded to the arrival of new, mass media. He ranges from the socialist paintings of Courbet to the anti-Nazi photomontages of Heartfield, from community murals and Keith Haring's use of graffiti to the kitsch self-promotion associated with Jeff Koons. The new edition describes what happened during the 1990s, including Toscani's adverts for Benetton, the simulations of Leeds 13, art and cinema, Damien Hirst, and the cyberart currently being produced for the internet. Art in the Age of Mass Media is an invaluable introduction to the continuing debates between high art and low culture for students of media and cultural studies and art history.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Lucid, well documented and argumentative.' --Times Literary Supplement

 

'A vastly entertaining read...undoubtedly one of the best entrées to this area.' --The Modern Review

About the Author

John A Walker is the author of a number of books on art theory and aspects of popular culture. His previous Pluto titles are Cultural Offensive: America's Impact on British Art since 1945, Art and Outrage and Design History and the History of Design.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Pluto Press; Third Edition edition (October 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0745317448
• ISBN-13: 978-0745317441
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,291,555 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Art in Society, July 14, 2002

By 

Suckwoo Lee (Seoul, Seoul South Korea) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art in the Age of Mass Media, 3rd Edition (Paperback)

Art is a social institution. So it can't be insulated from social influences. Artists are sellers in market. They earn their bread by selling their products, artworks.
Art is a language shared by social actors. Artworks can't be read without shared code to interpret the meaning of the text. They call it as convention. Convention is established through the power relationship in the market among producer (artists), intermediary (critics) and consumer (audience).
In this regard, art is just another medium like mass media. The author questions when the mass media dominates the culture, what is the status of pure art? In this vein, following questions, which have haunted the field of artistic production since the 19th century, gains renewed significance. Could art secure its autonomy as modernists dreamt of? What is the social role of art?
To answer those questions, the author probes into the language and market of visual art from pop art to postmodernism. Various avant-garde movements since pop art has borrowed and exploited material, subject and strategy of mass media. In turn, mass culture has utilized the art as high culture. But the position of pure art is still restricted to institutionalized sanctuary like museum, university. It's no more than high culture protected from below. It's utilized to distinguish from others by high society. It's not clear whether artwork is different from luxury goods in its utility. Adorno's word still reverberates in the circle of artists: "Today, it goes without saying that nothing concerning art goes without saying, not much without thinking. Everything about art has become problematic: its inner life, its relation to society, even its right to exist".