Customer Reviews

Art History: The Basics

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Grant Pooke (History and Philosophy of Art at Kent University) and Diana Newall (previously an authoring consultant for Open University Teach&Learn Project) have put together a concise and intellectually subtle survey of major thinkers and movements. The book starts off on the thin side, expounding in a note format the more basic methodologies that have populated the critical landscape, but it soon proceeds to fashion a veritable journey through ideas and thinkers which have mystified the lot of writers out there who devote themselves to a commercial, democratic project such as this. In other words when the authors discuss semiotics and poststructuralism, post-marxism, T.J. Clark, or representations of gender, they assume the role of a professional teacher that seeks to explain while demanding of himself or herself to impart understanding to its audience. When it is impossible to do justice to a thinker or an artist (such as Adorno or Gerhadt Richter) they give just enough inofrmation to illustrate the relevance they had on Art History, and do so with such penetrating insights as to leave any perplexing questions in its proper perspective and within a responsible vantage point. When they can, and this happens much too often given the space they operate within, they offer exceptional readings that in a nutshell give the full panoply of the impact and wisdom of such art critics as T.J. Clark, Hal Foster, Linda Nochlin, Chasseguet-Smirgel, Baudrillard, Mulvey, Danto and Lyotard (to be honest they leave something to be desired in repsects to the October school of Art critics, but they do incorporate them just enough). They dabble just fine into Charles Sanders Pierce and Lacan - a sucess worth thebook on its own accord.In essence this is an invaluable compendium of theorists and ideas that reads fluidly and may well substitute for thousands of dollars spent on a University Course. And they give a very instructive reading of many artists (such as Smithson, Jago Max Williams, Jacques-Louis David, Judy Chicago, Eduard Manet, Duchamps, Malevich, George Dannatt, Kapoor, Koons amongst others). One should receive credits for reading the book. Yes it is that good. If you haven't the time to devote years to reading all the thinkers and movements they touchupon, do pick this book up and devote a week to it. It will soon lay by your bedside and increase your understanding of the topic exponentially. And this comes from someone who has devoted years to reading most all the critics and artists they discuss. An excellent introduction and an even better survey that gives direction and disseminates possible readings.