Art and its Objects [Paperback]

Richard Wollheim (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1980 | ISBN-10: 0521297060 | ISBN-13: 978-0521297066 | Edition: 2

What defines a work of art and determines the way in which we respond to it? This classic reflection was written with the belief that the nature of art has to be understood simultaneously from the artist's as well as the spectator's viewpoint.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This concise, elegant and wide-ranging book has established itself as an indispensable text.' The London Review of Books --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Book Description

What defines a work of art and determines the way in which we respond to it? This classic reflection was written with the belief that the nature of art has to be understood simultaneously from the artist's as well as the spectator's viewpoint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (September 30, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521297060
• ISBN-13: 978-0521297066
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #769,539 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rigorous and rewarding, April 24, 2001

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art and its Objects (Paperback)

This is a rigorous analysis of the meaning of art. presented by one of the pre-eminent thinkers of our time. It is, as such, a dense work which requires a sustained serious reading. The prior reviewer is correct; while it may seem daunting at first, it is actually thrilling to experience the clarity of the thinking and exposition.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academic Classic, November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Art and its Objects (Canto original series) (Paperback)

An outstanding, conceptually challenging, classic exploration of the ontology of art. It may be daunting at first, but once you become accustomed to the level of abstraction of the text, it is extremely rewarding.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What is this essay about?, February 3, 2010

By 

A. Navarro (sf) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Art and its Objects (Paperback)

In my opinion this essay has almost no content. The thesis is: if you can define what an art object is then you can define what art is. I don't think this was answered. It seems to me that the arguments are so intellectualized and so abstract that they are far removed from the reality of what we call art. I've read several of the writers he mentions: Gombrich, Wolfflin, Ortega y Gassat, Tolstoy. Overall I think the critiques he offers are superficial, and edited to fit his train of thought. For example on page 102 he mentions Tolstoy's critism of the imitativeness of Wagner's art. I think it would be more correct to say that Tolstoy was mostly criticizing the need of something like a secret decoder ring in order to understand it.