Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity [Hardcover]

Roger Kimball (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 28, 2003

Observing our contemporary culture, the distinguished critic Roger Kimball sees that the avant-garde assault on tradition has long since degenerated into a sclerotic orthodoxy. He finds that the "cutting edge," as defined by the established tastemakers, turns out time and again to be a stale remainder of past impotence. And he locates a pretense that the traditional is the enemy rather than a springboard to originality. In Art's Prospect, Mr. Kimball observes that most of the really invigorating action in the art world today is a quiet affair. It takes place not at the Tate Modern in London or at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, not in the Chelsea or TriBeCa galleries but off to one side, out of the limelight. It usually involves not the latest thing but permanent things—they can be new or old, but their relevance is measured not by the buzz they create but by silences they inspire. With reviews and essays composed over the last twenty years and revised for this book, Art's Prospect illuminates some of the chief spiritual itineraries of modern art. It provides, in Mr. Kimball's words, "a collage whose elements, when seen from one perspective, add up to a diagnosis of a malady, and, when seen from another perspective, offer hints of where effective remedies can be found."

Editorial Reviews

Review

Kimball knows his business.... His reviews make me hungry to see what I've missed. (Weekly Standard )

One of the ablest and most philosophically skilled critics on the current scene. (Frederick Morgan )

A trenchant and courageous critic...his positive values and his historical grasp make him far more than a mere polemicist. (John Gross )

One of the most candid and perceptive critics of American culture. (Himmelfarb, Gertrude )

There is much to be learned and enjoyed in these stimulating, provocative, and elegant essays. (Johnson, Paul )

A scathing critic but one whose tirades are usually justified...his intellectual rigor is refreshing. (Catherine Saint Louis New York Times )

Roger Kimball of the New Criterion is at it again, for which throughtful readers should be grateful. (First Things )

His positions are not always predictable but are consistently well argued. (Cybereditions Critics Series )

Witty, insightful, and inciting compilation of twenty years of art reviews.... Kimball's opinions have an appealing candor, and, delivered in a lively colloquial style, make for engaging, intelligent reading. (Art Scope )

Kimball's art reviews are lucid mini-educations in the exercise of taste. (The Tennessean )

An approach that, in many ways, I very much enjoy. (Keith Russell Artschuttlebutt.Com )

In a penetrating and often hilarious series of articles he takes on what he considers the 'hucksterism' of both artists and museum directors....Kimbell never tries to hide his stripes. The result is lively and informative. (Nancy Chaplin Kliatt )

About the Author

Roger Kimball is managing editor of the New Criterion and an art critic for the London Spectator. His other books include Lives of the Mind, Experiments Against Reality, The Long March, and Tenured Radicals. He lives in South Norwalk, Connecticut.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R Dee (July 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566635098
• ISBN-13: 978-1566635097
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,917,944 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, honest, December 12, 2004

By 

T. Mccobb (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Hardcover)

Funny and irreverent, Kimball captures prosaically what so many of us artists and art lovers often feel. The nexus between art critics, gallery owners, and celebrity has always been insidious. Kimball shows no mercy when jabbing at politically correct shibboleths in the established art economy.

Contrary to what another reviewer (I must wonder whether he actually read the book) has posted here twice, Kimball does indeed offer us guidance in how to "approach art" with one very important message: The art itself and by itself is always more important than the critic. What he does not do is genuflect before the altar of over-intellectualization and deconstruction that enthralls so many art poseurs.

Highly recommended.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Counterpoint, October 11, 2004

By 

bscc (new york) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Hardcover)

In an artworld where cynicism and duplicity are the norm, Kimball offers an important commentary of the lack of values that inform much of the art and art criticism today. For most critics, art need only be "challenging" to be good. Kimball clearly states the importance of craft, skill and intellectual rigour as disciplines which artists need to cultivate. Kimball's stylish prose and precise vocabulary make this a highly enjoyable read.

21 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid insights, September 10, 2004

By 

Jeffrey A. Sherman (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Hardcover)

Kimball is a breath of fresh air in the world of art criticism. Also, the New Criterion, the magazine his writes for, is terrific.