A sequel to "Cream", this book presents new work by 100 new artists, selected by ten curators, providing a global overview of the contemporary art world. Arranged A-Z, numerous examples of each artist's work is featured alongside a brief text from the curator, and biographical information about the artist. A conversation on the Internet between the ten curators gives an insight into their curatorial practice. The cultural context in which the artists work - from philosophy, to fiction or theory - is presented by 10 contemporary writers. These are accompanied by a short blurb by each curator explaining their choice of text.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
From its plastic pillow packaging to its passages of almost unreadable peach-colored type on white paper, this tall, skinny book is no stranger to the high-concept bias of contemporary art in the '90s. Fresh Cream demonstrates the continuing bull market for extreme depictions of the body, retreads of once subversive strategies, and work heavily informed by advertising imagery.
The 100 artists in this second installment of a biennial publication (Cream was the first) were chosen by 10 curators from cities as far-flung as Moscow, London, Bangkok, and New York. Asked to select individuals "who have emerged internationally since about the mid-1990s or have yet to emerge at all," the curators chose such widely known video and installation artists as Doug Aitken, Vanessa Beecroft, Jason Rhoades, and Paul McCarthy, as well as those whose identifies would stump the most dedicated art-journal reader.
With so many video, performance, and installation works that beg to be seen in real time and space, this book is a poor substitute for an exhibition. Based on the evidence at hand--a dozen or fewer photographs representing each artist's output and brief descriptions by the curators--the cream only rarely rises to the top.
For this reader, the exceptions include Uta Barth's blurry photographic glimpses of what we see when we're focusing on something else; Doris Salcedo's eloquent furniture memorials to the sufferings of her fellow Colombians; Janet Cardiff's unsettling sound pieces; Annika Eriksson's quietly subversive community-participation events; Heri Dono's politically charged versions of traditional Japanese art forms; and witty paintings by Joanne Greenbaum, Laura Owens, and Elizabeth Peyton. --Cathy Curtis
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Soft Pillow,
This review is from: Fresh Cream (Hardcover)
Phaidon Press constantly surprises and delights not only with the content of their art books, but also in their presentation and form. FreshCream is no different. Enclosed inside an inflatable see-through pillow you'll be hard-pressed to want to sever to get inside, the book chronicles contemporary art through a variety of artists selected by a varied panel of experts. The works range across the gamut from performance works to paint and multimedia, with excellent examples across the landscape of what art is today. The book uses itself as a jumping off point for the discussion, closing itself in its invisible plastic wrap as if to illustrate modern's arts many facets; impenetrability, transition, meaning, transparency, metaphysics and weightiness.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
To cut, or not to cut.,
This review is from: Fresh Cream (Hardcover)
The Cream series by Phaidon has become almost as important to the artworld as any major biennial, and the introduction of any new book usually is on the lips of the art glitterati for months afterwards. Obviously because the curators who pick out the artists in the Cream series are very good at picking out artists who usually go onto have important careers on the international scene. For anyone interested in the future of the artworld, the Cream series is your best bet. Nothing has so accurately predicted what we will be looking at. This Cream is no exception to the fineness of the series. Phaidon has continually pushed the envelope in the presentation of their works, this Cream comes in a lusciously weird plastic bubble which begs to be a work unto itself. I debated for days on whether to cut it open or just buy another one. In the end I settled for photographic documentation and subsequent vivisection. The book itself is absolutely stunning. True to it's namesake it comes in a creamy faux leather bound cover with the most subtle augmentations in its construction, itself resembles an alien product. The pictures are terrific and take up easily 95% of the book, biographies preseding the works of the artists, most of whom are exceptional. The curators didn't make the mistake of falling into rubbish and filling the book with to much colorful pop oriented tripe like most artbooks these days. Many curators make the mistake of thinking that if they make it look like Las Vegas the artworld will come, and for the most part that is very true, but that would just be inappropriate for the study Phaidon wants to make. If you're looking for something outrageous I recommend anything associated with Saatchi or Deitch. The curators made a great attempt at displaying really thought provoking work which fits nicely into a dialogue on the state and future of the international art scene. This is an absolutely beautiful and important book and great for any serious follower of the contemporary art scene.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Ooh, La La!!,
This review is from: Fresh Cream (Hardcover)
Rarely does a book's presentation make you squeal before you actually open it, but WOW!!! Don't buy this one used if you can help it! It comes packaged in it's very own blow-up pillow, and unless you know something I don't know, you have to destroy the pretty packaging in order to look inside!The book itself is several years out of date now, but still remains one of my top favorite resources for contemporary visual and performance art. Always filled with unique and exciting imagery from around the globe, the Phaidon Cream series is rich in content, as well as presentation!!
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