Customer Reviews

ICONOCLASH: Beyond the Image Wars in Science, Religion and Art

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In many ways this massive Yellow Pages-sized book sums up what I have always suspected about the visual arts in our time as such: That their greatness comes from the collective force of one-liners which are not all that arresting taken individually. This book really shows that the function of art in our time is that of a collective commentary on the Sutra of Art, and as such necessarily way more verbose than the original "sacred" text. Here all the eminently forgettable one-liner images made in the name of art, anti-art, art-taboo, and art voodoo throughout history---from all cultures--are gathered and presented in the full glory of their collective greatness.
But, do take note that this book is not an "art book" as such, and certainly not a coffee table variety. It belongs on your desk along with your dictionaries and encyclopedias. This is a textbook at its finest. The meat of this book is really the essays, with the images---many of them small but very clear-- inserted to augment the discussion, not the other way around.

So then what are some of the things discussed? A set of essays is grouped under a particular question, and there are some 12 plus questions that cue you in right away as to what is going to be discussed. It is like having a seminar program showing the topics to be discussed, time, and room numbers.

Some of the questions asked and responded to: WHY DO IMAGES TRIGGER SO MUCH FUROR? WHY ARE IMAGES SO AMBIGUOUS? WHY DO GODS OBJECT TO IMAGES? WHAT IS ICONOCLASH? WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO MODERN ART? HAS CRITIQUE ENDED?

What intelligent person could possibly resist the temptation to find out what people have said in response to these questions? I would be a liar to say that I have read through every single essay in the book. I have not. But what I have read so far--a huge chunk--have all been very thoughtful and sincere. Now that's rare in a book whose subject matter concerns art-talk!
With over fifty people writing, talking, interviewing, there is a huge range of styles of discourse, some delightful, some witty, some funny, some dry. But, all in all, this is a very thoughtful and timely presentation of an important subject with minimum pretentiousness. As the subtitle indicates, it concerns all who take interest in the problem of images in art, religion, and science. Highly recommended.

This book rocks. I think that this is the most interesting book about the clash over Icons and imagery in modern day society.