The great authority and historical undergirding of Hilton Kramer's art criticism are on abundant display in this first collection of his pieces to appear in twenty years. The essays and reviews in The Triumph of Modernism constitute a fever chart of the contemporary art scene, diagnosing the state of modernism and its vital legacy in the postmodern world.
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The former art critic at the New York Times and the New York Observer and editor of the New Criterion, Kramer writes bracing art criticism rooted in his belief in the gravitas of art. In the introduction to this substantial, even historic collection of strongly stated, sometimes molten, always handsomely formed essays spanning the last two decades, he celebrates the revelations of modern art, defining modernism as nothing less than "the discipline of truthfulness, the rigor of honesty." Kramer considers the spiritual roots of abstract painting in critiques of Kandinsky and Mondrian. On the other end of the spectrum, Kramer dubs Andy Warhol "the cheerful nihilist" and decries Warhol's wily blurring of the line between art and entertainment, as well as all that this diminishment has spawned. Kramer is equally staunch in his parsing of Gauguin, Philip Johnson, and Mapplethorpe, and then, with palpable pleasure, suggests that Matisse was "probably the greatest painter of the twentieth century." In his enlightening, stimulating, and uncompromising essays, Kramer accords art the serious and critical attention it deserves. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
Bracing art criticism.... In his enlightening, stimulating, and uncompromising essays, Kramer accords art the serious and critical attention it deserves. (Donna Seaman Booklist )
Delicious jeremiads attacking the meretricious, fad-obsessed art world of today….Mr. Kramer packs his reviews and essays with telling anecdotes. (Stephen Goode Washington Times )
An event: the first collection of Hilton Kramer's art criticism to appear in twenty years displays his great command of subject and historical undergirding. Here is an incisive critique of the artists, critics, institutions, and movements that have formed the basis for modern art. (New York Review Of Books )
Splendid collection... Kramer is luminously intelligent when he discusses the great modernists. (Jeffrey Hart American Conservative )
Arresting and perceptive judgments displaying Kramer's Modernist tastes. (New York Times Book Review )
Kramer's book is erudite, principled, and well written...This book would be especially valuable for anyone conducting a course in either aesthetics or art criticism...it should be on the 'must read' list for every museum director. (Marie L. Meegan Naea News )
Delicious jeremiads attacking the meretricious, fad-obsessed art world of today….Mr. Kramer packs his reviews and essays with telling anecdotes. (Stephen Goode Washington Times )
An event: the first collection of Hilton Kramer's art criticism to appear in twenty years displays his great command of subject and historical undergirding. Here is an incisive critique of the artists, critics, institutions, and movements that have formed the basis for modern art. (New York Review Of Books )
Splendid collection... Kramer is luminously intelligent when he discusses the great modernists. (Jeffrey Hart American Conservative )
Arresting and perceptive judgments displaying Kramer's Modernist tastes. (New York Times Book Review )
Kramer's book is erudite, principled, and well written...This book would be especially valuable for anyone conducting a course in either aesthetics or art criticism...it should be on the 'must read' list for every museum director. (Marie L. Meegan Naea News )
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Triumph of Modernism by Hilton Kramer,
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This review is from: The Triumph of Modernism: The Art World, 1985-2005 (Hardcover)
In The Triumph of Modernism, Hilton Kramer provides valuable insights into how the personal aesthetic belief systems of leading modernists meshed with and were driven by the philosophical and social movements of their time. Particularly interesting is Kramer's assertion that artists were considerably influenced by such esoteric belief systems as H.P. Blavatsky's theosophy. Kramer's device allows us to not only acquire an understanding of the various artist's intellect and emotional make-up, but further still, their spiritual psyche and more importantly, how their psyche is manifested in their workAn interesting read that would have been a dynamic work if visual representations had been included.
Dan J. Boos Wassily Kandinsky: 1866-1944 a Revolution in Painting (Basic Art). Constructing Modernity: The Art and Career of Naum GaboBauhaus 1919-1933
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By Gatekey "Locksmith" (Peru, NY United States) - See all my reviews
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Triumph of Modernism: The Art World, 1985-2005 (Hardcover)
Hilton Kramer is the best of the best critics and The Triumph of Modernism is a jewel. I cannot thank him enough for sharing his intelligent, thought provoking analyses of the art world. Absolutely brilliant.
3 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
great book,
By tedz "tedz" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Triumph of Modernism: The Art World, 1985-2005 (Hardcover)
hilton kramer is a fine critic and this is a great book - highly recommended -
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
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Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
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new museum architecture, catalogue accompanying, early abstractions, middlebrow culture, current exhibition, pictorial structure, modernist art, abstract art Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Professor Alpers, Tate Modern, United States, Jackson Pollock, Abstract Expressionist, Clement Greenberg, First World War, Andy Warhol, Century City, National Gallery, Philip Johnson, Tilted Arc, Alfred Barr, Fairfield Porter, Professor Chave, Mark Rothko, Soviet Union, The Collected Essays, The Plight of Our Culture, Blaue Reiter, Marcel Duchamp, Phillips Collection, Piet Mondrian, Second World War New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
new museum architecture, catalogue accompanying, early abstractions, middlebrow culture, current exhibition, pictorial structure, modernist art, abstract art Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Professor Alpers, Tate Modern, United States, Jackson Pollock, Abstract Expressionist, Clement Greenberg, First World War, Andy Warhol, Century City, National Gallery, Philip Johnson, Tilted Arc, Alfred Barr, Fairfield Porter, Professor Chave, Mark Rothko, Soviet Union, The Collected Essays, The Plight of Our Culture, Blaue Reiter, Marcel Duchamp, Phillips Collection, Piet Mondrian, Second World War New!
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Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 67
books:
See all 67 books this book cites
- Cubism and Abstract Art (Paperbacks in Art History) by Alfred H. Barr Jr. on 4 pages
- Mark Rothko (Museum of Modern Art) by Peter Howard Selz on page 84, page 250, and page 261
- The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and his Followers by T. J. Clark on page 117, page 121, and page 123
- Mark Rothko by Marjorie Cohn on page 66, page 261, and page 263
- Art and Culture: Critical Essays by Clement Greenberg on page 94, and page 110
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