Collage: The Making of Modern Art (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Lively and timely. -- The Art Book

The fullest and best-written history of the subject so far. -- World of Interiors --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Description

The first comprehensive history of the theory and practice of collage.

Almost a century after its invention, collage has never been more popular. It picks up the discarded scraps and residue of everyday experience, turning them into art—a truly modern art, the artistic equivalent of the fragmented nature of contemporary life.

Beginning with the seminal moment in 1908 when the young Picasso first took a piece of brown card pasted with a "Magasins au Louvre" label and invented a new kind of picture, Brandon Taylor tells the story of how progressive artists have consistently used the medium to create challenging and provocative works, developing a cut-and-paste aesthetic that would go on to influence other, more traditional art forms such as sculpture and architecture.

The whole sweep of the twentieth century is here: cubist, dadaist, and surrealist collage; the experiments of the Russian constructivists and Eastern European avant-gardes; the hard-hitting political satires of interwar Germany; the raw, aggressive styles of the United States' East and West coasts in the 1950s; the burgeoning pop aesthetic in 1960s America and Europe. Taylor ends his authoritative account by addressing the question of why the ideas behind collage are so much in harmony with the digital age. 200 illustrations, 80 in color.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson; illustrated edition edition (November 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500238162
• ISBN-13: 978-0500238165
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,175,771 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't get me started!, September 17, 2007

By	Nagagirl (Southeast Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Collage: The Making of Modern Art (Paperback)

Surrealism, Picasso, Dada, artists response to Nazi expansionism in Europe...well, sure these subjects will involve "a lot of words" to understand!! Geez, collage began way before your local craft store had
several isles of pre-made stuff to "create" one. It is, after all, a
response of artists to the world...and the results are seldom cute or
enjoyable. Sorry, I feel nasty when a book as great as this gets dissed.

If you want, go to the craft store and buy one of the churned-out dull
books which will tell you step by step how to glue buttons and old photos
to something else they will sell you. If you want to understand how and
why artists began tearing things off of walls and using them in art then
read this book. You may be surprised at how moving real art/collage can be.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn this history of collage, May 9, 2008

By	Derrel Blain (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well illustrated, this book follows the historical development of collage in terms of the various art movements of the early part of the 1900's, up through collage in the '60s, and today.

Authorative, thorough, only occasionally does the author fall into ridiculous art-critic-speak. [Please, art critics and academics, never use the word "problematize" ever, ever again. It's a stupid wretched word].

If you want to understand the social and art-philosophical thought that created and sustained collage, read this book. Besides, if you're going to practice an art, you should know its history.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone interested in collage and the history connected to it!, March 21, 2008

By	Phillip R. Hendrickson (Buffalo, NY United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Collage: The Making of Modern Art (Paperback)

I have to agree with Nagagirl, this is really one of the best compendiums on the history of collage and the culture that surrounded it. I constantly reference it in my discussions to my students. Not only hits on the well-known works, but also gives in-depth discussions of lesser known works and movements within the U.S., Britain, and beyond. A must for anyone interested in this amazing medium and the history connected to it!