See buying choices for this item to see if it's one of the millions that are eligible for Amazon Prime.

14 used & new from $44.98

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get yours here.
 
  

A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern (Paperback)

by Kirk Varnedoe (Author)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


3 new from $95.54 11 used from $44.98
Also Available in: List Price: Our Price: Other Offers:
Hardcover 22 used & new from $24.94

Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)

Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)

by Kirk Varnedoe
3.9 out of 5 stars (14)  $29.70
Art and Illusion

Art and Illusion

by E. H. Gombrich
4.7 out of 5 stars (7)  $25.05
Modern Contemporary

Modern Contemporary

by Kirk Varnedoe
The Shock of The New: The Hundred-Year History of Modern Art Its Rise, Its Dazzling Achievement, It's Fall

The Shock of The New: The Hundred-Year History of Modern Art Its Rise, Its Dazzling Achievement, It's Fall

by Robert Hughes
4.2 out of 5 stars (12)  $45.60
Proust Was a Neuroscientist

Proust Was a Neuroscientist

by Jonah Lehrer
3.9 out of 5 stars (42)  $10.17
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Taking on critics of all stripes, Varnedoe argues that modern art was not deterministically shaped by the grinding-wheel of social forces, new technologies or foreign influences. The flatness of Degas's pictorial space, he contends, owes less to Japanese prints or photography than to an unprecedented late-19th-century burst of experimentation with perspective. In Picasso's and Gauguin's primitivism, Varnedoe discerns a process of pulling objects out of their original contexts in order to alter our way of seeing. With reference to 286 plates (one-third in color), he shows how artists have changed the rules as he considers the devices of fragmentation (from Rodin to Pop Art) and the use of an overhead view (from Andre Kertesz's aerial photographs to Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty earthwork). Director of painting and sculpture at New York's Museum of Modern Art, Varnedoe makes a novel case for modern art as an opening up of human potential driven by individual creativity.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This is a group of four broadly connected essays attempting to define that now-old question, What is modern art about? Varnedoe (director of painting and sculpture, Museum of Modern Art) identifies four characteristics--juxtaposition of near and far, fragmentation and repetition, primitivism, and a viewpoint from above--which he discusses in the context of art from 1870 to 1950. His insights and readings of the facts are frequently fresh and provocative, if not always convincing. Less documentary than Robert Hughes's Shock of the New , Varnedoe's essays are occasionally mixed in tone, as though given as lectures. Nevertheless, this is a serious work on modern art; recommended.
- Jack Perry Brown, Ryerson & Burnham Libs., Art Inst . of Chicago
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Paperback: 319 pages
  • Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (April 1, 1994)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0810925745
  • ISBN-13: 978-0810925748
  • Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.6 x 1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #920,518 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Look Inside This Book
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | Index | Back Cover


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern
83% buy the item featured on this page:
A Fine Disregard: What Makes Modern Art Modern 4.3 out of 5 stars (6)
Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts)
17% buy
Pictures of Nothing: Abstract Art since Pollock (A.W. Mellon Lectures in the Fine Arts) 3.9 out of 5 stars (14)
$29.70

Suggested Tags from Similar Products

 (What's this?)
Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
Check a corresponding box or enter your own tags in the field below.
(4)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 
Help others find this product — tag it for Amazon search
No one has tagged this product for Amazon search yet. Why not be the first to suggest a search for which it should appear?

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (5)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring!, December 2, 2000
Varndoe's book is the perfect antidote to the complaints of all the reactionary modern art bashers out there who accuse the moderns of lack of talent, pretentiosness or even a nihilistic hatred of reality. *A Fine Disregard* proves the opposite case. The moderns were motivated by the highest artistic impuses, were very talented and (best of all) were free spirits not beholden to static tradition and not afraid to experiment. Yes, some of the experiments failed, but is that not the case in science as well? What is important is that the moderns were imaginative, vigourous and playful in ways that no one had been before them. Rather than acting as passive human cameras, they willfuly exaggerated the colors and shapes of their subject matter in order to express their emotions and tell us which attributes they saw as most important. An artist who saw color as most important might reduce a meadow to a swirling field of unnaturally vivid color. An artist who was fascinated with the shape of things might reduce complex objects to simple geometry for the sake of emphasis. Some modern paintings are not insipred by objects in the everyday world at all, but are an attempt to paint states of mind or reflect on color and shape as ends in themselves. And what is wrong with any of this? Nothing at all. In fact it is a great tribute to human creativity.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A loving meditation on art, October 29, 2002
Ten stars. This beautifully-written, handsomely-illustrated book is a must-read for all lovers of art, of any period. Not only does Varnedoe illuminate the works of specific artists, traditions and eras, he proposes fresh ways of looking at and thinking about art. Writing about Degas, he says, "This Realism doesn't describe a world, it proposes one." Modern art makes the familiar look strange so that we may come to know it more fully - from a variety of perspectives. Key to Varnedoe's argument is the contribution of the individual artist, whose innovations should not be reduced to a "cultural context" by later historians. My favorite quote in the book comes not from Varnedoe but from the Russian Formalist Viktor Shklovski: "And ... so that stones may be stony, there exists what we call art." A provocative and inspiring read.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A terrific crystal introduction to all art , not just modern, November 12, 2000
By film slave (London, UK) - See all my reviews
Very fine purgative for all of us confused by the corrective, pedantic style of much art criticism. Varnedoe writes clearly, directly and builds a rich, warm, complex image of modern art. The section on Degas, Hiroshige et al. is wonderful writing. His argument is delivered with a lovely sense of story. An enjoyable,yet provocative read.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
Ad
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars amazon does not have it
I have ordered new this twice from Amazon. Both times Amazon took my order with estimated 7 days to ship. Read more
Published on November 12, 2005 by marc the reader

5.0 out of 5 stars Showed me how to enjoy modern art
As one who has never really thought about modern art, and certainly not enjoyed it, this was a transforming book. The tone of the book is welcoming, and the ideas thoughtful. Read more
Published on August 1, 2005 by N. Martin

5.0 out of 5 stars modern history of a way of seeing in visual art
Varnedoe pulls together a sychronicity of visual perception between Degas, Hokusai, and other artists including photographers. Read more
Published on October 7, 1999

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

 Beta (What's this?)
New! See all customer communities, and bookmark your communities to keep track of them.
This product's forum (0 discussions)
  Discussion Replies Latest Post
  No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
  [Cancel]

   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)



Look for Similar Items by Category


$15 Off Olay, Pantene, and More

$15 Off Olay, Pantene, and More
This July, enjoy an extra $15 off select skin and hair care from favorite brands such as Olay, Pantene, Secret, and Ivory.

Shop this offer now

 

Best Books of 2008

Best of 2008
Find our top 100 editors' picks as well as customers' favorites in dozens of categories in our Best Books of 2008 Store.
 
Shop inverters for your MP3 Player
Groove on the GoKeep your MP3 player charged as you travel. Find functional and durable inverters in the Home Improvement Store.
 
Shop for Shelving
Clear Clutter from Your SpaceSearch the Storage & Home Organization Store to find shelving and more to meet your storage needs.
 
Ad

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.



Where's My Stuff?

Shipping & Returns

Need Help?

Your Recent History

  (What's this?)
You have no recently viewed items or searches.

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.

Look to the right column to find helpful suggestions for your shopping session.

Continue shopping: Top Sellers
Free
Free by Chris Anderson
Paranoia
Paranoia by Joseph Finder
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan, Sir, 1859-1930 Doyle
My Soul to Lose
My Soul to Lose by Rachel Vincent

Conditions of Use | Privacy Notice © 1996-2009, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates