Art's Prospect: The Challenge of Tradition in an Age of Celebrity (Hardcover)

by Roger Kimball (Author)
Key Phrases: unnatural science, optical unconscious, catalogue essay, Barnes Foundation, Professor Krauss, Andy Warhol (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
A penetrating and often hilarious series of articles....Kimbell never tries to hide his stripes. The result is lively and informative. -- Nancy Chaplin in KLIATT

Any art lover who has despaired of...contemporary art criticism will find good cheer in Art's Prospect. -- Weekly Standard

As managing editor of the culturally conservative The New Criterion, Kimbell never tries to hide his stripes. The result is lively and informative. -- Nancy Chaplin, KLIATT

His positions are not always predictable ... are consistently well argued. -- Cybereditions Critics Series

Kimball's art reviews are lucid mini-educations in the exercise of taste. -- The Tennessean

Kimball's opinions have an appealing candor, and, delivered in a livley colloquial style, make for engaging, intelligent reading. -- Art Scope

…Provides a new view of the most critical art movement being less flagrant in style and approach. -- The Bookwatch of the Midwest Book Review

Product Description
Most of the really invigorating action in the art world today is a quiet affair, Mr. Kimball observes. It usually involves not the latest thing but permanent things--they can be new or old, but their relevance is measured not by the buzz they create but by the silences they inspire. With reviews and essays composed over the last twenty years and revised for this book, Art's Prospect illuminates some of the chief spiritual itineraries of modern art. There is much to be learned and enjoyed in these stimulating, provocative, and elegant essays. --Paul Johnson

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee, Publisher (September 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566635098
• ISBN-13: 978-1566635097
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,165,937 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing, honest, December 12, 2004

By	T. Mccobb (Philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Funny and irreverent, Kimball captures prosaically what so many of us artists and art lovers often feel. The nexus between art critics, gallery owners, and celebrity has always been insidious. Kimball shows no mercy when jabbing at politically correct shibboleths in the established art economy.

Contrary to what another reviewer (I must wonder whether he actually read the book) has posted here twice, Kimball does indeed offer us guidance in how to "approach art" with one very important message: The art itself and by itself is always more important than the critic. What he does not do is genuflect before the altar of over-intellectualization and deconstruction that enthralls so many art poseurs.

Highly recommended.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Counterpoint, October 11, 2004

By	bscc (new york) - See all my reviews

In an artworld where cynicism and duplicity are the norm, Kimball offers an important commentary of the lack of values that inform much of the art and art criticism today. For most critics, art need only be "challenging" to be good. Kimball clearly states the importance of craft, skill and intellectual rigour as disciplines which artists need to cultivate. Kimball's stylish prose and precise vocabulary make this a highly enjoyable read.

20 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid insights, September 10, 2004

By	Jeffrey A. Sherman (Broomfield, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Kimball is a breath of fresh air in the world of art criticism. Also, the New Criterion, the magazine his writes for, is terrific.