Art in Theory 1900-1990: An Anthology of Changing Ideas

by Harrison, Charles; Wood, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780631165750
• ISBN10: 0631165754
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1993-01-01
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Inc

Summary

Current debates about the status of Modernism have led to an increasing interest in critical and aesthetic theories, and to a questioning of some of the traditional assumptions and limits of art history. The aim of this substantial anthology is to equip the student, teacher and interested general reader with the necessary materials for an up-to-date understanding of twentieth-century art. Beside the writings of the century's major artists, Art in Theory includes relevant texts by critics, philosophers, politicians and literary figures. It is organised into eight sections, from the legacy of Symbolism at the turn of the century to contemporary debates about the Postmodern. Each section is prefaced by a brief essay. There are introductions for all of the 300-plus texts, which serve to place theories and critical approaches in context. The result is both a comprehensive collection of documents on twentieth-century art and an encylopaedic history of relevant theory.

Table of Contents

I The Legacy of Symbolism	11	(112)
A Classicism and Originality	17	(45)
B Expression and the Primitive	62	(61)
II The Idea of the Modern World	123	(92)
A Modernity	130	(47)
B Cubism	177	(38)
III Rationalization and Transformation	215	(116)
A Neo-Classicism and the Call to Order	223	(23)
B Dissent and Disorder	246	(28)
C Abstraction and Form	274	(34)
D Utility and Construction	308	(23)
IV Freedom, Responsibility and Power	331	(216)
A The Modern as Ideal	338	(45)
B Realism as Figuration	383	(44)
C Realism as Critique	427	(70)
D Modernism as Critique	497	(50)
V The Individual and the Social	547	(134)
A The American Avant-Garde	554	(33)
B Individualism in Europe	587	(43)
C Art and Society	630	(51)
VI Modernization and Modernism	681	(114)
A Art and Modern Life	687	(57)
B Modernist Art	744	(51)
VII Institutions and Objections	795	(190)
A Objecthood and Reductivism	803	(55)
B Attitudes to Form	858	(35)
C Political Aspects	893	(25)
D Critical Revisions	918	(67)
VIII Ideas of the Postmodern	985
A The Condition of History	993	(56)
B The Critique of Originality	1049	(37)
C Figures of Difference	1086