The Invisible Dragon

by Hickey, Dave

• ISBN13: 9780226333182
• ISBN10: 0226333183
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

The Invisible Dragonmade a lot of noise for a little book When it was originally published in 1993 it was championed by artists for its forceful call for a reconsideration of beautyand savaged by more theoretically oriented critics who dismissed the very concept of beauty as naive, igniting a debate that has shown no sign of flagging.With this revised and expanded edition, Hickey is back to fan the flames. More manifesto than polite discussion, more call to action than criticism,The Invisible Dragonaims squarely at the hyper-institutionalism that, in Hickey's view, denies the real pleasures that draw us to art in the first place. Deploying the artworks of Warhol, Raphael, Caravaggio, and Mapplethorpe and the writings of Ruskin, Shakespeare, Deleuze, and Foucault, Hickey takes on museum culture, arid academicism, sclerotic politics, and moreall in the service of making readers rethink the nature of art. A new introduction provides a context for earlier essayswhat Hickey calls his "intellectual temper tantrums." A new essay, "American Beauty," concludes the volume with a historical argument that is a rousing paean to the inherently democratic nature of attention to beauty.Written with a verve that is all too rare in serious criticism, this expanded and refurbished edition ofThe Invisible Dragonwill be sure to captivate a new generation of readers, provoking the passionate reactions that are the hallmark of great criticism.

Author Biography

Dave Hickey is professor of English at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas. A former executive editor of Art in America, he has also served as a contributing editor for the Village Voice and as the arts editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.