What Are You Looking At? The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art

by Gompertz, Will

• ISBN13: 9780525952671
• ISBN10: 0525952675
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-25
• Publisher: E P Dutton

Summary

Channeling Bill Bryson's engaging style, a former director of London's Tate gallery wields his wit and expertise in this smart, entertaining narrative tour of modern art. We all know what modern art looks like. We've seen Monet's water lilies, we've admired Picasso's nudes, and we've gawked at Damien Hirst's shark, as well as the price tag. But what does it all mean? What is modern art? Who started it? Why do we love and/or hate it? And why is it such big money? What Are You Looking At?takes readers on a captivating tour of modern art from impressionism to the present day, telling the story of the movements, the artists, and the works that not only changed art forever but also helped create and define the modern world. Refreshingly irreverent yet eminently readable and informative, the book is rich with extraordinary tales and anecdotes-a morning coffee in Paris with Monet and the impressionists; Marcel Duchamp purchasing his famous urinal; Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate empire, confessing his terror at not knowing what to think each time he encounters a new work of art. With his offbeat humor, down-to-earth storytelling, and flair for odd details that spark insights, Will Gompertz is the perfect tour guide for modern art. His book doesn't tell us if a work of art is good; it gives us the knowledge to decide for ourselves.

Author Biography

WILL GOMPERTZ was a director at the Tate in London for seven years and is now the BBC arts editor, where he writes, presents, and produces programs about the arts. In the summer of 2009, he wrote and performed a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe called Double Art History, a light-hearted lecture on the story of modern art. Recently named one of the world’s top fifty creative thinkers by Creativity magazine, he lives in Oxford.