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The New Art: A Critical Anthology
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 16, 2022
The New Art is a series of aesthetic musings on what else but art. Gregory Battcock put together a number of such collections in the '60s and '70s ranging from Minimal and Conceptual Art to cinema and music, often with a focus on what is new. Battcock himself is a fascinating figure: He was an artist who gave up painting for criticism, he appeared in a Warhol film, he was brash and gay and his murder in 1980 is still unsolved. In this collection, he writes an intro and two essays. Others are authored by popular (Lippard and the big Bergs: Greenberg, Steinberg, Rosenberg) and less-popular names while some are contributed by artists themselves (Ad Reinhardt, Duchamp, Cage).
The purpose of reading an omnibus such as The New Art is to, first and foremost, learn, but also to see what has changed (not much) and what has stayed the same (a lot) in the world of art since 1971. As well, this is an excellent chance to encounter new ideas and new writers. My copy is well underlined. Each essay was thought-provoking and had me reconsidering preconceived notions about the relationship between artist and viewer.
The purpose of reading an omnibus such as The New Art is to, first and foremost, learn, but also to see what has changed (not much) and what has stayed the same (a lot) in the world of art since 1971. As well, this is an excellent chance to encounter new ideas and new writers. My copy is well underlined. Each essay was thought-provoking and had me reconsidering preconceived notions about the relationship between artist and viewer.
November 4, 2021
Happened upon this paperback in a thrift store recently and took a gamble on picking it up mainly because of the eye-catching cover. I also have a penchant for critical anthologies. To be honest, there is a lot in here that I began scanning through after the first quarter, mainly because some of this stuff is really dry. However, realizing that certain concerns of artists and critics then are related, if not the same as now is where my enjoyment of the entire book lay. Especially where concerning the commodification of art. Amongst the critical essays and brochure introductions, my favorite is definitely The Dilemna by Lucy Lippard; most of what she talks about is very relevant today. Honorable mentions go to The Creative Act by Marcel Duchamp and William S. Wilson III for Art: Energy and Attention. Would I recommend this book to anyone? If you are really into art criticism and want some grounding on what was in the air of the world of art circa 1966 to 1973 then yes.
July 15, 2011
Good book on pop art but dated.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews