The Tate Modern Handbook

by Frances Morris

Situated in the unlikely environs of a former power station on the banks of the River Thames in London, Tate Modern is the most-visited modern art museum in the world—and a global landmark. This revised and updated edition of Tate Modern: The Handbook surveys the achievements of the past 10 years—including recent acquisitions—and looks forward to the exciting developments that lie ahead in the next decade. An essential companion to 20th- and 21st-century art, the book features an illustrated A-to-Z guide of more than 100 artists, with concise and accessible entries and explanations of key terms in art history and museology.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2006

Reviews

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think it's relevant to say that the edition I was reading was published in 2000 - and perhaps some of the more recent editions are presented differently.

It basically consists of a book where each artist or aesthetic movement is given a page.

Ideally I wish this book had been published as a series, say of two or even three books. In this edition I found the typeface very narrow and also light in tone, which meant that reading was a strain, so I gave up after a while. This was a pity as the book is for more than coffee table browsing and you want to be able to read the text. The short descriptions giving brief details about the pictures even require a magnifying glass in order to read them.

In spite of all that negativity it's worth mentioning that this is currently being sold very cheaply second hand - and it does cover a wonderful range of 20th century artists. I got a copy from the library, but am fairly temped to get a copy on line. If you've got excellent eyesight and a good reading lamp it might be a good buy.

[Eirion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raramente commento i libri di arte, perché si tratta di un compito davvero molto difficile: contenuto, approccio, stile dello scrittore, validità scientifica sono tutte caratteristiche dei saggi artistici che richiedono molte considerazioni e molte riflessioni.
Difficile essere esauriente, arduo essere interessante, soprattutto per i non addetti ai lavori.
Questa guida, però, merita di essere segnalata a tutti.
Si tratta di un ottimo "dizionario" dei principali artisti del XX secolo (poche le assenze importanti, vedi Jeff Koons), di cui sono dati cenni biografici, appartenenza a correnti e temi principali, portando poi a dimostrazione di quanto detto le opere in catalogo. Insomma, niente a che vedere con quelle guide che ti descrivono l'opera da cima a fondo ma non te la contestualizzano nel percorso artistico dell'autore, atteggiamento tipico dei musei di arte antica e moderna.
Ottime anche le voci relative ai movimenti, sintetiche ma complete.
Si tratta perciò di una lettura perfetta per chi desidera una panoramica chiara e semplice dell'arte contemporanea musealizzata.