Modern Art: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #120

by David Cottington

Public interest in modern art continues to grow, as witnessed by the spectacular success of the Tate Modern in London and the Bilbao Guggenheim. Modern A Very Short Introduction engages general readers, offering them not only information and ideas about modern art, but also explaining its contemporary relevance and history. The book focuses on interrogating the idea of "modern" art by asking such questions What makes a work of art qualify as modern, or fail to? How has this selection been made? What is the relationship between modern and contemporary art? Is "postmodernist" art no longer modern, or just no longer modernist? In either case, why--and what does this claim mean, both for art and the idea of "the modern?"

Cottingham examines many key aspects of this subject, including the issue of controversy in modern art, from Manet's Dejeuner sur L'Herbe (1863) to Picasso's Les Demoiselles , and Tracey Emin's Bed (1999). He also looks at the role of the dealer from the main Cubist art dealer Kahnweiler, to Charles Saatchi.

About the Combining authority with wit, accessibility, and style, Very Short Introductions offer an introduction to some of life's most interesting topics. Written by experts for the newcomer, they demonstrate the finest contemporary thinking about the central problems and issues in hundreds of key topics, from philosophy to Freud, quantum theory to Islam

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Art History, History, Reference, Philosophy, 20th Century

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always enjoyed going to art museums, ever since about high school. Like books, art fosters my desire for thoughtfulness and tranquility. I've always enjoyed walking leisurely, letting my mind pass over the various exhibits and paintings, sometimes I dwell on their meaning and other times I'm just content to let the various paintings, sculptures, and exhibits imprint themselves on me.

Modern art appeals to me because of its ability to push my boundaries, to make me think. In an art museum, it's okay if something makes me feel a little uncomfortable as long as it makes me think. I'm also not at all concerned with being an outsider to art. I've always thought that "art" in its purest form cannot have outsiders in the strictest sense. Even "not getting" something or be repulsed by something is an artistic moment.

An art-viewer without an open heart, though, is to me a tragedy.

But I always wished that I could be more than just a passive viewer, someone with insight and knowledge into the various ebbs and flows of the history art and artists.

At the age of 18, I read John Berger's excellent "Ways of Seeing" and that was the first book to really open my eyes to art. Sadly, I've forgotten many of the lessons of that book -- though not the key theme, that no work of art should go uncritically examined.

Luckily, I had this volume on my to-read list (along with many others in the "short introduction" series).

This introduction gave me some of the background and some of the theoretical tools I need to make sense of Modern Art. The book gave me a richer understanding of the relationship between capitalism, consumption, and the rise of the various "isms" of Modern Art. It demonstrated how Modern Art could be both a malcontent within the larger modern project and one of its greatest proponents, hoping for an eventual unity between modern efficiency and human needs.

The writer's style is lively and gives you a sense of the excitement and despair of living in Paris, trying to network with other artists to get your work shown, writing manifestos to validate your new style of work while discussing art in the local coffee shop. The narrative flair of the author was well appreciated (and could be considered art in its own way).

The book also dealt with some of the more unsavory aspects of Modern Art and art in general. The institutionalization of art, the business and politics of art, the toxic masculine and macho nature of much modern art (something that surprised me), the artist as celebrity...if these are aspects that might kill your joy of art a little bit, they also shine a light on the trouble of any enterprise that has pure motivations and meets the real world.

Do you need motivation to read a book on modern art?
Try looking at
-The Card Players (1895) by Paul Cézanne
-Impression, Sunrise (1872) by Claude Monet
-Disintegration of the Persistence of Memory (1954) by Salvador Dalí
-Nighthawks (1942) by Edward Hopper
-The Scream (1893) by Edvard Munch

This should give you all the motivation you need to read more about art...or to visit an art museum.

[Talie · Rating 4 out of 5]

آوانگاردها از نظر فرهنگی مستقل، از نظر زیباشناختی و سیاسی رادیکال و از نظر اجتماعی شورشی بودند که از هنرشان همچون حربه‌ای برای نقد رمزهای بصری غالب جامعه‌ی سرمایه داری بهره می‌بردند. اما جریان اصلی در پی همگونی آوانگاردها با خود هست. نهادها تاریخ هنر می‌نویسند، هنر و خلاقیت را باز تعریف می‌کنند. موزه‌ها تبدیل به مراکز خرید می‌شوند به مکان‌هایی برای مصرف. آوانگارد بودن اگر نگوییم غیرممکن سخت‌تر می‌شود و ایستادگی در برابر سنت‌های صنعت فرهنگ دشوارتر . دیگر هیچ فضایی نیست که از درونش بتوان ایماژهای غالب صنعت فرهنگ را زیر سوال برد.

[Keith Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This whole Oxford series -- of Very Short Introductions -- is meant to summarize current thought about various topics. I don't really approach these books expecting new interpretations; in fact, that would probably be considered a failure by the editors. But when you want your memory refreshed or simply to be brought up to speed on a current topic, these are pretty useful.

Cottington's book turns, as one might expect, on the commodification of art from the end of the 19th century to the present moment, from the rise of the "dealers" to the dominance of "theory." And he does a good job of that. He summarizes important theoretical positions, books and essays and puts them in context. I actually underlined and notated quite a bit in this book, and will return to my notes.

Cottington is suspicious of "the post-modern," and almost always keeps it in quotes. My sense is that he considers it the contemporary extension of the modern. But he does provide useful summaries of what he thinks it is. This is one of the passages I marked:

"But 'post-modernism' used to mean something, or some things. Mostly, it pointed to contemporary recognition of the ubiquity of images from television, advertising, newspapers, and films, and the consumer products with which they are associated, that saturate our societies of the West (and fuel their economies); an acquiescence in their power to direct the shaping of our ideas, imagination, and sense of reality; an acknowledgement of their inter-relatedness, and even apparently self-generated nature." See, nothing terribly original there, but very well put and useful. [Notice the Oxford commas!]

[Connor Masella · Rating 4 out of 5]

Connor Masella
Modern Art: a Short Introduction
The book Modern Art: a Short Introduction is a short novel of 150 pages written by David Cottington. It focuses on modern art and the different ideals that modern art represents. The book opens up with the topic; is modern art a mockery? The author goes through how modern art differs from old forms of art and new generations of art. Modern art is very different, in ways such as the looks, the meaning, and the representations. Modern art is extremely controversial and some say the art is “meaningless and stupid”. It is said that modern art is more how you see it, such as your own opinion of it and how you enjoy it. The second and third chapters talk about topics such as popularity and surrealism. The author goes over how fame in today’s words are hurting modern art. This is because there are quite a few artists that “do not deserve it and are not all talented as others”. This is evident in today as well; there are celebrities that are extremely famous for seemingly no reason at all or a single controversy. The author expresses deep hate for these kinds of celebrities because they did not actually earn their way to the top. Surrealism is a huge part of chapter 3 that emphasized modern art and makes up a lot of what this form of art. Surrealism is the art that focuses on the mind, the imagination and human kind as a whole. The famous artists Picasso and Salvador Dali both focused on this style of art at one point in their career. They thought that surrealism correctly depicts the minds of all humans; showing desire, love, lust, greed and irrelevant wants. You see these themes in such paintings as the Apparatus and the Hand (Salavador Dali) and many of Picasso’s paintings as he obsessed over surrealism or a many of years. The point of surrealism seems be that it is to depict human kind as a whole and point out human qualities that make up our morality. In chapters four and five , the author talks about a few major themes and movements that arose in modern art as well as the major artists activists that supported these causes/ themes. A major theme that was relevant to Picasso, Salvador Dali and many others is the human fear and curiosity. A general representation of these themes happens to be a circus. The circus is seen to have many different kinds of curiosities, abnormal sights and even people that are genetically different. In a circus you will see amazing things such as acrobatics, gymnastics, tigers jumping through hoops, or even a man eating fire. All of these things spark the human curiosity; this is because you would not generally see something such as tiger jumping through hoop or a man ingesting flames. These curiosities spark a human interest in the sense of wonder and awe. On the other side of things, the fear component comes in a much darker way. In circuses, there are generally people in a “show “that look very different; such as missing or added limbs, genetic mutations or a very different ability. This part of the circus is there to invoke a terror and a twisted dark curiosity. These other areas of interest were tragic accents of close family and friends, some other themes also included war and fighting. These themes were common for many reasons. During the last 100 years there has been many moral changes, wars and death. It is only fitting that the art reflects the time period rather than the artists wants. Artists painted these types of images in order to show the dark and light side of the human mind. It was a sought after goal to show the human mind and the dark hidden corners that it withholds. In the modern era of art we have experienced many different movements, but one of the most important movements out of this era is the feminist movement. The feminist movement was not only a huge movement in general; but a huge movement in art. The book explains that for an extended period of time women were generally only by themselves in museums if they were naked or had a crude message to show. During this period, females artist and activist such as Marien Laurencin, Georgia O’Keefe. Marien were the first women to make art a profession. She took charge of the women activist group in the art aspect and took storm with her feminist posters, paintings and sculptors. This art period helped to move women and their rights to the point we are at today. The book closes with thoughts on post modernism and how modern art affects the way we view art in todays society as well as the way we compose art and the effect on art history as a whole. It leaves us with one question, “Can we have our cake and eat it too?”

[Carlo Mazzanti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it. Strengthened me in my enjoyment of modern art and my lack of understanding of contemporary art.

[Monica St. Dennis · Rating 3 out of 5]

popsugar challenge 2021: read a book about art
___
Not really great for absolute beginners, but not bad.

[Chris Lockhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

For "a very short introduction," this book does a good job. This is not a book for becoming familiar with modern art as a list of artists, their works and style. The focus is on the thought and development of Modern Art, it's influence and evolution. In this way, it serves as a good introduction, because it is enough to give some idea what modern art was about and its context, but also prepares for further learning on the subject.

[Tolani · Rating 5 out of 5]

From my childhood fascinations with Kandinsky and Monet to my bewilderment at early-90s installations, I have been been amused, bemused, and enchanted by modern art. Cottington's excellent introduction situates modern art in the overall project of modernity in a lucid and highly readable style. I feel so much much smarter!

[Ilya Melititskiy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too cryptic and academic for me. Long sentenses with pointless digressions that you have to read 5 times over just to get the structure of the grammar. Speaks of ideas I'm already aware of, but makes them seem more complex that they are. I quit at chapter 4 (out of 5). Not a good introduction to anything. AVOID.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well it took the better part of a year to get through this gargantuan 150 page book. This was largely due to me forgetting about it. Overall a nice little introduction, hopefully I won't immediately forget everything it contained.

[Jessada Karnjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

อ่านจบแบบมึน ๆ ปกติเราชอบงานในชุด a very short introduction เพราะความเคลียร์นะ แต่เล่มนี้ไม่ถึงกับเคลียร์ รู้สึกแน่นกับชื่อคนชื่อกลุ่มชื่อผลงานที่ไม่รู้จัก แต่ก็พอได้ไอเดียระดับหนึ่ง เกี่ยวกับประวัติศาสตร์ศิลปะสมัยใหม่ที่ผู้เขียนสาวมาตั้งแต่สมัยนโปเลียนที่ 3 ทรงดำริให้เปิดนิทรรศการเพื่อแสดงผลงานที่ถูกปฏิเสธจากซาลงราว 150 ปีที่แล้ว ซึ่งก็อยู่ในช่วงที่เริ่มกำเนิดกลุ่มศิลปินอิมเพรสชันนิสต์ และอภิปรายแนวความคิด ที่พัฒนาและหักล้างเรื่อยมาจนถึงปัจจุบัน ซึ่งเราพบเห็นการตั้งคำถามและการท้าทายของคนรุ่นใหม่โดยเฉพาะที่อยู่ชายขอบต่อคนรุ่นก่อนหน้าซึ่งเป็นผู้กุมอำนาจและนิยามความหมายของศิลปะมาโดยตลอดผ่านทางเครื่องมือที่เรียกว่าสถาบัน ... หนังสือแปลดี โดยเฉพาะการทำ timeline ของผู้แปลตอนต้นเล่ม ช่วยประคับประคองมือใหม่ให้อ่านไปได้จนจบเพราะยังมีอะไรเป็นเครื่องหมายให้เห็นว่าตอนนั้น ๆ อยู่ตรงจุดไหนและกำลังจะไปสู่จุดไหน

มีลอจิกอย่างหนึ่งที่อ่านแล้วผมไม่เข้าใจ คือ ทำไมต้องใช้ปริมาณคนดูหรือคนเข้าร่วมชมนิทรรศการเป็นตัวชี้วัดพัฒนาการของศิลปะสมัยใหม่หรือศิลปะร่วมสมัย ผมมองว่ามันไม่แปลกอะไรที่คนจะเข้าไปดูนิทรรศการพวกนั้นแล้วจะเดินกลับออกมาด้วยความไม่เข้าใจ ซึ่งไม่ควรใช้ความไม่เข้าใจเป็นตัวชี้วัดความสำเร็จ และก็ไม่แปลกอะไรที่คนจะมีเยอะขึ้นเยอะขึ้นเรื่อย ๆ ซึ่งต้องระวังว่า ตรงนี้อาจเป็น fallacy แบบ post hoc กล่าวคือ มีเหตุการณ์สองเหตุการณ์ เหตุการณ์หนึ่งเกิดก่อน อีกเหตุการณ์หนึ่งเกิดทีหลัง แล้วด่วนสรุปว่าเหตุการณ์ที่เกิดก่อนเป็นเหตุของเหตุการณ์หลัง การเปลี่ยนความคิดทางศิลปะเกิดก่อน ทำให้มีการนำเสนอความคิดนั้นผ่านนิทรรศการ แล้วคนดูเข้ามาดูนิทรรศการ การจะสรุปว่าคนดูมากขึ้น หมายความว่าสิ่งนั้นมีพัฒนาการดีขึ้น มันไม่สมเหตุสมผล เพราะการที่คนดูเยอะขึ้น คนสนใจมากขึ้นมันมีได้หลายสาเหตุ พัฒนาการของศิลปะอาจเป็นสาเหตุหนึ่ง แต่จะเป็นสาเหตุที่ทำให้คนดูเยอะขึ้นอย่างมีนัยสำคัญหรือเปล่านั้นยังตอบไม่ได้ สาเหตุอื่นเช่น จำนวนคนบนโลกมีเยอะขึ้น คนเข้าถึงได้ง่าย หาดูได้ง่ายขึ้นเนื่องจากการสื่อสารสะดวกขึ้น การเดินทางง่ายดาย คนมีเวลาว่างมากขึ้นจากรูปแบบการใช้ชีวิตที่เปลี่ยนไป ไม่ต้องทำสวน พรวนดิน ขายแรงกาย มีมหาวิทยาลัยเปิดสอนศิลปะมากขึ้น มีนักเรียนเยอะขึ้น ฯลฯ ถ้าให้ผมเดา ผมเดาว่าปัจจัยพวกนี้มีผลกระทบต่อปริมาณคนที่เข้าชมนิทรรศการมากกว่าปัจจัยพัฒนาการทางศิลปะโดยตัวของมันเองเสียอีก นั่นคือ ถึงแม้ว่าศิลปะสมัยใหม่จะไม่ได้มีหน้าตาอย่างศิลปะสมัยใหม่ดังที่เป็นอยู่ในปัจจุบัน คนก็เยอะขึ้นอยู่ดี

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an amateur (in the sense of someone who loves something but doesn't practice it) art lover, this book was great for widening my understanding and curiosity. Like the other entries in the "A Very Short Introduction" series, this one features incredibly smart and concise writing. Go for it. Read more about art.

[เอกภพ สิทธิวรรณธนะ · Rating 4 out of 5]

คือหนังสือที่ให้ความเข้าใจประวัติศาสตร์ศิลปะสมัยใหม่ได้อย่างสนุก มันทำให้เราเข้าใจกระแสธารความคิดทางปรัชญาการเมือง แนวคิดทางสังคมที่ส่งผลกระทบในงานศิลปะ ด้วยวิธีการมองงานศิลปะแบบนี้ งานทุกชิ้นจึงดูจะมีความหมายมากขึ้น เมื่ออ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้แล้ว ผมคิดว่าผู้อ่านน่าจะมีความรุ่มรวยมากขึ้นเมื่อมีส่วนร่วมกับงานศิลปะสมัยใหม่

[Eric Xia]

I liked the book. (2005)

[Dennis Seese · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it accomplished what it was supposed to. It filled in some knowledge gaps and laid out a concise throughline of the nebulous concept of "modern" art.

[Megangoldberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confidence is such an attractive quality. Tonight, I want to explore yours a little closer, with a touch that ignites a desire for something more.

[AB Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cottington’s exposition on modern art begins with Duchamp’s submission of a urinal to a major art exhibition, deftly shifting to the interplay between the avant-garde and consumerist practices of what constitutes value within the art world. Throughout this succinct and erudite introduction, the focus consistently remains the shifting world of the contemporary artist, how they criticise society, and whether the voice of the artist ever becomes co-opted through whatever veneer of success they encounter. Prime examples included in this short treatise include Duchamp, Picasso, Pollack, and Warhol.

A brief repository of the methodology of determining what exists as modern art, the text’s best critiques are reserved for how artwork transitioned from creative endeavour to a marketable commodity, with its emphasis upon chronicling the advancement of criticism alongside the increasing eminence of the artist as an interpreter of the times. Both situations conspire together to afford increasing relevance to a societal relationship with contemporary art, vis-à-vis consumption of what increasingly criticises its own consumption while simultaneously relying upon that consumption to progress.

4 stars. Specific attention to the arguments of what forms the modern versus the contemporary features here, providing acknowledgement to the myriad forms both inspire as the unfolding of the field continues. As such, this text introduces the reader to a deeper understanding of what roles modern art might continue to hold as the conversation between modernity and contemporary expression continues to emerge. Useful information.

[David Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I read to research this post was Modern Art A Very Short Introduction by David Cottington which is a very good book which I bought from kindle. This book is part of a series where they get an expert to write an introduction of around 150 pages on a subject. A lot of the books are connected to history and politics although there is quite a variety. I have reviewed lots of these books and they are really interesting. I really enjoyed reading this book which is about what I think is one of the most recent art movements. One artist was commisioned to do a piece of art to be displayed on a stone plinth in London and did a see through inverted version of the plinth. One newspaper likened it to an aquarium and another to a bathroom cistern. I think the thing about modern art is often the artist has come up with it on a subconscious level and you maybe can fall into the trap of questioning it too deeply. Another famous exhibit was Damien Hirst's preserved dead shark which certainly appeals to younger people in particular. Traditionally art has often featured the female nude form and more recently there has been a move away from that as some people have thought it exploits women. One common current theme is consumerism and how much junk people throw away. A very impressive artist is Cindy Sherman who features herself in photos exploring the female psyche and they are often based on the actress and model photos of the 40's & 50's and the transformation she does in each photo means she is barely recognizable from one photo to the next. Another common theme especially in the 30's and 40's is of course antinazism and it's no accident most artists support opposition politics and also at that time many artists fled to New York to flee Germany and it was a very exciting time artistically.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for more on features of art movements and pieces. There was some, but the focus was on cultural critique. I knew modern artists questioned traditional "rules," but what was new was their anti-consumer emphasis as well. Cottington traces the move from contesting the gate keeping functions of museums to establishing their own museums, studying problematic contradictions along the way.

The shortness means that much must be left out, but there is a bibliography for those who want more.

Even though it wasn't what I was looking for, it was interesting for what it is.

[Daniel Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sceptical about the value of much modern art (not because it is modern per se, just the usual 'a five-year-old could have done that' issues), and David Cottington failed to convince me otherwise. I would like to ask him to be a bit more systematic, but I suppose he would answer that that would be to fail to understand the nature of the subject. Which precisely underlines why I have a problem with it.

[Iga · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie ma w niej wiedzy bardzo specyficznej, ale trudno się ją czyta. Mało jest w niej reprodukcji i których mowa w książce, co bardziej potęguje jej czasem niezrozumiałość. Kolejnym minusem jest brak reprodukcji w kolorze. Wiem, że może w dzisiejszych czasach łatwo wyszukiwać takowych w internecie, ale w książce tak bogato naładowanej co krok kolejnymi ilustracjami (w formie słownej, nie jako fizyczne ilustracje) jest to dość kłopotliwe.

[Flob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a competent piece of work I'm sure. But somehow misses it for me. It is more about the social, political, economic, blah blah framework that modern art finds itself in. Back to the what is art question and the ship without a rudder that is post modernism. Ok but something missing. I guess that something is Art.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does what it says on the tin, short intro - but still gives enough depth I feel, to see if you want to learn more about a particular area in depth. Great how the author keeps you aware of the loops of influence and the importance of knowing where something came from. Also useful 'further reading' section.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure I understood all of the ideas presented by this book but kept reading regardless and behold much became clear as I became used to the terminology. Having just been to the Barbara Hepworth exhibition at Tate Britain lots of the writing on feminism struck a chord. A good introduction to heaps of ideas and a source of suggestions for further reading and study.

[Radit Panjapiyakul · Rating 2 out of 5]

พูดถึงศิลปะสมัยใหม่ในเชิงบริบททางสังคมและการเมืองมากไปหน่อย มากกว่าที่จะเป็นเรื่องของศิลปะเอง แนวคิดและ quote ที่อ้างอิงขาดการอธิบายมากเพียงพอ โดยรวมจึงเป็น short introduction ที่อ่านยาก ไม่เหมาะเป็นหนังสืออ่านเริ่มต้น

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look at the topic that could have benefited from slightly more depth.