Art in the Modern Era: A Guide to Styles, Schools, Movements

Art Essentials

by Amy Dempsey

This superb, clearly organized guide to art from 1860 to the present is without peer -- it is the key to understanding more than a century of dynamic change, from Impressionism to the Digital Age. The 300 schools and movements discussed provide an introduction to the major developments in Western painting, sculpture, architecture, and design during one of the most exciting periods in art history.Who, where, when, how, and why? -- these are the essential questions answered in the 100 main entries that make up the heart of the book. A foldout illustrated time line shows at a glance how modern and contemporary art evolved. Whether for reference, fresh exploration, or pure pleasure, this authoritative, unusually accessible book is a supremely valuable resource for anyone interested in art.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference, Art Design, Design

304 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Austra]

Patiešām labs un kompakts pārskats par moderno mākslu, vienā vai pāris atvērumos ieskicējot katra mākslas virziena pamatidejas, uzdevumus, ietekmes, nozīmīgākos māksliniekus un kolekcijas, ilustrējot to ar vienu vai divu raksturīgāko vai pazīstamāko mākslas darbu attēliem. Viss ir ērti izkārtots hronoloģiski, un mākslinieku vārdi oriģinālrakstībā ļauj viegli uzmeklēt plašāku informāciju internetā, lai turpinātu izglītoties, ja ir šāda vēlme.

“Ja realitāti mēs uztveram nevis tieši, bet ar attēlu starpniecību, vai šie attēli kļūst ar mūsu realitāti? Kas tādā gadījumā ir patiesība? Kādā ziņā iespējama oriģinalitāte? Šīs pārdomas būtiski ietekmējušas arhitektus, māksliniekus un dizainerus.” Labs jautājums 21. gadsimta cilvēkam, kurš pavada un iepazīst realitāti, blenžot uz attēliem telefoniņā.

[Bradley Frederick]

As someone who knew virtually nothing about modern art prior to reading this, I found the explanations to be very informative and helpful. This is something I will be bringing with me to art museums as a guide to help me understand the art better, and it also gave me some new places to visit.

[Zygintas]

Pirmas sakinys: Modernųjį meną apibūdinanti kalba tapo sudėtinga ir įmantri, nesvarbu, ar pasakotume apie impresionizmą ir instaliacijas, ar simbolizmą ir superrealizmą.

68 stiliai, pateikti chronologine tvarka.

Kiekvienam jų skiriama po 2 puslapius (impresionizmui, ekspresionizmui, kubizmui, siurrealizmui ir postmodernizmui – po 4 puslapius): aprašymas, žymiausi menininkai, bruožai, forma, svarbiausios kolekcijos ir bent vienas to stiliaus kūrinys.

Aprašymas užkabina ir norisi pasidomėti giliau.

Žinyne pristatomi stiliai, todėl kai kurių menininkų pavardes rasite ne prie vieno stiliaus.

Labai gerai apibūdinta paskutiniame priešlapyje: Lakoniška, apgalvota, iš esmės.

Gidas, nuo kurio galima pradėti gilintis į modernųjį meną.

[Mairita (Marii grāmatplaukts)]

Vairs nevaru teikt, ka neko nesaprotu no modernās mākslas, jo šis ir riktīgs triecienkurss dažādos stilos, virzienos, kustībās un apvienībās. Turklāt izrādījās, ka arī mans mīļais impresionisms tiek pieskaitīts modernajai mākslai. Beigās pietrūka kopsavilkums, kaut kāds pārskats "priekš čaiņikiem", kas tad tagad modernās mākslas pasaulē notiek.

[Chandler]

i'd been reading this on and off for a good little while and just finished yesterday. i guess i...can recognize more things now?

[Derek]

Cursed by its breadth, unfortunately. It's forced down the Western/European focus on broad trends and Wikipedia highlights, though curated and commented on by a subject expert. There is undoubtedly a lot here in the crannies that is not even remotely touched on, especially in terms of artists of the modern day.

As a non-art student it is curious to see how this progressed, as new generations take up the themes of exhausted movements and slap "neo-" onto the front. And like any non-art student the writer makes value statements and narrative leaps about works that I simply cannot follow. I have a gap here where _Hostgage, No 24_ by Jean Fautrier is an abstract shape formed with pigment and apparently some kind of texture and do not see the violence or harrowing events that are attributed. Is this explained to the viewer by an artist's statement?

[Nursen Uyar]

Tezim için alıp okumaya başladığım bir kitap. 4 yıllık sanat tarihi bölümünde adı bile geçmeyen dönem/akımlara yer veren bir içeriğe sahip. Akımların/dönemlerin çoook özet halinde bilgileri, temsilcileri ve önemli/popüler eserlerinden örnekler yer alıyor. Kitabın en önemli özelliği koleksiyonların yer aldığı müzelerin bir listesini bize sunması diyebilirim. Kitabın sonunda da 2 sayfalık “sözlük” bölümü var.

[Ria R]

Erittäin laadukas ja onnistuneesti kuvitettu opas modernin taiteen maailmaan. Esitelty tiiviisti taiteen lajeja pääasiassa Euroopasta, Amerikoista ja Venäjältä, sekä käsitelty modernin taiteen suuntausten vaikutuksia toisiinsa. Aikajanana esitettynä taide ja historia kohtasivat toisensa.

[Michelle L]

If you are interested in white, cis male, European modern art, start here. Good concept though, I did learn a lot about those sorts of people; but for a book published in 2018, the lack of POC/non-European/women representation was awful.

[Даниил Ганиев]

По странице вступительного текста о каждом важном стиле искусства с конца 19 века. Текста неглубокого, но достаточного чтобы возбудить в читателе интерес копать глубже.

[Betul]

Özetin özeti denilebilir ama akımlara ait büyük koleksiyonları içeren müzelerin listelenmesi güzel olmuş.

[Katarína Bozáňová]

Good introduction into modern art styles.

[Lauren Hegedus]

A very solid and informative read. I now have a long list of art movements to explore further, which I am very stoked about.

[Aušra]

Trumpas gidas apie modernaus meno sroves, jų atstovus bei atstoves. Tiesa, norėjosi daugiau vizualių pavyzdžių, bet turbūt knygos užmanymas toks, kad labiau tarnautų kaip kišeninis-pažintinis gidas.

[gurur ✺]

good book

[Dominyka]

no review, bcs its basically an encyclopedia for modern art. easy to read, actually found myself recognising certain styles/movements in art

[Mažvydas Brikas]

Book offers a well-organized guide through modern art history. Clear and concise explanations of complex art movements.

[Ruth]

güzel, açıklayıcı, yüzeysel, okunur.

[Brigita Baķe]

interesting, easy reading book

[Miroslav Yanchy]

A well structured glossary and tool for a quick consultation. For this same reason, I feel it lacks in providing more information.

[Peter Lipták]

Stručné, jasné, prehľadné.

[Rachel Toseland]

A really concise and helpful whistle-stop tour of Modern Art which has me keen to go deeper as a result!

[Diana]

Var jau arī stundu skatīties baltajā kvadrātā

[svelibris]

what is this earth without art just a rock

[Grace]

Good introductory overviews on Modern Art movements, their main figures, raison d’être, features, and mediums, even museum locations.

[Jason]

A very short introduction to modern art movement.

It was thorough in recording the various art movements from 1860s till present, with the gist of each movement well explained and summarized. I particularly like how Amy pulled out important information that readers would appreciate having quick references to, such as key artists, features, medium, and key collection locations. It gives beginners of art, like myself, a very good introduction into art movement history. This book is also very useful for someone seeking to find his own "language" in art, and dig deeper into it with other more in-depth books on the topic.

For me: Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Existentialism, Postmodernism

"If we perceive reality not directly, but through representations, then do these representations become our reality? What, then, is truth? In what sense is originality possible?"

[Lynda]

This is a well-organized book on the history of modern art. It is fine to go to any section and just read up about it, so it's not a must to read in the order from front to back. It has beautiful illustrations and its manner of writing is very accessible, making it easy for non-art majors to quickly comprehend the significance and impact of a particular art movement. I borrowed the book from the local library but after reading through some parts of it, I think this title is worth owning.

[K]

Excellent, concise overview of modern art around 1880 through present day with lots of visuals and references so you can dig deeper on your own