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Future tense: A new art for the nineties
Focusing on the current attitudes to art, architecture and design, the author sets out to indicate ways in which contemporary artists may contribute to a critical culture of the nineties, in place of the philosophical stagnation of the current decade.
190 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 1990
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 15, 2024
I read this book as it was recommended to me by a friend and I was interested in it's time specificity.
This is a book about Post – Modernism. I found the introduction exciting but found the first chapter very depressing which surprised me and slightly tainted my enjoyment of the book. I did enjoy a lot of the book and was struck by all the changes that have happened in London since it was published– namely Shoreditch is now gentrified, The Saatchi Gallery has moved to a very grand venue at Sloane Square and Canary Warf (the Docklands) is established as a financial centre to rival the City.
The graphic design of the book is very late eighties/ early nines with lovely elongated page numbers. I wish the designer had’ve left more of margin in the middle of the book moving the blocks of text outwards, as it felt like the text was being sucked into the spine. The book has many images, all printed in black in white which dates it as pre-digital.
Some thoughts on what I think and what I think is going on in the book.
Hewison seems to be trying to define what Post-Modernism is whilst lamenting the loss of Modernism’s Avante Garde as a mechanism to challenge culture and drive change. Whist I see his point I wish he acknowledged the factors that caused the Avante Garde as there is lot of deep trauma in the early 20th century not present in 1980s Britain. He paints a bleak picture of the state of post-modern art in the UK linked particularly to Conservative economic policy and the rise of consumer culture.
Hewison appears to be very wary of hyper consumerism and the domination of television and how it influences information. He links this to a brandification and commodification of culture. His view is very UK and very London focused although his critical references are more international including literary theory.
He comments on the loss of grand narratives, centralised news and information sources and is concerned about how manipulable information is becoming through consumer culture.
This is laying the groundwork for the invention of the internet in about 10 years in the future which is going to blow this even wider open.
The embedding of computers means the concept of “hyperspace” has crept in and the idea of the network is replacing hierarchies. This means a plurality of voices is becoming more prevalent.
At that time Charles Saatchi, who Hewison appears wary of due to his advertising background, is growing as an art marketeer. The implication is what he is peddling is inferior to a lot of other art current in Britain at that time. Art appreciates so art is seen as a good investment by the moneyed yuppy classes and this is why a stock broker like Jeff Koons will become an artist. Andy Warhol’s comment about “Good business being the best art” rings true.
This really got me thinking about the range of art that is made and we are exposed to: art for galleries and museums, art for people’s walls, art to sell products, art as an investment, art for arts sake, art for community inclusion, for starters.
And the Universities will teach the future generations of artists to make art for what and whom?
30 years after the book was published, in the age of the internet I can see a lot of Hewison’s predictions realised. Centralised news and information is falling away whilst at the same time delivering personalised news and information to individuals which can reinforce prejudice and hatred without fact checking. The internet has facilitated communities of interest (networks) bringing likeminded people together, both good and bad. There is now a forum and market for art made by feminists, queers and non-white men. History is being re-examined in post colonialism. The gender binary is actively being challenged by younger generations who are breaking it down, living and implementing it. These are all things I thought I would never see but they are now embedding into mainstream culture in Britain, so whilst Hewiston has reason to be disparaging, there is still hope as society does change.
This is a book about Post – Modernism. I found the introduction exciting but found the first chapter very depressing which surprised me and slightly tainted my enjoyment of the book. I did enjoy a lot of the book and was struck by all the changes that have happened in London since it was published– namely Shoreditch is now gentrified, The Saatchi Gallery has moved to a very grand venue at Sloane Square and Canary Warf (the Docklands) is established as a financial centre to rival the City.
The graphic design of the book is very late eighties/ early nines with lovely elongated page numbers. I wish the designer had’ve left more of margin in the middle of the book moving the blocks of text outwards, as it felt like the text was being sucked into the spine. The book has many images, all printed in black in white which dates it as pre-digital.
Some thoughts on what I think and what I think is going on in the book.
Hewison seems to be trying to define what Post-Modernism is whilst lamenting the loss of Modernism’s Avante Garde as a mechanism to challenge culture and drive change. Whist I see his point I wish he acknowledged the factors that caused the Avante Garde as there is lot of deep trauma in the early 20th century not present in 1980s Britain. He paints a bleak picture of the state of post-modern art in the UK linked particularly to Conservative economic policy and the rise of consumer culture.
Hewison appears to be very wary of hyper consumerism and the domination of television and how it influences information. He links this to a brandification and commodification of culture. His view is very UK and very London focused although his critical references are more international including literary theory.
He comments on the loss of grand narratives, centralised news and information sources and is concerned about how manipulable information is becoming through consumer culture.
This is laying the groundwork for the invention of the internet in about 10 years in the future which is going to blow this even wider open.
The embedding of computers means the concept of “hyperspace” has crept in and the idea of the network is replacing hierarchies. This means a plurality of voices is becoming more prevalent.
At that time Charles Saatchi, who Hewison appears wary of due to his advertising background, is growing as an art marketeer. The implication is what he is peddling is inferior to a lot of other art current in Britain at that time. Art appreciates so art is seen as a good investment by the moneyed yuppy classes and this is why a stock broker like Jeff Koons will become an artist. Andy Warhol’s comment about “Good business being the best art” rings true.
This really got me thinking about the range of art that is made and we are exposed to: art for galleries and museums, art for people’s walls, art to sell products, art as an investment, art for arts sake, art for community inclusion, for starters.
And the Universities will teach the future generations of artists to make art for what and whom?
30 years after the book was published, in the age of the internet I can see a lot of Hewison’s predictions realised. Centralised news and information is falling away whilst at the same time delivering personalised news and information to individuals which can reinforce prejudice and hatred without fact checking. The internet has facilitated communities of interest (networks) bringing likeminded people together, both good and bad. There is now a forum and market for art made by feminists, queers and non-white men. History is being re-examined in post colonialism. The gender binary is actively being challenged by younger generations who are breaking it down, living and implementing it. These are all things I thought I would never see but they are now embedding into mainstream culture in Britain, so whilst Hewiston has reason to be disparaging, there is still hope as society does change.
Displaying 1 of 1 review