How Art Made Pop and Pop Became Art

by Michael Roberts

John Lennon, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, the Who, the Velvet Underground, New Wave, Punk: this new book is a remarkable study examining the intertwined histories of pop musicians and the visual arts. The groups and individuals featured here may still have become successful musicians if they hadn’t studied art, but the kind of musicians that they became, and the kind of music that they became interested in, was significantly affected by their experience at art school. Where once these musicians would have considered themselves entertainers, they now became artists. And hence what they practiced—i.e., popular music—became an art form, not least because they said it was. This remarkable survey encompasses the worldwide history of art-school rock and brings the story right up to date by considering recent trends and the current practices of contemporary artist-musicians.
 

Genres: Music, Art, History

304 pages, Paperback

First published October 2, 2018

About the author

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Reviews

[Helena · Rating 3 out of 5]

so dense and towards the second half of the book it becomes rambly and thin. There's a lot of jargon and unexpanded references, just left in a paragraph expecting the reader to know exactly what the author was thinking.
even still, very interesting and comprehensive, considering it covered so many decades, artists and musicians. it would be a good reference book.