What Is Contemporary Art?

by Terry Smith

Who gets to say what counts as contemporary art? Artists, critics, curators, gallerists, auctioneers, collectors, or the public? Revealing how all of these groups have shaped today’s multifaceted definition, Terry Smith brilliantly shows that an historical approach offers the best answer to the question: What is Contemporary Art?

 

Smith argues that the most recognizable kind is characterized by a return to mainstream modernism in the work of such artists as Richard Serra and Gerhard Richter, as well as the retro-sensationalism of figures like Damien Hirst and Takashi Murakami. At the same time, Smith reveals, postcolonial artists are engaged in a different kind of practice: one that builds on local concerns and tackles questions of identity, history, and globalization. A younger generation embodies yet a third approach to contemporaneity by investigating time, place, mediation, and ethics through small-scale, closely connective art making. Inviting readers into these diverse yet overlapping art worlds, Smith offers a behind-the-scenes introduction to the institutions, the personalities, the biennials, and of course the works that together are defining the contemporary. The resulting map of where art is now illuminates not only where it has been but also where it is going.

 

Genres: Art, Art History, Nonfiction, Theory

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Australian art historian, art critic and artist who currently lives and works in Pittsburgh, New York and Sydney.

Reviews

[Dora]

Extremely insightful and worth reading...if you are able to penetrate the thick wall of references. It really is quite dense due to numerous associations and to art theory, philosophy and art criticism, and definitely is not for the casual art-lover. In short, if you want to read it and truly grasp its contents, a solid amount of background knowledge would be needed.

[Grace Willis]

If you don’t have a degree in art, don’t try to read this. I am still confused.

[Samaritasilee]

solo me he leído los capítulos que necesitaba

[Mauren]

Very complex book about contemporary art and his ever intrisic and unresolved question: What is contemporary Art?
Recommended only if you have background studies in esthetics, philosophy, art, contemporary art.

[Anne]

One of the clearest distinctions between modern and contemporary art that I have read. Refreshingly critical of some of the sacred cows.

[Todd]

Very comprehensive and provocative. I am rereading this for the second time.