On loan from the library now is The 21st Century Art Book from Phaidon. It's from 2014, so while some things have changed since then (some forever, none for better) it is deep enough into the new century to be somewhat representative.
The format is simple. Each page has an artwork reproduced on it, along with biographical info about the artist and a description of their work.
I'm looking at the pictures, obviously. Some things don't really translate, in a way you can judge, like videos and performance pieces. And I'm reading the text. But then I'm disregarding it. Looking, thinking, feeling: this is where you get impressions that are worth something. There's subjectivity, some things that hit a responsive chord with you more than others. But that's how to find what things might make a workable aesthetic going forward. Prattle about how so-and-so "deals with issues of gender, exploitation, and performance" and the like doesn't really tell you anything.
(Above: Geoffrey Farmer, The Surgeon and the Photographer)
2 comments:
Naturally, I had to see if I could find some images and examples of who had been featured in the book. The first place I went was to Amazon Canada where I found this customer review that was too good not to share:
I see where the price of this book has been slashed from $46 to $20: there are just not enough examples of really good contemporary art in it. Plus, the size of most of the text is quite small so if you decide to make this now more reasonable investment of $20 you might also consider purchasing a large magnifying glass.
I see it features the fabulous Banksy - who should find a spot in such a work every year.
I remember Maria Abramovic sitting in a gallery all day with an empty chair facing her that patrons could use to look at her or talk.
Jeff Koons and Kiefer Anselm showed two very distinct approaches to expressing their visions.
Geoffrey Farmer's puppets/sculptures look as though they were lots of fun to make.
I remain uncertain about what would constitute a workable aesthetic going forward. Art appreciation is very subjective.
I sympathize with the Amazon reviewer in that a lot of the work isn't to my taste. But that's not really the point. The editors (uncredited for whatever reason) do seem to have compiled a representative sample of high-profile art. If one person wrote a book of this scale reflecting his or her own taste that would be an interesting project, but it would also be very different. I didn't have a problem with the print. Maybe the reviewer hasn't bitten the bullet and gotten glasses yet.
I'm probably not as keen on Banksy as you are, but it is interesting to have him out there in the ether.
Maria Abramovic comes from Eastern Europe in its Iron Curtain days. Guess her work is a reaction to that in a way.
Koons from what I understand uses a lot of assistants in designing and carrying out his creations. Kiefer seems to be much more hands-on.
Yeah, Farmer's puppet pieces struck me that way as well.
When I talk about an aesthetic I really mean a personal one. The important thing is that it be informed by what you see in front of you.
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