Review by Choice Review
Instead of a chronological account of "isms," Causey groups artists and their works in chapters devoted to, e.g., "Sculpture and the Everyday," "AntiForm," and "Public Spaces." Within each of these are sections grouped by movements (minimalism, arte povera) or thematic concerns: body art, sited works, public monuments, and recent issues of museums and commodification. This survey often attempts to maintain a balance between Europe and America by segregating artists from either place in separate discussions. More effort could have been expended on international connections, particularly between those artists who frequently produce works abroad (i.e., Morris or Acconci in Europe; Kounellis or Boltanski in the US) and the festivals that expose a wide variety of Americans, Europeans, and non-Western nationalities to each other. The cultural influences on these works are unhappily isolated in a time line; similarly, the paucity of notes and the selective bibliography are not as complete in providing access to individual artists or ideas. The most welcome parts of this book are the illustrations--well reproduced (many in color) and with a range of artists and works not typical for such a broad survey. General readers; upper-division undergraduate and graduate students. R. J. Onorato University of Rhode Island
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
The second set of volumes in the Oxford History of Art series, all well illustrated, accessible, and vigorous, offers fresh and penetrating views of sharply defined spheres of art, as did the initial group of five titles, published a year ago. The most unusual of the set is The Art of Art History, edited by Preziosi, head of the art history critical theory program at the University of California. A groundbreaking anthology, it showcases and assesses the various perspectives art critics and art historians have employed over the years, from Immanuel Kant to Ernst Gombrich, Meyer Schapiro, Michel Foucault, and Rosalind Krauss. It's been said that no new approach to art can be "seen," that is, comprehended and appreciated, without interpretation. To paraphrase Preziosi, art history makes the visible legible. So how have his colleagues performed this generous art? British art historian Causey sifts through the complex output of postwar sculptors in his contribution, skillfully discussing the diverse work of European and American artists. It must be said that he overemphasizes the artists of his own country, an excusable bias given the great gifts of Henry Moore and Tony Cragg, but he also commits some deplorable omissions, particularly when it comes to women artists. Still, given Causey's conciseness and the fine quality of his observations, the book can be considered a handy introduction to the field. Patton, a Romare Bearden expert, is above reproach, having done a superb job of elucidating the various aesthetic and political movements that have shaped the evolution of African American art, a tradition both spurred and hampered by racism. Beginning in colonial times and working her way to the present, she covers every conceivable visual medium and explores the work of well-known artists as well as those with less-familiar names. Last but not least is Upton's brisk survey of architecture in the U.S. It does all that a broad study of a nation's buildings must do; it takes every facet of society into account--from religion to attitudes toward nature, ethics, art, community, politics, technology, commerce, and self-definition. --Donna Seaman
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
