Description
Book SynopsisObserving our contemporary culture, the distinguished critic Roger Kimball sees that the avant-garde assault on tradition has long since degenerated into a sclerotic orthodoxy. He finds that the "cutting edge," as defined by the established tastemakers, turns out time and again to be a stale remainder of past impotence. And he locates a pretense that the traditional is the enemy rather than a springboard to originality. In Art's Prospect, Mr. Kimball observes that most of the really invigorating action in the art world today is a quiet affair. It takes place not at the Tate Modern in London or at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, not in the Chelsea or TriBeCa galleries but off to one side, out of the limelight. It usually involves not the latest thing but permanent things—they can be new or old, but their relevance is measured not by the buzz they create but by silences they inspire. With reviews and essays composed over the last twenty years and revised for this book, Art's Prospect illuminates some of the chief spiritual itineraries of modern art. It provides, in Mr. Kimball's words, "a collage whose elements, when seen from one perspective, add up to a diagnosis of a malady, and, when seen from another perspective, offer hints of where effective remedies can be found."
Trade ReviewKimball knows his business.... His reviews make me hungry to see what I've missed. * The Weekly Standard *
One of the ablest and most philosophically skilled critics on the current scene. -- Frederick Morgan
A trenchant and courageous critic...his positive values and his historical grasp make him far more than a mere polemicist. -- John Gross
One of the most candid and perceptive critics of American culture. -- Gertrude Himmelfarb
There is much to be learned and enjoyed in these stimulating, provocative, and elegant essays. -- Paul Johnson, Bowling Green State University
A scathing critic but one whose tirades are usually justified...his intellectual rigor is refreshing. -- Catherine Saint Louis * The New York Times *
Roger Kimball of the New Criterion is at it again, for which throughtful readers should be grateful. * First Things *
His positions are not always predictable but are consistently well argued. * Cybereditions Critics Series *
Witty, insightful, and inciting compilation of twenty years of art reviews.... Kimball's opinions have an appealing candor, and, delivered in a lively colloquial style, make for engaging, intelligent reading. * Art Scope *
Kimball's art reviews are lucid mini-educations in the exercise of taste. * The Tennessean *
An approach that, in many ways, I very much enjoy. -- Keith Russell * Artschuttlebutt.Com *
In a penetrating and often hilarious series of articles he takes on what he considers the 'hucksterism' of both artists and museum directors....Kimbell never tries to hide his stripes. The result is lively and informative. -- Nancy Chaplin * Kliatt *
