Description
Book SynopsisArgues that aesthetic considerations no longer play a central role in the experience and critique of art. Instead art addresses us in our humanity, as men and women who seek meaning in the unnatural wonders of art, a meaning that philosophy and religion are unable to provide.
Trade ReviewBorrowing his concept from Hegel, respected critic Arthur C. Danto observes that unlike the centuries of art made for spiritual needs, the art of our time has generally lost the power to communicate on its own and must be explained, because we have only an external relationship with it. Danto sympathetically assesses Damien Hirst (sliced-up sharks suspended in formaldehyde) and eloquently explains why some initially impenetrable art might have compelling statements to make, but he doesn't spare artists he feels are not pulling their weight... among the most sensible, intelligent, logical, and accessible art criticism of the last five years. Kirkus Danto uses his revered position to illuminate his subjects' cultural and art-historical contexts in order to give the public helpful tools for thinking about the art they are experiencing... This enlightened collection of essays is an essential documentation of recent art history, brimming with valuable reminders of how art has gotten where it is today. RES magazine His musings on art in the wake of 9/11 are incisive and moving. Booklist A welcome respite for insiders and a friendly introduction to aesthetics. Publishers Weekly One of our pre-eminent art critics... [Unnatural Wonders] serves as a good introduction to his work, as well as a good introduction to contemporary art. -- Kenny Tanemure Asian Week To look at a work with Danto is to see it within the context of contemporary art. -- Barry Gewen New York Times Book Review [A] brilliant, provocative collection of essays. -- Jackie Wullschlager Financial Times Magazine A valuable collection of art criticism. The Art Book
Table of ContentsPreface to the Columbia University Press Edition Preface Introduction: Art Criticism After the End of Art Whitney Biennial 2000 "Making Choices" at MoMA Chardin Tilman Riemenschneider Damien Hirst Barbara Kruger Yoko Ono Sean Scully Paul McCarthy Sol LeWitt Renee Cox: Yo Mama's Last Supper William Kentridge Picasso Erotique Art and 9/11 Philip Guston Philip Guston: The Nixon Drawings Alberto Giacometti Norman Rockwell Surrealism and Eroticism Artemisia Gentileschi Gerhard Richter Barnett Newman and the Heroic Sublime Joan Mitchell The Art of 9/11: One Year Later Reflections on Robert Mangold's Curled Figure and Column Paintings The Park Avenue Cubists Leonardo's Drawings Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle Christian Schad and the Sachlichkeit of Sex Kazimir Malevich Max Beckmann Whitney Biennial 2004 John Currin Dieter Roth Banality and Celebration: The Art of Jeff Koons Two Installations by Joshua Neustein Kalliphobia in Contemporary Art; Or: What Ever Happened to Beauty? The World as Warehouse: Fluxus and Philosophy Painting and Politics The Fly in the Fly Bottle: The Explanation and Critical Judgment of Works of Art Index
