Contemporary art can be baffling and beautiful, provocative and
disturbing. This pioneering book presents a new look at the
controversial period between 1945 and 2015, when art and its traditional
forms were called into question. It focuses on the relationship between
American and European art, and challenges previously held views about
the origins of some of the most innovative ideas in art of this time.
Major artists such as Jackson Pollock, Robert Rauschenberg, Andy Warhol,
Joseph Beuys, Gerhard Richter, Louise Bourgeois, Cindy Sherman, Jeff
Koons, and Shiran Neshat are all discussed, as is the art world of the
last fifty years. Important trends are also covered including Abstract
Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptualism, Postmodernism, and
Performance Art.
This revised and updated second edition includes a new chapter exploring
art since 2000 and how globalization has caused shifts in the art world,
an updated Bibliography, and 16 new, colour illustrations.