Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Art today may seem perplexing at first with its divergent styles, forms, practices, media, and agendas. Michael Archer's intelligently argued survey is unique in revealing and making coherent sense of art practice from the past forty years-Pop, Minimal, Conceptual, Land, Performance, Body, and Installation-and myriad developments in the work of Warhol, Beuys, Bourgeois, and the many other artists whose works are discussed and illustrated here.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Preface (p. 6)
• Chapter 1 The Real and Its Objects (p. 10)
• Chapter 2 The Expanded Field (p. 60)
• Chapter 3 Ideology, Identity and Difference (p. 109)
• Chapter 4 Postmodernisms (p. 142)
• Chapter 5 Assimilations (p. 182)
• Chapter 6 Globalization and the Post-Medium Condition (p. 212)
• Timeline (p. 246)
• Select Bibliography (p. 248)
• List of Illustrations (p. 249)
• Index (p. 254)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This compact book covers the wide spectrum of art styles from 1960 to today. It is packed with references to the many artists of this period, and almost 200 reproductions, many in color, generously illustrate their work. Archer's thematic approach reflects the factors in contemporary life that affected these artists and influenced their work. Five chapters, presented chronologically, take the reader through the movements of pop, minimalist, conceptualist, sociopolitical, and postmodern art. The final chapter, "Assimilations," explains the curatorial rationale of a number of exhibitions of the last decade. Throughout the book Archer quotes and refers to the important art critics and journals of the period. The strength of this book is the fact that it is a British publication: the inclusion of European artists from such countries as Italy, England, France, and Germany gives it a global perspective rather than the typically one-sided US perspective. A concise time line charting the styles, artists, and important events of the era is an added bonus. Overall, a welcome publication covering a period in art history not yet properly documented. Undergraduate through professional. A. C. Holcombe; Kansas State University