Book: Contemporary British Art – An Introduction
August 31, 2011 § Leave a Comment
Contemporary British Art: An Introduction, by Grant Pooke, published September 24th 2011 by Routledge
This new publication by Grant Pooke (Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts, Kent) promises a comprehensive introduction to the complex and dynamic field of contemporary British art – for British art researchers new and old alike. (You can find it here on amazon – and an early review here on Cercles).
The last few decades have been among the most dynamic within recent British cultural history. Artists across all genres and media have developed and re-fashioned their practice against a radically changing social and cultural landscape – both national and global. This book takes a fresh look at some of the themes, ideas and directions which have informed British art since the later 1980s through to the first decade of the new millennium. In addition to discussing some iconic images and examples, it also looks more broadly at the contexts in which a new ‘post-conceptual’ generation of artists, those typically born since the late 1950s and 1960s have approached and developed aspects of their professional practice. The book is extensively illustrated with a wide range of work (both known, and less well-known) from artists such as Chris Ofili, Rachel Whiteread, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Anthony Gormley, Jack Vettriano, Sam Taylor-Wood, Steve McQueen and Tracey Emin.
