The Crisis of Contemporary Art
Publisher
:
Presses Universitaires de France
Parution date
:
1999
EAN
:
9782130489474
Description
In 1991, a polemical argument rocked France’s contemporary art world, the repercussions of which are only now being felt to their full extent. The accusers took on the imposture and hermeticism of Marcel Duchamp’s and Andy Warhol’s heirs, accusing them of defending the values of an avant-garde that was already over 150 years old. This crisis became a sign of an irreparable sense of malaise at this critical turning-point in history. Writing from a philosopher’s broad perspective, distinguished French art critic Yves Michaud suggests that we are living out the last days of artistic utopianism, or the belief in art’s critical, transformative and communicative power. He goes on to place this assertion within its historical, economic and cultural context, arguing that democratic values have fostered the perception that art is intended primarily as a leisure activity. He then points to signs that the public is being forced to defer to the tastes of an institutional elite, and that the prophets and magi who traditionally helped shape our culture have no place in today’s world. What remains now, Michaud speculates, is a sort of state-run avant-garde conceived in an environment reminiscent of America’s Work Project Administration (WPA), Russian Constructivism or even Nazi Propagandism, as it tries vainly to produce meaningful art while employing uniform administrative means and methods. Is this the case, he muses, or is this merely the end of an outdated conception of art? Drawing upon rich international sources and materials, this is a fascinating assessment of the current state of the visual arts in France and the world at large.
Author
Yves Michaud : Yves Michaud is a professor of philosophy at the University of Rouen. Art critic since 1975, he was formerly director of the prestigious École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts from 1989 to 1996 then professor of philosophy at the Sorbonne. He is the author of numerous works on aesthetics and political philosophy, among which are Depuis Matisse-- la couleur : une approche de la peinture française au XXe siècle (Colour since Matisse: French painting in the 20th century) published in New York by Taplinger Publishing Company.
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