Investigating Modern Art

Book excerpt: Modern art sometimes seems difficult - or even impossible - to understand. In this appealing book, modern art becomes accessible through clear and informative discussions about modern artists, art movements, and art works. Charting the development of modern art from the nineteenth century through the present day, each chapter focuses on particular artists and works of art, placing them in their artistic contexts and discussing them from a variety of viewpoints. Issues of gender and ethnicity, criticisms of the accepted canon of modern art, and important social and political influences on the institutions of art are woven into the discussion of key artists such as Picasso, Matisse, Pollock, and Warhol and movements such as Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Impressionism, and Minimal Art.