Visual Shock
A History of Art Controversies in American Culture
Published on 22. April 2009
480 pages
978-0-307-54877-1 (ISBN)
Description
In this lively narrative, award-winning author Michael Kammen presents a fascinating analysis of cutting-edge art and artists and their unique ability to both delight and provoke us. He illuminates America's obsession with public memorials and the changing role of art and museums in our society. From Thomas Eakins's 1875 masterpiece The Gross Clinic, (considered "too big, bold, and gory” when first exhibited) to the bitter disputes about Maya Lin's Vietnam War Memorial, this is an eye-opening account of American art and the battles and controversies that it has ignited.
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Book
11/2007
Vintage Books
€23.80
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Book
09/2006
Alfred A. Knopf
€52.20
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Person
Michael Kammen was born in Rochester in 1936. He took his BA at George Washington University and his PhD at Harvard. He is Newton C. Farr Professor of American History and Culture at Cornell University, where he has taught since 1965. A past President of the Organization of American Historians, he is the author or editor of numerous works and has lectured throughout the world. His People of Paradox was a Pulitzer Prize winner.
Content
- Intro
- Other Books By This Author
- About the Author
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 - Monuments, Memorials, and Americanism
- Chapter 2 - Nudity, Decency, and Morality
- Chapter 3 - Coming to Terms with Modernism
- Chapter 4 - Troubles with Murals
- Chapter 5 - Art Politicized: Ideological Issues
- Chapter 6 - The Pivotal 1960s
- Chapter 7 - The Dimensions and Dilemmas of Public Sculpture
- Chapter 8 - The Art Museum Transformed
- Chapter 9 - Issues of Diversity and Inclusion
- Chapter 10 - Comparisons and Closure
- Notes
- Acknowledgments
- Copyright
