What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye

464 pages

Published March 29, 2012 by Viking.

ISBN:
978-0-670-92049-5
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4 stars (5 reviews)

"We all know what Modern Art looks like. We've seen Monet's water lilies, we've admired Picasso's nudes, and we've gawked at Damien's shark, as well as the price tag. But what does it all mean? What is Modern Art? Who started it? Why do we love/hate it? And why is it such big money? What Are You Looking At? takes the reader on a captivating tour of modern art from Impressionism to the present day, telling the story of the movements, the artists and the wonderful works that not only changed art forever, but helped create and define the modern world. Refreshing, irreverent and extremely accessible, the book is rich with extraordinary tales and anecdotes - a coffee morning in Paris with Monet and the Impressionists, Marcel Duchamp purchasing his famous urinal, Sir Nicholas Serota, the Director of the Tate Empire confessing his terror at not knowing what to think …

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Review of 'What Are You Looking At?: 150 Years of Modern Art in the Blink of an Eye' on 'Goodreads'

1 star

Impresionismo, expresionismo, simbolismo, cubismo, futurismo... repaso por los movimientos principales del arte contemporáneo hasta culminar en el "branding exercise" de Damien Hirst y Jeff Koons. Me lo vendieron como un recorrido ameno, de estilo desenfadado, para leer con el iPad al lado para consultar las obras descritas en el texto (eso era cierto: para ser un libro de arte, tiene poquísimas ilustraciones).
Hasta la Segunda Guerra Mundial, un repaso del canon ya más que establecido. Pero a partir de 1945, o más bien de 1960, cuando reinan el arte conceptual y las performances, o lo que viene después, el postmodernismo y los juguetes para millonarios tan bien colocados en el mercado de este capitalismo tardío que disfrutamos, la absoluta falta de sentido crítico chirría: todo es arte, todo tiene sentido, todo hay que admirarlo aunque el criterio cambie varias veces por minuto y ya todo nos dé igual. Es demasiado …

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