New Art--an International Survey Book

The accelerated history of an art world preoccupied with whatever is "newer than the new", or as Germano Celant writes, "more present than the present", demands a consolidation of contemporary art and related theory existing today. "New Art" seeks to come to terms with the changing and continually developing trends in the art world at the beginning of the 1990s. Brought together are the artists, critics and curators from Europe and the USA who have played seminal roles in inventing and discerning the most significant definitions circulating the international art scene over the last decade or so. Re-thinking concepts such as originality, invention, appropriation and innovation, this anthology, comprised of texts published in recent issues of "Art and Design", together with newly commissioned articles, established a contemporary discourse on the new. It explores key issues such as the relevance of history to art in the 1980s and 90s, the Post-Modern discourse, the appropriation of photography, language and the mass media, the effectiveness of new art in a socio-political context, the influence of contemporary philosophy, and current definitions including "Unexpressionism", "Chaos", "Alchemy", "Deconstruction" and the "Post-Avant Garde".Read More