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Original Title:	The 20th Century Art Book
ISBN:	0714847984 (ISBN13: 9780714847986)
Edition Language:	English

The 20th Century Art Book

Phaidon Press

Paperback | Pages: 512 pages

Rating: 3.96 | 11636 Users | 25 Reviews

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Well... it's a 20th-Century art book, anyway.

I read The 20th Century Art Book straight through, from Acconci to Zorio, which is perhaps not the best and certainly not the only way to use this brilliantly-conceived reference work, even though I personally enjoyed going through this book page by page, encountering old favorites and artists new to me in a sequence which owed nothing to schools, or regions, or influences. On equal terms.

Precisely equal terms, in fact. Each of the artists considered—and there are 500 of them, unified only by having done their most prominent work during the century in question—is given exactly one page to shine. Fascinating as the format is, it's also very restrictive, and does not do service to larger works, to three-dimensional pieces, or to kinetic and video art. Also, for some of the more prolific and versatile artists, the need to pick only a single piece leads to some oddly unrepresentative examples.

However, the format also privileges no gender, no race, no level of celebrity or political affiliation. My friend Kim noticed right away, though it took me awhile to tumble to the same realization, that this is a profoundly democratic presentation. Pablo Picasso faces the New Yorker Adrian Piper. The page right after Brazilian sculptor Hélio Oiticica displays Georgia O'Keeffe. The "urban street poetry" of Jenny Holzer (one of my personal favorites) gets juxtaposed with the Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. Only the tyranny of alphabetical order holds sway.

That, and a certain cultural myopia. The book is British, and there is a definite (possibly-unavoidable) bias towards artists from England, or English-speaking countries, or at least countries somewhere near England. There must have been many artists working during those long hundred years from Africa, India and China, for example... but they go almost entirely unrepresented here.

So The 20th Century Art Book must be understood as an overview—very broad, but by no means all-inclusive... and nowhere is it very deep.

It is a product of the 20th Century itself, as well, with a copyright date of 1996 (but with updates in this edition up through 2007 or so, mostly in dates of death). The same book created with the perspective of 100 years from now might contain very different choices.


The 20th Century Art Book should not be your sole, or even primary, reference for the artists of its chosen period. But despite its flaws I found it to be an impressively broad survey, a beautiful artifact, and a solid springboard for further research.

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Title	:	The 20th Century Art Book
Author	:	Phaidon Press
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Anniversary Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 512 pages
Published	:	May 1st 2007 by Phaidon Press (first published 1996)
Categories	:	Art. Nonfiction. Reference. Art History. History. Art Design. Literature. 20th Century

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Ratings: 3.96 From 11636 Users | 25 Reviews

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I loved this book so much in high school art class that I had to own it as an adult. Still a flip through favourite.

The format's a bit weird, and the selections range from obvious to subpar, but for the most part, this is a good art reference book. It serves its purpose and I enjoyed browsing through the artworks. I wish i could get more than a simple photo of the exhibits that were explained and shown in a single image, however, as most of them require the viewer to actually be there.

ARTE , UMA MARAVILHA ,VALE A pena , recomendo!!!!!!!

This book was a great read!

Quisiera hablar de todos los artistas que se encuentran aquí pero es imposible. Me encanta este libro, saco mucha inspiración.

Although some of the art in this book is what I would class a being created by talented and inspiring people ( Bryan Organ for example).... Most of it could be have been created by a nursery school class of 4 year olds... All this is art.?... Really?

Detailed Survey of 20th Century Art by Artist. Short concise descriptions and bio of work and Artist. Ends with helpful Glossaries of Terms and Artistic Movements. Good Quality Pictures.