Product Description

"Determinedly and liberatingly inclusive...satisfying and beautifully produced."—Publishers Weekly
This enlarged vision of American art draws together the many strands of North America's history and visual culture. A tradition once assumed to be mainly European and oriented toward painting and sculpture has been enriched by the inclusion of other media such as ceramics and needlework, as well as the work of previously marginalized groups such as Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans.

For the second edition, the author has updated and expanded the text, and has significantly increased the coverage of architecture.
685 illustrations, 348 in color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #441931 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 600 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Even if the ultimate outcome of the culture wars is still in some dispute, it is clear that revisiting art's "greatest hits," from America or anywhere else, is not sufficient for a basic understanding of art history. Framing America's focus is determinedly and liberatingly inclusive, showing how popular and vernacular arts have had just as great cultural and inspirational impact as the work of trained artists. Pohl, professor of art history at Pomona College, proves her case again and again with revealing juxtapositions and inspired close readings, from the objects plundered by Cort‚s to those fabricated by Jeff Koons. Native art, folk art and "Outsider" art, as well as many previously neglected female artists and artists of color are present in Pohl's narrative, never as victims of special pleading but as essential components in a vibrant mosaic. An examination of depictions of the Old West introduces to great effect drawings of startling iconic simplicity done by some of the victors of the Battle of Little Big Horn; an account of the construction of the Statue of Liberty is viewed against the Haymarket riot and trials; the Tilted Arc controversy leads to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. And if the section dealing with recent developments is somewhat more cautious than the rest, Pohl at least steers clear of millennial pronouncements. Written less as a series of static tableaux than as a set of provocations for discussion and exploration, this large, satisfying and beautifully produced volume, with 665 illustrations (half of them in color), will be of value not only to students and scholars, but to anyone interested in the contradictory forces at the heart of American life.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Eschewing the conventional genesis story of American art, one that locates its origins in the portrait work of anonymous colonial itinerants, Pohl (art history, Pomona Coll.; In the Eye of the Storm: An Art of Conscience 1930-1970) reaches further into history than previous surveys. In order to locate a more authentic foundation for American art, she investigates the cultural production resulting from interactions between Native Americans and several exploratory European groups. Also unprecedented is Pohl's exploration of crafts, utilitarian objects, and curiosities to further illuminate the development of society in America. She incorporates artists previously excluded, such as Japanese American internment camp inmates, whose art powerfully relates their experience. Her survey lucidly conveys the key concepts of each period and communicates the significance of seminal tracts like Clement Greenberg's 1939 essay Avant-Garde & Kitsch. A timeline concludes the book, providing a valuable chronological overview of both art and history, including formerly uncited yet significant historical events. With 665 illustrations (337 in color), this volume is recommended as the most up-to-date American art textbook available. It is essential for all academic and large public libraries. Savannah Schroll, Smithsonian Inst. Libs., Washington, DC
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
Framing America's focus is determinedly and liberatingly inclusive. . . . large, satisfying, and beautifully produced. -- Publishers Weekly, 26 August 2002

A work of art and its frame must complement each other in their presentation. Pohl has accomplished this. -- Choice, R.R. Henry, March 2003

Customer Reviews

Good overview
This is a great book for a survey course in American art or for someone who wants to get into American art and just wants a general overview. The text is written in a very approachable manner, and the images that are included are of excellent quality and represent some good instances of characteristically American works. I used this book for an art history course in American art that was of a very limited time period, but the book is essentially written to cover everything in American art fairly broadly, from colonial times to the late twentieth century. A good read, and a good deal.