Product Description

Brilliant concepts This guide to conceptual art traces the issues and concerns of the first generation of artists involved in the foundation of the movement, with an essay exploring the historical basis of conceptual art, its relationship to the dominant aesthetics of the 1960s, namely the modernist theory of Clement Greenberg and his disciples, and the influence of conceptual art on today’s art and cultural climate.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #149963 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 95 pages

From the Publisher
Artists featured: Vito Acconci, Art & Language, John Baldessari, Robert Barry, Mel Bochner, Marcel Broodthaers, Stanley Brouwn, Daniel Buren, Victor Burgin, Hanne Darboven, Jan Dibbets, Marcel Duchamp, Gilbert & George, Dan Graham, Hans Haacke, Jenny Holzer, Douglas Huebler, On Kawara, Joseph Kosuth, Louise Lawler, Sol LeWitt, Gordon Matta-Clark, Ana Mendieta, Bruce Nauman, Adrian Piper, Edward Ruscha, Lawrence Weiner, Ian Wilson

TASCHEN's Basic Art movement and genre series: each book includes a detailed introduction with approximately 30 photographs, plus a timeline of the most important events (political, cultural, scientific, sporting, etc.) that took place during the time period. The body of the book contains a selection of the most important works of the epoch; each is presented on a 2-page spread with a full-page image and, on the facing page, a description/interpretation of the work, a reference work, portrait of the artist, quotes, and biographical information.

About the Author
The author: Daniel Marzona studied art history and philosophy at the Ruhr University in Bochum. From 2001 to 2003 he worked as Associate Curator at the P. S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in New York. Marzona was one of the co-founders of the Navado Press in Trieste, which publishes artist books and works on contemporary art and architecture. He currently works as a freelance author and curator in Berlin and New York.

Customer Reviews

An otherwise helpful reference sorely diminished by self-promotion
If you take Daniel Marzona's word for it, fully half of the most significant works in Conceptual Art were owned by his parents. I'm not kidding: of the 34 artists whose work forms the main body of his book, fully 17 are represented by pieces which reside in the "Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Marzona Collection." Unfortunately, these featured projects are often not the most representative, most iconic, or most interesting of the artists' works. The resulting volume ends up being more of a vanity book for the author's family's collection, than a tight survey of the most important works in the field.

The Taschen "Basics" series in which this book arrives is an otherwise well-conceived collection of trim and helpful references, ideal for students. Each volume treats a significant art movement (Cubism, Surrealism, etc.) by presenting a sequence of "greatest hits" -- two-page spreads discussing an artist and one of his/her best-known projects. Borrowing the authority of this book series, Marzona's volume disingenuously presents his family's collection in a context which increases the works' value, at the expense of the reader's trust that this is an impartial survey of the Conceptual Art movement.

The Marzona Collection is a legitimately important collection of Conceptual Art; if you're interested in the works from that collection, get a book which doesn't pretend to be anything else, such as, well, "The Marzona Collection" available from Hatje Cantz (ISBN 978-3775710978). But if you're interested in appreciating the best works in Conceptual Art from a less biased editor, consider instead the similarly priced handbook by Paul Wood, the elegant coffee-table books by Peter Osborne or Tony Godfrey, or the more theoretical/historical treatment by Alberro & Stimson.

Just to be fair -- the author does do a thoughtful job of including excellent works by conceptual artists from diverse backgrounds, such as Ana Mendieta and Adrian Piper. Interestingly, the selected works by these artists are not in the Marzona Collection.