"The leading lexicon of contemporary art returns in an expanded, full-color third edition. An indispensable guide for art-world neophytes and seasoned professionals alike, the best-selling ArtSpeak returns in a revised and expanded third edition, illustrated in full color. Nearly 150 alphabetical entries-30 of them new to this edition-explain the who, what, where, and when of postwar and contemporary art. These concise mini-essays on the key terms of the art world are written with wit and common sense by veteran critic Robert Atkins. More than eighty images, most in color, illustrate key works of the art movements discussed, making ArtSpeak a visual reference, as well as a textual one. A timeline traces world and art-world events from 1945 to the present day, and a single-page ArtChart provides a handy overview of the major art movements in that period. "-- ""ArtSpeak," a lexicon of postwar and contemporary art, defines 146 key terms, often in a who/when/where/what format. 29 entries new to this edition, dozens of others revised. 83 reproductions of representative artworks, most in color. Illustrated timeline of world and art-world events from 1945 to 2012. Index includes nationalities and life dates of the artists referenced"--

I am reviewing a revised edition with more info.
An interesting timeline, post war, of the deveopment of modern art.
Suitable for anyone interested in modern art and its place in the happenings of the world.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in return for an unbiased honest review

This is an essential reference for anyone interested in art and art history, from experts to the casual museum goer. The work starts with a timeline which includes both art and global events. This is a wonderful way to contextualize movements, artists and concepts. This is followed by an alphabetical listings of key terms with succinct explanations and examples.

As someone who works multidisciplinarily, this work provides a quick resource to make sure I am using any artistic concept accurately. On the rare occasions when I am still unsure if I am being true to the ideas, there are sufficient cross-references for use either within the book or as a jumping point for further research.

Reviewed from an ARC made available by the publisher via NetGalley. ( )

All art can be classified into a style. This is because artists, dealers, collectors and curators love to put works of art into easy to describe buckets. For anyone interested in keeping up with the ever swelling list, Artspeak is an excellent reference. There are 146 entries, twice as many as the first edition, if that tells you anything about how busy the classifiers are.

Art seems to love democratizing and splitting into ever finer categories. In addition to the broad divisions of style, there are techniques, countries, eras, races, genders and politics. Buzzwords abound (and are defined, thankfully). Content has also become key. Examples are AIDS art, Action art, space art and computer art, among many others.

Each alphabetical entry in the book is arranged into name, date range, country, key artists, and definition/description. A critically nice touch is that if a certain piece is described at length, it is usually shown as well. It is critical because words alone don’t do justice, especially when attempting to describe such things as installation art or assembly. The electronic edition is filled with links to other entries so you can quickly see the sometimes too subtle differences among them.

The book begins with a kind of almanac, a single page for each year since 1945, with historical highlights and art world highlights. It’s very useful for putting things in perspective, and a great jumping off point if you are doing research.

A relatively new development to note is collaborative art, in which at least two artists work together. For centuries if not millennia, art was a solitary effort, expressing a style, talent and the thought of a single person. This change alone points art in a new direction, and promises to keep new editions coming.

David Wineberg ( )

2 copies