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A review by fargestift
Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction by Cynthia A. Freeland
3.0
Read for school.
A basic overview of the art world up until 2008. Worked as a nice repetition of what's been on the curriculum so far, with some unique inclusions of art examples. Freeland is also more open about her view upon art-history's lack of women. Though that's nothing new and surface-level like the rest of the book (but in so few pages, I suppose that's to be expected on such a broad field), it was included without being overtly political. The most interesting aspects, I found to be the parts that discussed art's value in correlation to the marked. It inspired me to delve deeper into that aspect of art theory. The last chapter also peaked my interests with its inclusion of new media, but it was too shallow to learn much; the parts about the internet, like Freeland basically stated herself, already feels horribly outdated, but I suppose she was right to mention it.
Like the title of the book states, this is a _very_ short introduction. If you are just starting to study art theory and want a broad view of what's what, I would recommend the book. It's a cheap and fast way to get your bearings and could inspire you to delve deeper into the theories of some of the philosophers mentioned.
A basic overview of the art world up until 2008. Worked as a nice repetition of what's been on the curriculum so far, with some unique inclusions of art examples. Freeland is also more open about her view upon art-history's lack of women. Though that's nothing new and surface-level like the rest of the book (but in so few pages, I suppose that's to be expected on such a broad field), it was included without being overtly political. The most interesting aspects, I found to be the parts that discussed art's value in correlation to the marked. It inspired me to delve deeper into that aspect of art theory. The last chapter also peaked my interests with its inclusion of new media, but it was too shallow to learn much; the parts about the internet, like Freeland basically stated herself, already feels horribly outdated, but I suppose she was right to mention it.
Like the title of the book states, this is a _very_ short introduction. If you are just starting to study art theory and want a broad view of what's what, I would recommend the book. It's a cheap and fast way to get your bearings and could inspire you to delve deeper into the theories of some of the philosophers mentioned.