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Summary: You Can Gauge the Success of Munson's Arguments...
Review: ...by the threatened reaction from those that have little to gain and all to lose by steering artistic focus toward definitions of beauty, quality and meaning executed by passionate artists, and away from the use of art exhibitions as purely political and social tools of the left, or simply because it's a fashionable career path in many of today's institutions.If you're tired of art being defined by publicity stunts and attacks on your intelligence or values by naked emperors and empires, you ought to read this, because you are not alone. There are many of us who feel this way. It took courage to write this book and I applaud her for it.
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Summary: Predictable blather
Review: A friend showed me this book. She didn't think it was very good, and neither do I. It's ironic that a book subtitled "Art in the Age of Intolerance" is itself so intolerant. It's also shallow, poorly written, and not terribly well-informed. Munson's only real talent appears to be for personal character assassination, which is applied selectively to the book's villains. In short, this is a book for people who already know what they want to be told, and are either afraid or unwilling to learn anything that breaks the mold now set by the reactionary right.
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Summary: One of Cheney's wife's cronies
Review: Does she have a degree in art history? Has she written any art criticism? No... clearly this woman is unqualified, and her efforts to marginalize the most experimental forms of artistic practice result not from any aesthetic criteria but from a clear knee-jerk reaction in goose-step line with the current Bush agenda. This is a heavily politicized book, one written not to explore in an intelligent fashion but merely to look good for the type of audience that watches Fox news.
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Summary: Munson's Political Agenda
Review: From the deconstructionist perspective which Munson tries so hard to villify in her book, it seems only fair to point out that her arguement itself--nay, the entire raison d'etre of her book--is politically charged and dogmatic. It is important and necessary to understand the cultural context in which not only makes the book seem relevant, but also why Munson herself feels compelled to add her voice into this debate with her brand of intellectual populism. If you read this book, I would recommend reading any other book that might offset it and provide a perspective on why the nature of art is being examined and deconstructed in the first place. Trying to take art out of a political sphere of analysis, as Munson does in this book, is in itself a very political act.
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Summary: An excellent primer for the culture wars.
Review: Lynne Munson's characterization of the deep looniness of the art world comes across clear as a bell. Part of this is good, simple writing, part is her experience in the upper levels of federal grant-making, and part - maybe the most important part - is her consistent use of convincing anecdotal evidence. This is no abstruse, jargonized academic text. It is simple, straightforward and convincing. And if you can read it and not come away thinking the art business is terminally weird, well... get help!
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Summary: Telling the Truth
Review: Munson's observations about the politicization of high culture are intelligent and original -- and right on the money. She argues not against the particular biases of museum curators or art history departments, but against the common, vulgar didacticism that so often accompanies the presentation of art. She demonstrates how aestheticism and trained objectivity have been mugged by interest-group politics. She gives voice to ideas that are often thought but rarely so well expressed. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about art and high culture, and I commend its author for her insight and thoughtfulness on the subject.
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Summary: Art for art's sake?
Review: Munson's observations about the politicization of high culture are intelligent and original -- and right on the money. She argues not against the particular biases of museum curators or art history departments, but against the common, vulgar didacticism that so often accompanies the presentation of art. She demonstrates how aestheticism and trained objectivity have been mugged by interest-group politics. She gives voice to ideas that are often thought but rarely so well expressed. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about art and high culture, and I commend its author for her insight and thoughtfulness on the subject.
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Summary: Tired, Sad Conervative Rhetoric
Review: The underlying premise of this book is that if the piece of art isn't a nice painting of horsies or kittens or that the piece is politically charged in the least, then it is not art and merits scorn. The book could have been called "The Thought Police." Thank you for setting guidelines for us as to what art is and isn't and what we should enjoy.
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Summary: Telling the Truth
Review: Think of the last time you were in a museum, gallery, or art history class... If it was before 1980, Miss Munson's book is a quick read that may shock you in a way that the Sensation show didn't. If you're a regular her investigations can't be denied. Liberals, conservatives, artists and non-artists alike will find these stories captivating and sad. As a painter living in New York, I can assure Munson that hope is not dead in the artist's studio even if the art world or public is too cynical to use their eyes.
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Summary: How to Upset the Art Establishment!
Review: This is a brave, well-informed, smart book which takes on the art and art history establishment with devastating results. A major cultural critic, Munson demonstrates how conformist and narrow the art establishment has become. Her chapters on the NEA, Harvard, and the contemporary art scene are compelling, harrowing, and amusing, all at the same time. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the state of today's art and how it got to be that way. Those with vested interests in the status quo are already starting to squeak!
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