But Is It Art?: An Introduction to Art Theory

It may not be as complex as some readers are looking for, but it is an excellent place to start when contemplating "Why is THAT art?" You won't get bogged down trying to decipher lots of theory, but you will get some of the art history and the theory that is necessary to understand where the art world is today and what made it that way. Just the right amount of color plates and black & white illustrations to help those unfamiliar with the works mentioned.

On the subject of art (or should it be Art?): Freeland's book is a good and relevant treatment of the issue, low of jargon and high on no nonsense sociology. I was surprised, however, to see no treatment of the historical rise of "nobrow" artistic culture and no philosophical and socio-aesthetic analysis of the phenomenon. In general there was almost no analysis of literature/literary fiction. C'mon, art is not equivalent to the visual culture. Let me just say that this astonishing gap is filled by a magnificent book by Peter Swirski 'From lowbrow to nobrow' which I heartily recommend to those who finished 'But is is art' feeling only partly sated.

I had to buy this book for class. It's actually a good book. I'm glad I bought it.

This was a very interesting book and a good read. However, if you are looking for a primer on art theory, then you need look elsewhere. This gives some insight into the general art theories of the past and today but it isn't organized like a textbook. Instead it has a more meandering structure that makes it more interesting but less instructional. All in all though, I really enjoyed it. The only thing I truly didn't like was that it gave very short shrift to some media that are only the line between craft and art. That would have seemed to be a very good topic for inclusion. But still a good book.

Is there a more confusing or controversial area of understanding in today's society than determining whether a piece of work is 'art' or 'trash'. This book gives a scholarly, yet eminently readable and enjoyable description of how the question, 'but is it art', can be approached and understood. Beginning with Neanderthal renderings and ending in the digital arena - the changing creative environments and philosophical drivers are explained clearly and compellingly. The authors appropriately timed use of wit keeps one happily reading in an area that could easily get dry and intellectually elitist. I now finally feel that I have some tools to evaluate 'art' for myself.