When people find out I’m a historian one of the things I’m often asked is could I recommend a book about this or that topic. Because of this show I’m often asked if I can recommend books to people who are interested in learning more about art and the art world. I love questions like this because I’m a perfect example of how easily you can educate yourself about things. All it takes is curiosity and the desire to do it.
If you’re interested in the visual arts in general, one really good place to start is with a broad overview. My favorite is Robert Hughes’ 1997 book American Visions: The Epic History of Art in America. It’s not written as a scholarly text, but for general readers who want to know. It’s very well illustrated, and Hughes is opinionated and insightful, often even amusing. His book provides a good chronology of the artists and movements that come and go through the ages. You can read it cover to cover, or you can pick it up and read any section at random.
If it’s Modernism in particular you want to understand, start with Peter Gay’s fine 2008 book Modernism: The Lure of Heresy. That’s probably one of my favorite books all-time.
As a historian who has written a couple of biographies, I’m particularly fond of artists’ biographies as a way of understanding what even the most inscrutable of them was up to. Deborah Solomon’s book on Norman Rockwell’s life and Christopher Simon Sykes’ two-volume biography of David Hockney are both great books and they open windows into an artist’s mind at work.
Another way of understanding art and learning how to talk about it is by reading essays and reviews by good critics. Clement Greenberg, Hilton Kramer and Peter Schjeldahl are my three favorite critics, and I consider their work as indispensable. They’re all skilled writers and bold thinkers whose opinions are clear and understandable. One of the best things about reading good critics is that it will help you understand and explain your own opinions.
I’ve observed many times that no one accuses baseball or football of being elitist when their more complicated rules and traditions come into play. People just learn a little bit about them and suddenly they’re talking like experts. Art is no more elitist than those sports despite the impression that lots of people apparently have. Anyone who’s curious can just start reading and once you do, visits to a museum will suddenly make a lot more sense.
