Art: Histories, Theories and Exceptions

Our understanding of art has undergone several major upheavals in the last thirty years. Postmodernism and mass media began the process of disruption in the 1980s. The explosion in the use of digital technologies since the 1990s has radically altered the way art is now created, perceived and made available. The recent shift towards regarding art as part of a broader “visual culture” has torn art theory from its roots in art history and placed it in the context of anthropological, cultural and media theory.

Art: Histories, Theories and Exceptions explores what art in its broadest sense--from Aboriginal work to the Western art market, from the role of museums to new media interactivity, from the mainstream to the radical--means today. This provocative book will be invaluable to students, practicing artists and general readers alike.