Art: 21 - Art in the 21st Century (Vol 1)

What if work by 21 prominent contemporary artists could be described in terms of familiar topics rather than specialized mumbo-jumbo? That was the idea behind Art: 21: Art in the Twenty-First Century. Each of the four essayists takes one topic--place, spirituality, identity, or consumption--as the launching point for discussions of a varied group of American artists. Produced to accompany a PBS television series, this amply illustrated book embraces art ranging from the sexually charged sculptures of Louise Bourgeois (born in 1911) to paintings by Michael Ray Charles (born in 1967) that rework black stereotypes into ironic commentaries. The artists are certainly worthy, and it's no big deal that the art is nearly all from the 20th century (not, as the title suggests, the 21st). But the thematic approach works better for some artists than for others, and the effort to be inclusive makes for vague and awkward writing. --Cathy Curtis