Art and laughter / Sheri Klein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Klein, Sheri.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wit and humor in art.

Physical Description:

xii, 156 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

London : I. B. Tauris, 2006.

Summary:

This is the first book to take seriously (though not too seriously) the surprisingly neglected role of humour in art. Art and Laughter looks back to comic masters such as Hogarth and Daumier and to Dada, Surrealism and Pop Art, asking what makes us laugh and why, and exploring the use of comedy in art from satire and irony to pun, parody and black and bawdy humor. Encouraging laughter in the hallowed space of the gallery, Klein takes us on a tour of the comic work of Red Grooms, Cary Leibowitz, William Wegman, The Chicago Hairy Who, Richard Prince, Bruce Nauman, Jeff Koons, Vik Muniz and many more. She looks too at the smile in art and at the cute, the camp and the downright kitsch.

Contents:

Introduction: Taking a Serious Look at Art and Laughter 1

1 Before the Laugh 9

2 Smiling Portraits in Art 31

3 Playing with Words and Images 51

4 The Art of Disguise 65

5 The Big, the Small and the Funny 79

6 Humour, Sex and Death in Art 93

7 The Desire for and Consumption of Cuteness 111

8 The Public Spectacle: Performance Art and Laughter 121.

ISBN:

1845112334

9781845112332

1850439311

9781850439318

OCLC:

71165118