The spiritual dynamic in modern art : art history reconsidered, 1800 to the present / Charlene Spretnak.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Spretnak, Charlene, 1946- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spirituality in art.

Art, Modern.

Physical Description:

vi, 251 pages, 20 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

Art history reconsidered, 1800 to the present

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

Summary:

The history of modern art has generally been understood as a grand leap away from tradition, religion, and conventional norms, yielding decidedly secular art. Yet a majority of the prominent modern artists in every period had strong interests in the spiritual dimension of life, which they expressed in the new art forms they created. The Spiritual Dynamic in Modern Art draws on direct statements by scores of leading artists-cited from little known historical documentation as well as contemporary interviews-to demonstrate that spirituality, far from being inconsequential in the terrain of modern art, is generative. This magisterial overview insightfully presents, for the first time, a chronological survey of the major art movements that weaves together spiritual profiles of numerous leading artists and situates their stories within the cultural context of each period. The result is a significantly expanded understanding of the cultural history of modern art. Book jacket.

Contents:

The 19th Century: Expressing Christian Themes in a Newly Secular World

Mid-1880s through 1918: The Quest to Save Civilization from 'Materialism' Through a New Art Informed by Esoteric Spirituality

1919-1939: The Reaction against Prewar Esoteric Spirituality

1945 to the Present: Allusive Spirituality

1945 to the Present: Spirituality of Immanence

1945 to the Present: Rocked in the Bosom of Abraham.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781137350039

1137350032

OCLC:

880672142