The second half of the twentieth century has seen British artists, architects, and designers assuming a central role on the world stage. Starting in the years of reconstruction after the war, the young began to challenge accepted artistic values, looking at popular culture for their inspiration; the iconoclasm of the Pop movement has continued to be one of the most vital ingredients of the British art scene. In the year-by-year record that this book provides, the work of newcomers making their first impact is seen alongside that of outstanding artists in their maturity, with connections and contradictions across the entire visual scene--from architecture, interior design, furniture, and the decorative arts to painting, sculpture, and graphic art. Pictures and text explore the many factors that contributed to the special character of British art. The unique system of artists teaching in art schools, the worlds of fashion and pop music, political and social developments: the response of the best artists to these influences has always been original and questioning and has opened new avenues for future development. The book is organized by decade, and the achievements of each are highlighted by statements from a distinguished group of artists, designers, collectors, and critics who have themselves made a significant contribution to each decade. Encouragement, challenge, and opposition have all provided stimulus for creative talents that have been able to override the changes of taste and fashion. The book features the work of more than 250 artists, from Henry Moore, David Hockney, Francis Bacon, and Lucian Freud to James Stirling, Richard Rogers, Neville Brody, and Damien Hirst. The publication is also a celebration of the first fifty years of Thames and Hudson--founded by Walter Neurath in 1949--and the role that the publishing house has played in educating the public and supporting the arts during this period.
The second half of the twentieth century has seen British artists, designers and architects assuming a central role on the world stage.
Vision explores the many factors that have contributed to the special character of British art and design over five decades: the creative ferment of the art schools, where students are tutored by practising artists rather than academic art teachers; the inspiration of music, fashion and the ever-shifting profile of the international art world. It reveals the impact of political and social developments on the arts throughout the period, from the blend of optimism and anxiety of postwar Britain to the radicalism of the late 1960s, feminism, and the triumph of consumerism in the Thatcher years; from the social engineering of public architecture and state support for the arts to the populism of postmodernism.
The best of those involved in the visual arts have responded to these and other stimuli in highly original and questioning ways. The book features work by more than 250 artists, designers and architects, both canonical and controversial, including world-renowned figures like Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Vivienne Westwood, Richard Rogers, Neville Brody and Damien Hirst. The year-by-year format allows the work of newcomers making their first impact to be seen alongside that of outstanding artists in their maturity, and reveals many surprising connections and contradictions across the entire visual scene - from architecture, interior design, graphic art and fashion to painting, sculpture, installation and video art.
The achievements of each decade are highlighted in statements from a distinguished group of artists, curators and critics, all of whom have themselves made a major contribution: Melvyn Bragg, Michael Craig-Martin, Christopher Frayling, Martin Harrison, David Hockney, Nicholas Serota and David Sylvester. The book is completed by concise biographies of all the artists whose work is included.
