Andy Warhol: (Icons of America)

In a work of great wisdom and insight, art critic and philosopher Arthur Danto delivers a compact, masterful tour of Andy Warhol's personal, artistic, and philosophical transformations. Danto traces the evolution of the pop artist, including his early reception, relationships with artists such as Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, and the Factory phenomenon. He offers close readings of individual Warhol works, including their social context and philosophical dimensions, key differences with predecessors such as Marcel Duchamp, and parallels with successors like Jeff Koons. Danto brings to bear encyclopedic knowledge of Warhol's time and shows us Warhol as an endlessly multidimensional figure-artist, political activist, filmmaker, writer, philosopher-who retains permanent residence in our national imagination. Danto suggests that "what makes him an American icon is that his subject matter is always something that the ordinary American understands: everything, or nearly everything he made art out of came straight out of the daily lives of very ordinary Americans...The tastes and values of ordinary persons all at once were inseparable from advanced art."

About the Author :
Arthur C. Danto was Johnsonian Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Columbia University and art critic for The Nation. He was the author of numerous books, including Unnatural Wonders: Essays from the Gap Between Art and Life, After the End of Art, and Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective.

Review :
"Grounding the Pop Pope in the aesthetic discourse of The Transfiguration of the Commonplace, philosopher and art critic Danto presents Warhol's achievement with great clarity and acuity. This is now the essential book on Warhol and on the philosophical basis of contemporary art."-John Perreault, Artopia (artsjournal.com/artopia) -- John Perreault "A distinctive original contribution that can be read in a single sitting, but embodies the wisdom of a lifetime of looking, reflection and writing. It's as if Danto has been waiting all these years to produce this magnificent synthesis."-David Carrier, Cleveland Institute of Art -- David Carrier "This study of what makes And Warhol a fascinating artist from a philosophical perspective explores new territory in our unending quest to evaluate the contribution of the greatest American artist of the 20th century. Arthur Danto's Andy Warhol is a deep read."-Victor Bockris -- Victor Bockris "When Arthur Danto encountered Andy Warhol's Brillo Box in 1964, the experience transformed his vision of art. This book exhibits his philosophical heft and engagement with Warhol."-Steven Watson, author of Factory Made: Warhol and the Sixties -- Steven Watson "Arthur Danto's encounter with Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes in 1964 not only transformed his philosophical career, but also reshaped the course of twentieth-century aesthetics. His masterful new book articulates the artworld contexts, cultural issues, creative strategies, and aesthetic ideas through which Warhol's special genius was expressed. Danto paints a definitive portrait of Warhol's meaning as an American icon, while also exemplifying the critical intelligence and philosophical imagination that has earned Danto his own iconic status in the world of art theory and criticism."-Richard Shusterman, author of Pragmatist Aesthetics -- Richard Shusterman "As Danto explains in his brilliant short study of Warhol, the question Warhol asked is not 'What is art?' but 'What is the difference between two things, exactly alike, one of which is art and one of which is not?'"-Richard Dorment, The New York Review of Books -- Richard Dorment New York Review of Books "A concise and insightful primer that can be enjoyed both by those who know little about the artist and by rabid Warhol enthusiasts ... wholly satisfying ... solid scholarship and brilliant turns of phrase."--Doug McClemont, ARTnews -- Doug McClemont ARTnews