Painting in a World Transformed: How Modern Art Reflects Our Conflicting Responses to Science and Change

This book shows how painting since the mid-1800s has reflected Western society's mixed feelings about the transformations in our world produced by science and technology. Neither a chronicle of the development of modern art nor a history of the modern era, it instead discusses how artists have represented feelings and ideas about the technological changes of modern times. Some artists approach this task with an outward focus, representing the world they perceive. Others focus inward, choosing to represent their personal reactions to that world. The author examines both approaches to show how major art movements of the last two centuries are related to the largest-ever changes in human knowledge. An analysis of 28 works reveals perceptions of technological change as both blessing and curse. The result of this analysis is a fresh view of the major artworks of the past century and a half, along with intriguing insights into our own attitudes towards our world.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Acknowledgments       List of Illustrations      Foreword: Art and Science in the Fullness of Life, by Michael Shermer      Introduction      PART I. A MIRROR WITH A PAST      1. Soul or Machine?      2. What Is Art About?      3. How Science Changed the Subject      PART II. SCIENTISM BEGINS: THE FIRST HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY      4. The Handwriting on the Gallery Wall: Classical vs. Romantic      5. The Line Is Drawn: Ingres vs Delacroix      PART III. THE CHANGES BEGIN: THE SECOND HALF OF THE NINETEENTH CENTURY      6. The Subject Beneath the Surface      7. A New Realism: Edouard Manet      8. Mad Haste with Impressionism: Monet and Renoir      9. The Fragile Moment: Berthe Morisot      10. Women Have Real Lives of Their Own: Edgar Degas      11. Body and Soul Unreconciled: Vincent van Gogh      12. Spirit and Matter in Tahiti: Paul Gauguin      13. An Unearthly Remoteness: Paul Cézanne      PART IV. SCIENCE REPELS AND ATTRACTS: THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY      14. The New Subject Meets the New Object      15. Decorating the Inner World: Henri Matisse      16. Cubism and the Illusive Body: Pablo Picasso      17. “But Is It Art?”: Marcel Duchamp      PART V. LOOKING OUTSIDE AND WITHIN: EARLY MID-CENTURY      18. Turning Away from a Darkening World      19. Alone in the Crowd: Edward Hopper      20. When Flesh Trumps Spirit: Francis Bacon      21. Embodiment Without Bodies: Mark Rothko      22. The Subjective Stone Age: Willem de Kooning      23. The Resemblance to Meaning: Lee Krasner      24. The Meaning of Meaningless: Jackson Pollock      PART VI. OBJECTS IN THE MIRROR ARE SEEN AS SHALLOW: LATE MID-CENTURY      25. How Real Can It Get?      26. An Art of Artifacts: Jasper Johns      27. Art as Science Reporting: Robert Rauschenberg      28. Art That Is Deeper Than Paper: Roy Lichtenstein      29. The Emptier the Better: Andy Warhol      PART VII. CRACKED BUT NOT BROKEN: AT THE END OF THE CENTURY      30. New Faces, Old Spectrum      31. “Privately Maintained Realities”: Julian Schnabel      32. “But Is It Art” Revisited: Damien Hirst      33. Striding on Two Levels: Gerhard Richter      34. Spirits in the Material World: Anselm Kiefer      35. The Art of Storytelling: Eric Fischl      36. Transmuting Commodities into Art: Jeff Koons      37. Postmodern Pictures of Women: David Salle      Conclusions: Images of Our Anxieties      Chapter Notes      Bibliography      Index     

About the Author :
Retired engineer William H. Libaw lives in Beverly Hills, California.

Review :
“it’s a most interesting book. Your observations have a freshness that is very attractive. It should find wide readership and I rejoice for you”—Sister Wendy Beckett, a prominent member of the art community.