Visual Shock
A History of Art Controversies in American Culture
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10023947 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Harriet F Senie (City University of New York, corresponding author), Michael Kammen |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 96 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 205-205 |
| Publication date | 2009-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8723 • E-ISSN: 1945-2314 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/27694774 |
| OpenAlex | W4301516738 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
Michael Kammen's purpose in this ambitious book is to “indicat[e] the nature, diversity, and persistence of major disputes generated by art since the 1830s, but also to reveal what has changed and why” (p. xvi). Organized “topically within a chronological framework,” the chapters alternate focus among art forms, controversial subjects, problematic styles, and changing museum paradigms (p. xxvi). Sequentially, Kammen addresses memorials; nudity; problems prompted by modernist styles; murals; ideological issues; the 1960s; controversies prompted by large-scale public sculpture; the transformation of the art museum; diversity and inclusion; and a comparison of U.S. and European controversies. Without question Kammen demonstrates that art controversies have always been a part of our culture. Kammen's key themes are the struggle to define a distinctively American art; the evolving “role and expectations for art in a democratic society”; the expanded and increasingly inclusive nature of controversy; and the question of whether controversy is necessarily a negative condition (pp. xi–xii). Given the shifting focus of the chapters and the multitude of examples in each, it is hard to track themes and judge their relative significance. A chronological history arranged according to themes, such as problematic stylistic issues (say, classicism, modernism, distinctly “American” characteristics); controversial subjects (the nation, the body); and contentious issues (public funding, freedom of speech), might have worked better
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · Democracy · Diversity (politics · Ideology · Modernism (music · Multitude · Political science · Politics · Public sphere · Sculpture · Sociology · Visual arts · Visual culture · Anthropology · History · Law · Visual Culture and Art Theory
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,4 |
| Citation span | 2021 - 2024 (4) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |