Culture or trash?

Culture or Trash? is the first book-length critical account of the multibillion dollar industry that calls itself contemporary art. Starting where Tom Wolfe's Painted Word left off, with the birth of postmodernism, Culture or Trash? takes the reader through the follies of Soho, Los Angeles, and Cologne and provides an irreverent account of the Graffiti Art of New York's East Village scene, the terminal coolness of Neo-Geo, the rowdy chaos of Body Art. It also discusses how Chris Burden has become an admired and sought-after artist by getting himself shot at and electrocuted in two different performance pieces. And it describes the fascinating new market for "Outsider Art," where works by murderers and the mentally ill sell for more than those of the Old Masters. Culture or Trash? explains how the art market works, what the reigning critical doctrines of the moment are, and how contemporary art differs from all previous artistic practice. In a highly original description of the National Endowment for the Arts controversy, this book explains how both artists and the right wing have profited and were delighted to keep the issue alive as long as possible. The author also provides bold predictions about the art of the future, which may be just around the corner. The first truly probing analysis devoted to contemporary art, Culture or Trash? acknowledges and celebrates the good work that is now being produced. At the same time, it makes clear that, all too often, people who write about contemporary art stand to profit by it. Criticism has been reduced to ad copy for galleries. Indeed, in no other field could you find such a rosy unanimity of acclaim - until now.