This Is Modern Art

Matthew Collings has already established a reputation for himself as one of the most irreverent and original commentators on the contemporary art world, with his books Blimey! From Bohemia to Britpop and It Hurts: New York Art from Warhol to Now. With the publication of This is Modern Art, Collings has ordered an even bigger canvas to sketch his own uniquely original version of contemporary art today, which he sees as both increasingly popular but also at different points "glamorous, mysterious, sexy, soulful, macabre, gloomy, quirky, kinky and funny". Written to accompany the television series of the same name, This is Modern Art is an in-your-face guide to modern art from Goya's "Disasters of War" to Gillian Wearing's prize-winning video of the police. Along the way, Collings addresses the questions which have both defined and plagued perplexed responses to modern art, including its desire to shock, its questionable aesthetic value, its humour and its blankness. As it moves along in a style which is at times infuriating but always direct and funny, This is Modern Art points out how far we've come since Picasso and Matisse, reverses out of the cul-de-sac of postmodernism, waves the flag for New British Artists like Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin and Sarah Lucas, and ultimately leaves his audience with a streetwise, upbeat book on the abiding value of modern art. --Jerry Brotton

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Disappointing - Rated
I was so exhilarated by Collings' Channel 4 mini-series "This is civilisation" that I had to search the web to find something similar in book form. I didn't, but came across This is modern art, with its amazon.co.uk collection of high ratings, which convinced me to take the plunge. I don't know, this may be a personal issue, but I think I can generally appreciate good writting, even when it's not to my taste. This book, however, I found confusedly written, with no flow and no inspiration. As I say, it may be just me, or it may be that Collings comes across better on tv. Nonetheless, I thought it healthy to add my view as a healthcheck on the total.

Idiosyncratic introduction to contemporary art - Rated
Well-illustrated and easy to read but highly idiosyncratic and selective. Collings is good on those artists he knows personally or has interviewed for his TV shows but this is to the detriment of many important and influential artists who are ignored completely or mentioned only in passing. Highly recommended as an introduction to the field but please don't think this is definitive (let alone "the Bible") - I am sure Collings would make no such claims. And if you are in doubt as to which is the better, this or his other contribution "Blimey" I can reassure you this is the better by far.

Something to get your teeth into - Rated
Collings' writing style will not be for everyone. He can be quite infuriatingly dense about some artists or concepts, and I found myself having to reread some sentences several times to see if it was 'just me'. It wasn't. On the other hand, most of the time he writes about art in a very accessible, and interesting way. His seems to be a fairly personal view, which is not going to suit anyone looking for an authoritative guide to art, but it is entertaining and thought provoking.
The paragraphs are quite clipped, and he just gets into his stride only to move to another subject or idea or artist, which when I was enjoying myself I found quite frustrating. I wanted more. This is not a particularly bad thing. I just found myself on Wikipedia a lot.
There are good illustrations, unlike some art books, and plenty of them. What could be a little challenging was him talking about paintings or works for which there were then no accompanying illustrations, which then sent me back to Wiki.
The potted history of the artists in the margins is a useful feature. I liked the way the book was broken up into manageable chapters and sub headings within chapters. The balance of prose to pictures was good. All in all a very satisfactory book given the dearth of affordable and useful books on what modern art actually is.

Breezy and informal introduction to modern art - Rated
Collings has a breezy writing style that exactly matches the way he talks on television during the Turner Prize or on one of his documentaries. It won't appeal to all readers, but if you've got a sense of humour about modern art (for example you found Craig-Martin's Oak Tree in the Tate Modern amusing), you'll definitely like this book. Collings isn't afraid to tell you that he doesn't really know what some pieces of art are about, or that he is only guessing. I've re-read this book several times, and I still enjoy it.

Explaining how great the Master Collings is - Rated
Reading this book was a really refreshing experience. Matthew Collings must be one of the only art critics in all history who A: Knows something about art and B: Doesn't talk complete bull****. As an art lover and artist my self I can honestly say this is one of the most humourous, truthful and enlightening books I have read in a long, long time.