Unlike many of texts presented in Art in Theory 1900-2000, Joselit's writing is very straightforward and simplified - perfect for both the avid art historian or for someone just getting interested in Modern and Contemporary art for the first time. Furthermore, one need not know anything about art in order to gain knowledge and understanding from Joselit's book. Here is a sample of Joselit's writing:
"It may seem odd to describe Pop art with terms like 'icon' or 'monument.' After all, in their ostensibly ironic embrace of the everyday and the commercial, paintings like Warhol's appear antithetical to conventional monuments whose traditional function is to mark the history of a place by commemorating an event or a person. And yet this striking paradox is fundamental to Pop art. In a commercialized Western culture, it is the everyday commodity which structures our experience of place and time - a condition which artists like Warhol and Oldenburg as well as Roy Lichtenstein, Tom Wesselmann, and James Rosenquist explored in various ways."
10 Marilyns, by Andy WarholAs that little sample demonstrates, Joselit's writing is very easy to understand, but is by no means elementary. I would definitely recommend the book to those interested in post-WWII art, but especially to those who are less familiar with the period in general.
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