A straightforward guide to contemporary art
Whether you love or loathe it, contemporary art is bound to trigger a reaction. Understand Contemporary Art delves deep into the art scene, exploring different forms including painting, scultpture, installation and video art. The key personalities, galleries and themes are discussed in detail as well as controversial competitions like the Turner Prize. Whether you are studying for a course of just want to be able to develop your own informed opinions on contemporary art, this straightforward guide will give you what you need.
The colour plates referred to in this title can be downloaded at library.teachyourself.com

• : Preface
• : Acknowledgements
• : Personal introduction
• : 1 minute summary
• : 5 minute summary
• : 10 minute summary
• : 01 Introduction: contemporary art and aesthetics ¿ theories of art making
• : What is contemporary art?
• : Things to remember
• : Suggestions for further reading
• : 02 the pre-history of contemporary art
• : Section 1 Defining terms
• : Section 2 The neo-avant-garde
• : Section 3 Reading contemporary art
• : Things to remember
• : Suggestions for further reading
• : 03 contexts for contemporary art
• : Section 1 The march of history
• : Section 2 Money makes the art go round
• : Section 3 Reality isn¿t what it used to be
• : Things to remember
• : Suggestions for further reading
• : 04 forms of contemporary art
• : Introduction
• : Things to remember
• : Section 1 Painting, mixed media and sculpture
• : Painting and mixed media
• : Sculpture
• : Section 2 Photography
• : Things to remember
• : Section 3 Film, video and digital media
• : Film and video
• : Digital media
• : Things to remember
• : Section 4 Performance
• : Things to remember
• : Section 5 Installation
• : Things to remember
• : Section 6 Land and environment art
• : Things to remember
• : 05 themes and issues in contemporary art
• : Introduction
• : Things to remember
• : Section 1 Gender, sex and abjection
• : Gender and sex
• : Abjection
• : Things to remember
• : Suggestions for further reading
• : Section 2 Politics, difference and the global
• : Politics
• : Difference and the global
• : Section 3 Popular culture, the media, celebrity and consumerism
• • : Popular culture and the media
  • : Celebrity and consumerism
  • : Things to remember
  • : Suggestions for further reading
• : 06 displaying and buying contemporary art
• : Section 1 Contemporary art and the market - buying art
• • : Art schools, institutes and colleges
• : Buying online
• : Section 2 Displaying contemporary art
• • : Contemporary patronage ¿ museums and big business
  • : Where to see contemporary art
  • : Contemporary art fairs
• : Section 3 Honouring contemporary art
• : Contemporary art awards
• • : Things to remember
• : More information on buying art
• : Suggestions for further reading
• : Taking things further
• : Where to see contemporary art: museums and galleries
• : Finding out more about contemporary art: magazines and journals
• : Find out more about contemporary art: websites
• : Finding out more about contemporary artists: books
• : References

Grant Pooke teaches at the University of Kent where he is a Programme Director of the open entry Art History BA Degree.
Graham Whitham is an Open University Associate Tutor and a former Art History A/AS Level Chief Examiner.