Making Theory/Constructing Art

Artists and critics regularly enlist theory in the creation and assessment of artworks, but few have scrutinized the art theories themselves. Here, Daniel examines and critiques the norms, assumptions, historical conditions, and institutions that have framed the development and uses of art theory.

Spurred by the theoretical claims of Arthur Danto, a leader in the philosophy of the avant-garde, Herwitz reexamines the art and theory of major figures in the avant-garde movement including John Cage, Jean-Franiois Lyotard, Jean Baudrillard, and Andy Warhol.


Contents:

List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: What We Have Inherited

Part I: Studies in Avant-Garde Art
1: Setting the Stage: Arthur Danto's Reading of the Avant-Garde
2: Constructivism's Descartes
3: Constructivism's Utopian Game with Theory
4: Mondrian's Plato
5: John Cage

Part 2: The Legacy of the Avant-Garde
6: Reading Arthur Danto's Theory
7: Reading Arthur Danto's Reading of the Object
8: Andy Warhol without Theory
9: The Uses of Theory in the Contemporary Artworld

Notes
Index