This ambitious reference work charts the major works and movements, the most important theoretical developments, and the historical, social, political, and aesthetic issues in contemporary art since 1945, primarily in the Euro-American context.Dual chronological and thematic coverage of the major issues enables the reader to engage with multiple perspectives on current art movements and conceptual issues, and to consider future directions in the field. Topics covered include culture wars, public space, diaspora, new technologies, the artist, identity politics, the body, poststructuralism, and visual culture. The Companion also covers debates central to contemporary art practice and theory such as those addressing formalism, the avant-garde, and the society of the spectacle.Bringing together leading cultural critics and scholars from art history and allied fields to comment on the crucial historical and theoretical issues and debates that have conditioned our understanding of the contemporary visual arts, this volume offers new approaches toward the analysis of the visual arts in general. A stellar reference work, it is written for students and scholars of contemporary visual culture, art history, and visual theory, as well as the general reader interested in the development of this interdisciplinary field.

Series Editor's Preface.

List of Illustrations.

Part I: Introduction.

1. Writing Contemporary Art into History, a Paradox?: Amelia Jones (University of Manchester).

Part II: Decades. 1945-1960. 2. 'America' and its Discontents: Art and Politics 1945-1960: Gavin Butt (Goldsmiths College). 1960-1970.

3. '1960-1970': A Decade Out-of-Bounds: Anna Dezeuze (University of Manchester). 1970-1980.

4. 'I'm sort of sliding around in place... ummm...': Art in the 1970s: Sam Gathercole (University of Essex). 1980-1990.

5. Pictures and Positions in the 1980s: Howard Singerman (University of Virginia). 1990-2004.

6. 1990-2004: In the Clutches of Time: Henry M. Sayre (Oregon State University).

Part III: Aesthetics. Formalism.

7. Form and Formless: Caroline A. Jones (MIT). Art as Idea.

8. Re-Thinking the 'Duchamp Effect': David Hopkins (University of Glasgow). Beauty.

9. Regarding Beauty: Margaret Morgan. Part IV: Politics. Avant-Garde.

10. Avant-Garde: A Historiography of a Critical Concept: Johanne Lamoureux (Universit� de Montr�al). Activism.

11. Facture for Change: U.S. Activist Art since 1950: Jennifer Gonz�lez (University of California, Santa Cruz) and Adrienne Posner (University of California, Santa Cruz). Culture Wars.

12. 'The Senators Were Revolted': Homophobia and the Culture Wars: Jonathan D. Katz (State University of New York at Stony. Brook). Art and Its Public(s).

13. Crowds and Connoisseurs: Art and the Public Sphere in America: Grant Kester (University of California, San Diego).

Part V: Identity/ Subjectivity. The Artist.

14. The Writerly Artist: Beautiful, Boring and Blue: Carol Mavor (University of North Carolina). Diaspora.

15. Diaspora: Multiple Practices, Multiple Worldviews: Steven Nelson (UCLA). Feminism.

16.Power and Pleasure: Feminist Art Practice and Theory in the United States and Britain: Laura Meyer (California State University, Fresno). Queer.

17. Queer Wallpaper: Jennifer Doyle (University of California, Riverside). Race/ Ethnicity.

18. Ethnicity: Alternative Black Art theories in Contemporary Art: Pauline de Souza (University of East London). Embodiment.

19. The Paradoxical Bodies of Contemporary Art: Christine Ross (McGill University).

Part VI: Methods/ Theories. Marxism.

20. A Shadow of Marx: Neil Cummings (Chelsea College of Art and Design) and Marysia Lewandowska(Konstfack, Stockholm). Poststructuralism. 21. Postructuralism and Contemporary Art, Past, Present, Future...:Sarah Wilson (University of London). Postcolonial Theory.

22. 'Fragments of Collapsing Space': Postcolonial Theory and Contemporary Art. Mark Crinson (University of Manchester). Visual Culture.

23. Visual Culture Studies: Questions of History, Theory, and Practice: Marquard Smith (Kingston University).

Part VII: Technology. Mass Culture, High/Low.

24. 'That's All Folks': Contemporary Art and Popular Culture: Nick Mirzoeff (New York University). Photography/Index.

25. Image + Text: Reconsidering Photography in Contemporary Art: Liz Kotz (University of Minnesota). Spectacle/Appropriation.

26. Imagine There's No Image (It's Easy If You Try): Appropriation in the Age of Digital Reproduction: Dore Bowen (California College of the Arts). Digital Media.

27. 'Life-like': Historizing Process and Responsiveness in Digital Art: Mar�a Fern�ndez (Cornell University).

Index