Beyond the Brillo Box (Inscribed copy), Embodied Meanings

Beyond the Brillo Box: The Visual Arts in Post-Historical Perspective by Arthur C. Danto

Farrar Straus Giroux, New York, 1992. First edition. As new condition. This copy appears to be inscribed to a prior owner and signed by the author (please see photos). 263 pages, some illustrations; 24 cm. About the book: "In Danto's view, Andy Warhol's Brillo Box was not only a radical attack on traditional definitions of the art work; it brought the history of Western art to a close. In this collection of interconnected essays, he grapples with this and many more of the most challenging issues in art today, from the problems of contemporary pluralism to the dilemmas of censorship and state support for artists." Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall

Embodied Meanings: Critical Essays & Aesthetic Meditations by Arthur C. Danto

Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1994. First edition. There is an embossed stamp, a prior owner's name at the front - otherwise the book and jacket are in as new condition. A selection of Danto's critical essays written for The Nation magazine between 1989-1991
About the book: "Danto's philosophically informed art criticism in these 41 reviews and essays bristles with erudition, eclectic taste and keen intellect. He evinces fresh perspectives and generous sympathies whether he is discussing Old Masters like Titian and Velazquez; moderns such as Picasso, Seurat and Kasimir Malevich; contemporary painters Francis Bacon and David Hockney; or sacred Tibetan art. Female artists are well-represented here, with perceptive pieces on Eva Hesse, Jenny Holzer, Helen Frankenthaler (whose paintings Danto compares to "inspired jazz"), Liubov Popova and Madeline Gins, who collaborates with her husband, Arakawa, on conceptual explorations of thought and writing. Professor emeritus of philosophy at Columbia and art critic for the Nation (where most of the selections first appeared), Danto sets forth meditations on contemporary aesthetics, the limits of art as a moral, suasive force and the role of the museum in shaping an image of a culture." - Publishers Weekly