In The Art of Looking, renowned art critic Lance Esplund demonstrates that works of modern and contemporary art are not as indecipherable as they might seem. With patience, insight, and wit, Esplund guides us through the last century of art and empowers us to approach and appreciate it with new eyes. Eager to democratize genres that can feel inaccessible, Esplund encourages viewers to trust their own taste, guts, and common sense. The Art of Looking will open the eyes of viewers who think that recent art is obtuse, nonsensical, and irrelevant, as well as the eyes of those who believe that the art of the past has nothing to say to our present.
“If you’ve never understood contemporary art, or fear you’ve understood it all too well, then this book is ready to be your secret friend. In lucid prose that has the loft of poetry, Lance Esplund lifts the burden of ‘art appreciation’ to reveal that the subject of all great art is how it appreciates you for the way you look at it. His own encounters with exemplary work-by Joan Mitchell, James Turrell, and Marina Abramovic among others-are related in terms so complete, courageous, and physically convincing they make you want to see art as he has seen it, a giant step toward seeing it for oneself.“―Douglas Crase, author of The Revisionist
“The Art of Looking is a wonderful book, filled with remarkable insights about experiencing whatever it is that we mean by the word ‘art.’ Whether it is Balthus and the Me Too Movement or walking through Richard Serra’s enormous curving rust colored sculptures — there is always something new and exciting to be discovered.“―Robert Benton
