Exhibitionism: Art in an Era of Intolerance

By Lynne Munson

Exploring the culture of intolerance that overtook the art world in the postmodern era, Lynne Munson shows how a new dogmatism established itself in the NEA, museums, academia, and even the artist's studio, where experimental art was favored at the expense of the traditional, and limits placed on what might be funded, exhibited, studied, and created. The subject is hot. Her tone is cool. Her case histories speak for themselves. This is a brave book. -Andrew Forge, Yale School of Art. Invaluable and shockingly intelligent...Lynne Munson lays bare the new, rigid art ethic enforced by government bureaucrats and official academicians. -Maggie Gallagher, Washington Times. Illustrated.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1566633249
• ISBN13: 9781566633246
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Ivan R. Dee
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.1" x 5.9"

Customer Reviews

An excellent primer for the culture wars.

Lynne Munson's characterization of the deep looniness of the art world comes across clear as a bell. Part of this is good, simple writing, part is her experience in the upper levels of federal grant-making, and part - maybe the most important part - is her consistent use of convincing anecdotal evidence. This is no abstruse, jargonized academic text. It is simple, straightforward and convincing. And if you can read it and not come away thinking the art business is terminally weird, well... get help!

You Can Gauge the Success of Munson's Arguments...

...by the threatened reaction from those that have little to gain and all to lose by steering artistic focus toward definitions of beauty, quality and meaning executed by passionate artists, and away from the use of art exhibitions as purely political and social tools of the left, or simply because it's a fashionable career path in many of today's institutions.If you're tired of art being defined by publicity stunts and attacks on your intelligence or values by naked emperors and empires, you ought to read this, because you are not alone. There are many of us who feel this way.It took courage to write this book and I applaud her for it.

How to Upset the Art Establishment!

This is a brave, well-informed, smart book which takes on the art and art history establishment with devastating results. A major cultural critic, Munson demonstrates how conformist and narrow the art establishment has become. Her chapters on the NEA, Harvard, and the contemporary art scene are compelling, harrowing, and amusing, all at the same time. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the state of today's art and how it got to be that way. Those with vested interests in the status quo are already starting to squeak!

Telling the Truth

Think of the last time you were in a museum, gallery, or art history class... If it was before 1980, Miss Munson's book is a quick read that may shock you in a way that the Sensation show didn't. If you're a regular her investigations can't be denied. Liberals, conservatives, artists and non-artists alike will find these stories captivating and sad. As a painter living in New York, I can assure Munson that hope is not dead in the artist's studio even if the art world or public is too cynical to use their eyes.

Art for art's sake?

Munson's observations about the politicization of high culture are intelligent and original -- and right on the money. She argues not against the particular biases of museum curators or art history departments, but against the common, vulgar didacticism that so often accompanies the presentation of art. She demonstrates how aestheticism and trained objectivity have been mugged by interest-group politics. She gives voice to ideas that are often thought but rarely so well expressed. I recommend this book to anyone who cares about art and high culture, and I commend its author for her insight and thoughtfulness on the subject.