Our list of some of the best Contemporary Art books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles) (2012)
- Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 (2016)
- International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues (11th Edition) (2012)
- How to Write About Contemporary Art (2014)
- The Photograph as Contemporary Art (World of Art) (2014)
- Contemporary Art: World Currents (2011)
- Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture (3rd Edition) (2003)
- Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary (2013)
- DEVOR: STATL QUAL DES CONTROL _c2 (2nd Edition) (2006)
- Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction (2006)
- Contemporary Art: 200 of the World’s Most Groundbreaking Artists (2013)
- Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 (2012)
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists’ Writings (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles) (2012)
First published in 1996, this irreplaceable resource has now been updated, revised, and expanded by Kristine Stiles to represent thirty countries and more than one hundred new artists.
Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 (2016)
Offering a unique thematic approach to recent art history, Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980, Fourth Edition, focuses on eight central ideas recurring in art over the past few decades: identity, the body, time, memory, place, language, science, and spirituality.This thought-provoking volume features over 200 full-color images of artworks that exemplify a wide variety of materials, techniques, theoretical viewpoints, and stylistic approaches, by artists from diverse ethnic, cultur…
International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues (11th Edition) (2012)
Updated in its 11th edition, International Politics places contemporary essays alongside classics to survey the field’s diverse voices, concepts, and issues.
How to Write About Contemporary Art (2014)
An essential handbook for students and professionals on writing eloquently, accurately, and originally about contemporary artHow to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. Invaluable for students, arts professionals and other aspiring writers, the book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language.
The Photograph as Contemporary Art (World of Art) (2014)
“Essential reading for anyone who wishes to make sense of the complex . . . world of contemporary art photography.” ―Picture Professional In the 21st century photography has come of age as a contemporary art form. Nearly two centuries after photographic technology was first invented, the art world has fully embraced it as a legitimate medium, equal in status to painting and sculpture.
Contemporary Art: World Currents (2011)
Contemporary Art: World Currents is the first comprehensive worldwide survey of contemporary art from the 1980s to the present day. Author Terry Smith argues that, in recent decades, a global shift from modern to contemporary art has occurred: artists everywhere have embraced the contemporary world’s teeming multiplicity, its proliferating differences and its challenging complexities and new technologies.
Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture (3rd Edition) (2003)
This book, previously titled Impacts of Livestock Production, objectively deals with a number of important issues that are affecting livestock production and the public perception of animal production on a global basis.
Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary (2013)
Art Since 1980: Charting the Contemporary presents a chronological survey from the late 20th century into the early 21st century. This title is built around short discussions on individual artists. Author Peter Kalb maintains a balance between a social history of institutions and contexts, and attention to individual aesthetic choices.
DEVOR: STATL QUAL DES CONTROL _c2 (2nd Edition) (2006)
Features a blend of statistical process control (SPC) and design of experiments (DOE) concepts and methods for quality design and improvement. The book places particularly strong emphasis on proper methods for data collection, control chart construction and interpretation, and fault diagnosis for process improvement.
Contemporary Art: A Very Short Introduction (2006)
Contemporary art has never been so popular, but what is its role today and who is controlling its future? Contemporary art is supposed to be a realm of freedom where artists shock, break taboos, flout generally received ideas, and switch between confronting viewers with works of great emotional profundity and jaw-dropping triviality. But away from shock tactics in the gallery, there are many unanswered questions.
Contemporary Art: 200 of the World’s Most Groundbreaking Artists (2013)
This veritable Who’s Who of contemporary art—now in a new format and fully updated—contains 200 of the most influential, widely exhibited, and talented artists. Spanning 40 years, the list ranges from Lucian Freud, Louise Bourgeois, and Jasper Johns to Ai WeiWei, Subodh Gupta, Matthew Barney, Damien Hirst, and Tracey Emin.
Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 (2012)
Offering a unique thematic approach to recent art history, Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980, Third Edition, focuses on eight central ideas recurring in art over the past few decades: identity, the body, time, memory, place, language, science, and spirituality.Featuring 160 vivid illustrations (23 in color and 137 in black and white), this wide-ranging introduction presents artworks that exemplify a variety of materials, techniques, theoretical viewpoints, and stylistic approache…
Best Contemporary Art Books that Should be on Your Bookshelf
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some contemporary art books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Contemporary art and memory
Author(s): Joan Gibbons
ID: 915001, Publisher: I. B. Tauris, Year: [2007?], Size: 7 Mb, Format: pdf
Ana Mendieta: a retrospective /
Author(s): Petra Barreras del Rio, John Perreault, guest curators.
ID: 2682764, Publisher: New Museum of Contemporary Art,, Year: c1987., Size: 45 Mb, Format: pdf
The Practical Art of Divine Magic: Contemporary & Ancient Techniques of Theurgy
Author(s): Patrick Dunn
ID: 2290047, Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Year: 8 Aug 2015, Size: 4 Mb, Format: epub
Please note that this booklist is not final. Some books are absolutely record-breakers according to Los Angeles Times, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant books you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.