After Modern Art 1945-2000 (oxford History Of Art) Official

The narrative of art after 1945 is not just about new styles; it’s about a profound crisis of meaning. Hopkins argues that the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust shattered the "grand narratives" of high modernism—the belief that art could reach universal truths through pure form and abstraction.

These movements stripped art of its decorative functions. Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt questioned the very nature of authorship and the "art object". After Modern Art 1945-2000 (Oxford History of Art)

While many histories focus solely on the rise of American dominance, Hopkins highlights a constant dialogue—and often a resistance—between European and American centers. The narrative of art after 1945 is not

Hopkins emphasizes that art during this period was rarely isolated from politics. The book tracks how major social shifts influenced the studio: After Modern Art 1945 2000 (Oxford History Of Art) Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt questioned the very

Instead, a "Duchampian engine" began to drive the art world. This refers to the legacy of Marcel Duchamp, whose critique of aesthetic norms prioritized the idea over the physical object. This shift paved the way for everything from the conceptual puzzles of the 1960s to the performance art of the 1970s. Key Movements and the Transatlantic Tug-of-War

Artists like Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning sought a new, raw language of "action painting" that reflected the existential anxiety of the era.