Book Review: Contemporary British Art (Grant Pooke)

A Review of Grant Pooke. Contemporary British Art: An Introduction. London and New York: Routledge, 2011, 287 pp., £26.99/$39.95 paper. by Sara Schumacher First published by Transpositions on 27 September 2013 In a dense and informative narration of British contemporary art since the 1980s, Grant Pooke, Senior Lecturer in the School of Arts, University of Kent, not only introduces the reader to a wide range of artists and their work but also provides careful commentary on how the art of this period reflects particular ideologies and/or responds to current cultural and political events. Rather than be a specialist’s guide, this book is written for the "general reader … with the aim of offering a point of purchase and context for what has been one of the most diverse and innovative periods within recent British art history."[p. 4] After an introduction that sets a helpful context for the period under consideration, Pooke begins with a chapter on arts funding that considers how the shift from public to private funding has impacted artistic practice, the rise of the artist-celebrity (e.g., Damien Hirst), and how artists have learned to employ marketing techniques to build their ‘brand’ and increase the value of their work. He concludes this chapter with the role art plays in cultural regeneration (specifically public art) as well as economic growth. The following three chapters group contemporary art in the genres of post-conceptual painting, sculpture, installation art, photography, video, and performance art. In addition to a nuanced explication of the work, the book includes both black/white and full-colour images that are a very helpful accompaniment to the text. Pooke concludes with a summary of the recurring themes that emerge, stating "contemporary art practice increasingly accents the discursive and relational, rather than the ‘private and symbolic spaces’ associated with earlier forms of Modernist practice. Artists … have taken the progressive and utopian narratives of earlier avant-gardes as investigative and critical points of departure for their own practice."[p. 244] This book is helpful for someone who desires to learn more about what has formed and shaped the British art scene, both ideologically and aesthetically. While there is no theological content per se, Pooke’s introduction would serve those interested in better understanding the works of contemporary art that have recently been installed in several of Britain’s churches and cathedrals.