John A. Walker (1938–2023) wrote over 15 books on modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on mass media. He was Reader in Art and Design History at Middlesex University. He authored Art and Celebrity, Art in the Age of Mass Media, and Cultural Offensive: America's Impact on British Art Since 1945.

• Introduction1. 1949: Munnings and Modern Art 2. 1951: Gear and Abstraction. 3. 1953: The Cold War Monument that was never Built. 4. 1958: The Strange Case of William Green. 5. 1966: Art and Destruction. 6. 1967: Swingeing London. 7. 1971: The Catfish Controversy. 8. 1972: Modern Sculpture Vandalised to Destruction. 9. 1973: Womanpower Exhibition provokes Strong Reaction. 10. 1974: The Oak Tree that looked like a Glass of Water. 11. 1976: Bricks and Brickbats.12. 1976: Pole-carrying Performance arouses Derision. 13. 1976: Can Dirty Nappies be Art? 14. 1976: From Shock Art to Shock Rock. 15. 1977: Hayward Annual savaged by Critics and a TV Journalist. 16. 1979: The Arts Council, Censorship and the Lives Exhibition. 17. 1979: Morgan's Wall: the Destruction of a Community Mural. 18. 1980: Performers Jailed for wearing 'Rude' costumes - crocheted penises19. 1981: Portrait of Lady Di Attacked. 20. 1983-96: The War of Little Sparta. 21. 1983: The Destruction of Polaris. 22. 1984: Rape Picture 'Too Disturbing'. 23. 1984: Attack on 'Porno-Art' in Leeds. 24. 1986-87: Art, Money and the Bank of England. 25. 1986: Erotic or Sexist Art? 26. 1987: The Case of the Foetus Earrings. 27. 1988: Nude Painting deemed too Rude for Royal Eyes. 28. 1992: British Gulf War Painting accused of Anti- Americanism.29. 1993: The House that was no longer a Home. 30. 1993: Outsiders seek to Outrage the Artworld. 31. 1993: The Artist who adores Little Girls.32. 1994: Hirst's Lamb Vandalised. 33. 1994: Painting of Rape too brutal for Imperial War Museum. 34. 1994: Child Murder, a Suitable Subject for Art? 35. 1996: Perversity and Pleasure: The Art of Dinos and Jake Chapman. 36. 1996: Punishing a Graffiti Artist. 37. 1997: A 'Sick, Disgusting, Evil, Hideous' portrait of Myra Hindley. 38. 1998: An Angel descends on the North and divides the Community. 39. 1998: Sculptor found Guilty of Stealing Body- partsFurther ReadingIndex

'Walker systematically and chronologically works through 39 case studies, starting in 1949 with Alfred Munnings and ending in 1998 with a sculptor guilty of stealing body parts. The accounts vary in depth and interest but all reveal some background in relation to the systematic manipulation of events by the media'

John A. Walker (1938–2023) wrote over 15 books on modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on mass media. He was Reader in Art and Design History at Middlesex University. He authored Art and Celebrity, Art in the Age of Mass Media, and Cultural Offensive: America's Impact on British Art Since 1945.

• Introduction1. 1949: Munnings and Modern Art 2. 1951: Gear and Abstraction. 3. 1953: The Cold War Monument that was never Built. 4. 1958: The Strange Case of William Green. 5. 1966: Art and Destruction. 6. 1967: Swingeing London. 7. 1971: The Catfish Controversy. 8. 1972: Modern Sculpture Vandalised to Destruction. 9. 1973: Womanpower Exhibition provokes Strong Reaction. 10. 1974: The Oak Tree that looked like a Glass of Water. 11. 1976: Bricks and Brickbats.12. 1976: Pole-carrying Performance arouses Derision. 13. 1976: Can Dirty Nappies be Art? 14. 1976: From Shock Art to Shock Rock. 15. 1977: Hayward Annual savaged by Critics and a TV Journalist. 16. 1979: The Arts Council, Censorship and the Lives Exhibition. 17. 1979: Morgan's Wall: the Destruction of a Community Mural. 18. 1980: Performers Jailed for wearing 'Rude' costumes - crocheted penises19. 1981: Portrait of Lady Di Attacked. 20. 1983-96: The War of Little Sparta. 21. 1983: The Destruction of Polaris. 22. 1984: Rape Picture 'Too Disturbing'. 23. 1984: Attack on 'Porno-Art' in Leeds. 24. 1986-87: Art, Money and the Bank of England. 25. 1986: Erotic or Sexist Art? 26. 1987: The Case of the Foetus Earrings. 27. 1988: Nude Painting deemed too Rude for Royal Eyes. 28. 1992: British Gulf War Painting accused of Anti- Americanism.29. 1993: The House that was no longer a Home. 30. 1993: Outsiders seek to Outrage the Artworld. 31. 1993: The Artist who adores Little Girls.32. 1994: Hirst's Lamb Vandalised. 33. 1994: Painting of Rape too brutal for Imperial War Museum. 34. 1994: Child Murder, a Suitable Subject for Art? 35. 1996: Perversity and Pleasure: The Art of Dinos and Jake Chapman. 36. 1996: Punishing a Graffiti Artist. 37. 1997: A 'Sick, Disgusting, Evil, Hideous' portrait of Myra Hindley. 38. 1998: An Angel descends on the North and divides the Community. 39. 1998: Sculptor found Guilty of Stealing Body- partsFurther ReadingIndex

'Walker systematically and chronologically works through 39 case studies, starting in 1949 with Alfred Munnings and ending in 1998 with a sculptor guilty of stealing body parts. The accounts vary in depth and interest but all reveal some background in relation to the systematic manipulation of events by the media'

John A. Walker (1938–2023) wrote over 15 books on modern and contemporary art with an emphasis on mass media. He was Reader in Art and Design History at Middlesex University. He authored Art and Celebrity, Art in the Age of Mass Media, and Cultural Offensive: America's Impact on British Art Since 1945.

• Introduction1. 1949: Munnings and Modern Art 2. 1951: Gear and Abstraction. 3. 1953: The Cold War Monument that was never Built. 4. 1958: The Strange Case of William Green. 5. 1966: Art and Destruction. 6. 1967: Swingeing London. 7. 1971: The Catfish Controversy. 8. 1972: Modern Sculpture Vandalised to Destruction. 9. 1973: Womanpower Exhibition provokes Strong Reaction. 10. 1974: The Oak Tree that looked like a Glass of Water. 11. 1976: Bricks and Brickbats.12. 1976: Pole-carrying Performance arouses Derision. 13. 1976: Can Dirty Nappies be Art? 14. 1976: From Shock Art to Shock Rock. 15. 1977: Hayward Annual savaged by Critics and a TV Journalist. 16. 1979: The Arts Council, Censorship and the Lives Exhibition. 17. 1979: Morgan's Wall: the Destruction of a Community Mural. 18. 1980: Performers Jailed for wearing 'Rude' costumes - crocheted penises19. 1981: Portrait of Lady Di Attacked. 20. 1983-96: The War of Little Sparta. 21. 1983: The Destruction of Polaris. 22. 1984: Rape Picture 'Too Disturbing'. 23. 1984: Attack on 'Porno-Art' in Leeds. 24. 1986-87: Art, Money and the Bank of England. 25. 1986: Erotic or Sexist Art? 26. 1987: The Case of the Foetus Earrings. 27. 1988: Nude Painting deemed too Rude for Royal Eyes. 28. 1992: British Gulf War Painting accused of Anti- Americanism.29. 1993: The House that was no longer a Home. 30. 1993: Outsiders seek to Outrage the Artworld. 31. 1993: The Artist who adores Little Girls.32. 1994: Hirst's Lamb Vandalised. 33. 1994: Painting of Rape too brutal for Imperial War Museum. 34. 1994: Child Murder, a Suitable Subject for Art? 35. 1996: Perversity and Pleasure: The Art of Dinos and Jake Chapman. 36. 1996: Punishing a Graffiti Artist. 37. 1997: A 'Sick, Disgusting, Evil, Hideous' portrait of Myra Hindley. 38. 1998: An Angel descends on the North and divides the Community. 39. 1998: Sculptor found Guilty of Stealing Body- partsFurther ReadingIndex

'Walker systematically and chronologically works through 39 case studies, starting in 1949 with Alfred Munnings and ending in 1998 with a sculptor guilty of stealing body parts. The accounts vary in depth and interest but all reveal some background in relation to the systematic manipulation of events by the media'