But Is It Art?

Cynthia A. Freeland is professor of philosophy at the University of Houston. She has published on topics in the philosophy of art and film, ancient Greek philosophy, and feminist theory. She is also author of The Naked and the Undead: Evil and the Appeal of Horror (1999) and co-editor of Philosophy and Film (1995).

• List of Illustrations ; 1. Blood and Beauty ; 2. Paradigms and Purposes ; 3. Cultural Crossings ; 4. Money, Markets, Museums ; 5. Gender, Genius, and Guerrilla Girls ; 6. Cognition, Creation, Comprehension ; 7. Digitizing and Disseminating ; Conclusion ; References ; Further Reading ; Index

Review from previous edition So many of the questions that define us as a culture have been raised through and by the art of recent decades, that without coming to terms with our art, we can scarcely understand ourselves. Cynthia Freeland has written a very smart book, in which high philosophical intelligence is applied to difficult questions raised by real works of art. It immediately situates the reader where thought and action meet, and since the issues are inescapable, it should be required reading for everyone. 'I know of no work that moves so swiftly and with so sure a footing through the battle zones of art and society today.'