Book cover of The Painted Word

Book description

Reissued for today's reader with a redesigned cover by the renowned artist Seymour Chwast, Tom Wolfe trains his satirical eye on Modern Art in this “masterpiece” (The Washington Post).

What has become of art?

In his dazzling and controversial book The Painted Word, Tom Wolfe explores this question and more…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Painted Word as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Filled with many humorous pages of ridicule about the modern art world, one big reason that I love this book is Wolfe’s attack on “art speak,” the nauseating language used by critics and artists alike. He smugly suggests that in today’s world, visual art only exists to illustrate the text!

Pretentious prose has become a norm in art world communication. Although artists vehemently criticize this style of writing, unfortunately, many believe that their work will not be taken seriously unless they imitate what they despise.

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