本书从种类繁多、形态各异的现代艺术中精选了有主要代表性的艺术种类及流派，详细介绍了其起源、发展及艺术特点。全书编写思路颇具特色，所选材料时代感强，内容丰富，图文并茂，语言地道。全书共分16个章节，每个章节围绕一个艺术形式与主题，各个章节后还配有与其内容相关的思考题。全书融知识性、艺术性、审美性于一体，注重提高读者的艺术修养与审美能力，加深对现代艺术与文化的认识和理解。
《现代艺术与文化》共16章。内容涉及现代艺术、现代艺术史、超现实主义艺术、波普艺术、电子艺术、绘画、雕塑、建筑、电影、音乐、摄影、装潢、时尚、园艺、博物馆等。每章围绕一种艺术形式与主题，每章节后附有思考题，可供读者参考使用。
现代艺术运动起源于19世纪末的欧洲，它反对理性的压制和传统的束缚，艺术上提倡创新。所谓“现代艺术”（Modem Art）是一个统称，它包括19世纪初至当代的大部分艺术流派和艺术作品，由各种不同类型的视觉风格组合而成。
现代艺术存在于我们每个人的身边。如今在所有的发达国家，现代艺术已成为艺术主流，成为社会文化的标志，最重要的是它已成为每个现代公民的基本素养。对于一个现代人来说，已经被完全地融入到现代艺术的世界潮流之中，无论是在自家的宅邸还是在任何的公共场所，都不可能回避现代艺术的这种或那种风格和方法。
本书从种类繁多、形态各异的现代艺术中精选了有主要代表性的艺术种类及流派，如野兽派（Fauvism）、立体派（Cubism）、达达派（Dadaism）、印象派（Impressionism）、抽象主义（Abstractism）、超现实主义（Surrealism）、未来派（Futurism）等，系统地介绍了其起源、发展及艺术特点，以使读者对整个现代艺术的发展、艺术流派、代表人物及作品有一个清晰的了解。与此同时，本书还分类详细地介绍了各种现代艺术形式，特别是20世纪以后创造的现代艺术形式和媒体，如摄影艺术（Photography）、电影（Fihn）、行为艺术（Performanee An）、影像艺术（Vidio Art）、计算机艺术（Computer An）、波普艺术（Pop Art）等。由此，读者可以更好地认识和理解现实生活中各式各样的现代艺术形式，增强艺术修养和审美能力。
Chapter 1 Modern Art
Section A Early Modern Art
Section B Postmodern Art
Chapter 2 Modern Art History
Section A The Styles of Modern Art
Section B Modern Art Movement
Chapter 3 Painting
Section A Picasso， Pablo Ruizy
Section B Vincent van Gogh
Chapter 4 Sculpture
Section A Sculpture of Diverse Styles
Section B Modern Sculpture
Chapter 5 Surrealism Art
Section A History of Surrealism
Section B Modernist Literature
Chapter 6 Performance Art
Section A Development of Performance Art
Section B Modem Dance
Chapter 7 Architecture
Section A New Guidelines for Architecture
Section B Architecture Styles
Chapter 8 Film
Section A Motion Picture Film
Section B Epic Beginnings for Hollywood
Chapter 9 Pop Art
Section A Andy Warhol： the Father of Pop Art
Section B History of Pop Art
Chapter 10 Electronic Art
Section A Video Art
Section B Computer Art
Chapter 11 Music
Section A Contemporary Music
Section B American Music
Chapter 12 Photography
Section A Photography as Accessible Art
Section B Professionalism of Photography
Chapter 13 Decoration
Section A History of Italian Decorating
Section B Asian Styles of Decorating
Chapter 14 Fashion
Section A The Functions of Fashion
Section B Status Symbols
Chapter 15 Gardening
Section A The Styles of Gardens
Section B A Flower Gardening
Chapter 16 Museums
Section A The Functions of Art Museum
Section B The Louvre
Acknowledgement
Vincent van Gogh was named after his uncle Vincent， a successful art dealer in the Hague， his father was a minister of the Dutch reformed church in a series of small towns in Holland. In other words， art and religion were the two family businesses， so to speak， and Van Gogh tried them both. He worked for his uncle first in the Hague and then in the companys branch office in London.
Van Gogh could read，write， and speak English fairly well， he loved to read——he was probably one of the most well-read painters of the 19th century. He also loved to take long walks through the countryside——Walks that sometimes became pilgrimages that would last for days.
After a frustrated love affair， Van Gogh became enthustaically religious for several years. At one point he labeled as a missionary among wretchedly poor coal miners in a remote rural distinct in Belgium， until the religious authorities， disapproving of his zeal in sharing the conditions of the poor， dismissed him.
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