First published 1999
Anne Hollander investigates how cinema transformed our perception of all visual arts over the past century. She argues that motion now defines artistic experience, whether through film, dance, or fashion. Artists abandoned traditional media like fresco and stone carving for dynamic forms that move and change. Hollander profiles influential figures including choreographer Balanchine, photographer Cartier-Bresson, writer Kafka, designer Chanel, dancer Isadora Duncan, and intellectual Simone de Beauvoir. She explores how these creators shaped modern visual culture. The book examines body decoration and dress as art forms, areas where Hollander offers fresh interpretations. She also revisits classic artists like Chaplin and Garbo, correcting common misunderstandings about their work. Hollander concludes by showing how great paintings from earlier eras continue to surprise viewers today, delivering what she calls the tonic effect of intense visual experience.
Genres: history, art, non-fiction, art-history, film, fashion, cultural-studies
Vibes: intimate, lyrical, thought-provoking
Tropes: academic, cultural-criticism
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
Hardcover · Farrar, Straus and Giroux