The Cultural Devolution: Art in Britain in the Late Twentieth Century

Mulholland (contemporary art, Edinburgh College of Art) examines British artists' responses to the country's political-economic upheavals just prior to and through Thatcher's ultraconservative administrations, which cut public support of art. He views his study as a corrective to accounts of postmodern art dominated by the American scene. Features b&w illustrations of samples of the work of avant garde artists and styles discussed, from the Brotherhood of Ruralists in the 1970s to '90s Neoconceptualism. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)