Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word is a fantastic and quick critique of modern art. Published in 1975, Wolfe skewers artists for what he sees as a transition away from a visual experience toward art that promotes vague theories or politicized concepts.
Wolfe’s style has never been more dazzling, his wit never more keen. He addresses the scope of Modern Art, from its founding days as Abstract Expressionism through its transformations to Pop, Op, Minimal, and Conceptual. The Painted Word is Tom Wolfe “at his most clever, amusing, and irreverent” (San Francisco Chronicle).
“America’s nerviest journalist” (Newsweek) trains his satirical eye on Modern Art in this “masterpiece” (The Washington Post).
