How to Be Avant-Garde: Modern Artists and the Quest to End Art

“Not the self-help volume implied by the title, but instead a comprehensive survey of early radical art—Dadaism, Surrealism, Futurism, Constructivism—fueled by the horrors of World War I and the torrent of conceptual isms springing from Duchamp’s infamous Fountain, all attempting to destroy the complacency of the art world.” - Tim/Book & Media Manager

 

“Art has poisoned our life,” proclaimed Dutch artist and De Stijl cofounder Theo van Doesburg. Reacting to the tumultuous crises of the twentieth century, especially the horrors of World War I, avant-garde artists and writers sought to destroy art by transforming it into the substance of everyday life. Following the evolution of these revolutionary groups, How to Be Avant-Garde charts its pioneers and radical ideas. Paperback, 288 pages.