Warhol is easily one of the 20th century’s most popular artists; it’s too easy to underestimate the influence of his work, and as Menand argues, the philosophy and rigor behind it.
Menand calls conventional understandings of modernism into question, pitting Clement Greenberg against Arthur Danto. He includes some surprises: Pop pre-existed Warhol, our quintessentially American Pop artist had European influences, and the fundamental conceptual differences between the works of Duchamp and Warhol.
Especially when, as V puts it, periodicals are more interested in the story rather than the art, cheers to the New Yorker for their faith in the reader’s intelligence and interest in art history and criticism.
R+D 