The Mind of Modern and Contemporary Art

Marcus Graf’s “The Mind of Modern and Contemporary Art,” was published by Hayalperest Publishing House on October 23rd. The book deals with modern and contemporary art that transcends the traditional boundaries of the art world, with its various appearances, techniques and contents. Loving, understanding, seeing and questioning art are among the main topics that come to the fore in Graf’s texts. Through thirty artists and works, the book invites readers on a journey through art from the beginning of the nineteenth century to the present day, with special selections revealing the sociocultural reality of the modern and contemporary period and the social, cultural, political, psychological and personal patterns in the minds.

Starting with Caspar David Friedrich, the texts continue with other important artists of the period such as Goya, Courbet, van Gogh, Picasso, Kandinski. With Duchamp, different interests come into play. Graf leaves those interested to their own interpretations by comparing Manzoni’s excrement as an art production, Hirst’s lifeless shark body preserved with formaldehyde, Banksy’s self-destructing work, Cattelan’s banana, which he turned into a critical object by taping and displaying it on the gallery wall. In this way, the author helps readers understand the art world through the perceptions and concepts of modern and contemporary art.