Contemporary Chinese Visual Culture

Crouch (visual arts, Southwest University Chongqing, China) has assembled a series of articles on the historical context and modern evolution of Chinese visual culture in the face of that country's rapid economic expansion and globalization. Contributions were deliberately solicited from authors from a wide variety of backgrounds that include artists, academics, and industry professionals. The 23 chapters are organized into four sections: understanding Chinese visual tradition, education in the arts, transforming tradition, and cultural transformation and the media. Crouch mentions in his introduction that this text is meant to fill a void in the study of Chinese visual culture by assembling a collection of Chinese perspectives from people actually working in, and researching, visual arts in China. Readers interested in the arts, Chinese culture, or advertising and media issues will find this text to be an interesting introduction to the historical framework and modern debates of China's art and media community. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)