Blow Up!: The Explosion of Contemporary Art

A nonfiction graphic novel that tells the story of a century of revolutionary contemporary art.

Publisher Marketing: THE JOURNEY OF CONTEMPORARY ART FROM MARCEL DUCHAMP'S REPURPOSED URINAL TO MAURIZIO CATTELAN'S TAPED BANANA. How did a urinal become art? A can of soup? A pickled shark? A banana taped to a wall? This graphic novel follows the story of revolutionary contemporary art and artists over 100 years, from Marcel Duchamp to Andy Warhol, Yayoi Kusama, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marina Abramovic, Damien Hirst, Kara Walker, Tracey Emin, Maurizio Cattelan, and many more. What started as a rebellious act at a 1917 exhibition has exploded into today's global, multibillion-dollar art industry. Bombs detonate and conventions go up in flames as a series of artworks provoke and electrify society. Across decades and continents--Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, São Paulo--discover how daring artists inspired each other, shattered boundaries, and sparked chain reactions that led to shocking and groundbreaking moments that reshaped art forever. No matter how long people have had to get used to it, contemporary art continues to defy expectations, disrupt conventions, and inspire anew, proving that creativity has no limits. Review Quotes : If you've ever been curious about the history of contemporary art, there's no better introduction than Blow Up! The Explosion of Contemporary Art ... This graphic novel collects the biggest milestones in contemporary art into a comic book primer with a straightforward narrative... For those unfamiliar with contemporary art, Blow Up! provides a thorough and authoritative background. But even if you're an expert, there's plenty to love... It's thrilling to see art-world figures like art historian Linda Nochlin and multidisciplinary artist Sarah Lucas rendered in comic form.-- "BookPage" (6/1/2025 12:00:00 AM) Brief Description : Blow Up! traces the explosive evolution of contemporary art from Duchamp's 1917 urinal to Cattelan's taped banana, exploring how provocative artworks emerged from a century of war, social upheaval, and global cultural shifts. Through interconnected stories of artists and their radical creations, the book reveals how contemporary art continually defies norms, ignites controversy, and reshapes society. Publisher Marketing : How did a urinal become art? And a can of tomato soup, a tent, a pickled shark. . . . How did what seemed like a prank at the New York Armory Show of 1917 explode to become today's global multibillion-dollar art world? Blow Up! answers these questions by following the lives of seminal contemporary artists and the stories behind their groundbreaking works. Against a backdrop of armed conflict (two World Wars, Japanese militarization, US troops in Vietnam, the Yugoslav Wars) and rapid societal change (democratization, successive waves of feminism, globalization), Blow Up! tells the story of contemporary art from Marcel Duchamp's repurposed urinal to Maurizio Cattelan's taped banana. Literal bombs explode and conventions go up in flames as a series of art objects shock and electrify society: a pickled shark, a stuffed hare, human blood. Chapters follow a series of chain reactions as artists meet and inspire each other across continents, generations, and decades. Over a period of one hundred years everything changes--and yet the cry of "It's not art!" never goes away. No matter how long people have had to get used to it, contemporary art continues to upset expectations and disrupt conventions--and inspire anew. Contributor Bio: Shore, Robert Robert Shore is the author of several books about contemporary art and photography, including Beg, Steal and Borrow: Artists Against Originality , Andy Warhol , and Yayoi Kusama . He worked for many years as an arts reviewer and as the editor of Elephant magazine. Contributor Bio: Rossetti, Eva Eva Rossetti has illustrated several graphic novels, including The Women Who Changed Art Forever: Feminist Art--The Graphic Novel .

Format: Hardcover | Pages: 232 | Publication Date: 2025-05-13