The New Monuments and the End of Man : U.S. Sculpture between War and Peace, 1945{u2013}1975

A new study of postwar sculpture in the United States, revealing its nuanced responses to cultural anxieties in the decades following WWII **How leading American artists reflected on the fate of humanity in the nuclear era through monumental sculpture** In the wake of the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945, artists in the United States began to question what it meant to create a work of art in a world where humanity could be rendered extinct by its own hand. __The New Monuments and the End of Man__ examines how some of the most important artists of postwar America revived the neglected tradition of the sculptural monument as a way to grapple with the cultural and existential anxieties surrounding the threat of nuclear annihilation. Robert Slifkin looks at such iconic works as the industrially evocative welded steel sculptures of David Smith, the austere structures of Donald Judd, and the desolate yet picturesque earthworks of Robert Smithson. Transforming how we understand this crucial moment in American art, he traces the intersections of postwar sculptural practice with cybernetic theory, science-fiction cinema and literature, and the political debates surrounding nuclear warfare. Slifkin identifies previously unrecognized affinities of the sculpture of the 1940s and 1950s with the minimalism and land art of the 1960s and 1970s, and acknowledges the important contributions of postwar artists who have been marginalized until now, such as Raoul Hague, Peter Grippe, and Robert Mallary. Strikingly illustrated throughout, __The New Monuments and the End of Man__ spans the decades from Hiroshima to the Fall of Saigon, when the atomic bomb cast its shadow over American art. Comment des artistes américains de premier plan ont réfléchi au destin de l'humanité à l'ère nucléaire à travers une sculpture monumentale? A la suite des bombardements atomiques du Japon en 1945, des artistes américains ont commencé à s'interroger sur ce que signifiait créer une œuvre d'art dans un monde où l'humanité pourrait être éteint de sa propre main. "The new monuments and the end of man" examine comment certains des artistes les plus importants de l'Amérique de l'après-guerre ont redonné vie à la tradition négligée du monument sculptural afin de s'attaquer aux angoisses culturelles et existentielles entourant la menace de l'annihilation nucléaire. Robert Slifkin se penche sur des œuvres emblématiques comme les sculptures en acier soudé de David Smith, les structures austères de Donald Judd et les travaux de terrassement à la fois désolés et pittoresques de Robert Smithson. Transformant notre compréhension de ce moment crucial de l'art américain, il retrace les intersections de la pratique sculpturale d'après-guerre avec la théorie cybernétique, le cinéma et la littérature de science-fiction et les débats politiques autour de la guerre nucléaire. Slifkin identifie les affinités auparavant non reconnues de la sculpture des années 1940 et 1950 avec le minimalisme et le land art des années 1960 et 1970, et reconnaît les contributions importantes d'artistes de l'après-guerre marginalisés, tels que Raoul Hague, Peter Grippe et Robert Mallary. "The new monuments and the end of man", illustrés de manière saisissante, couvrent les décennies allant d'Hiroshima à la chute de Saigon, lorsque la bombe atomique a jeté son ombre sur l'art américain. (d'après l'éditeur)

How leading American artists reflected on the fate of humanity in the nuclear era through monumental sculpture

In the wake of the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945, artists in the United States began to question what it meant to create a work of art in a world where humanity could be rendered extinct by its own hand.The New Monuments and the End of Man examines how some of the most important artists of postwar America revived the neglected tradition of the sculptural monument as a way to grapple with the cultural and existential anxieties surrounding the threat of nuclear annihilation.

Robert Slifkin looks at such iconic works as the industrially evocative welded steel sculptures of David Smith, the austere structures of Donald Judd, and the desolate yet picturesque earthworks of Robert Smithson. Transforming how we understand this crucial moment in American art, he traces the intersections of postwar sculptural practice with cybernetic theory, science-fiction cinema and literature, and the political debates surrounding nuclear warfare. Slifkin identifies previously unrecognized affinities of the sculpture of the 1940s and 1950s with the minimalism and land art of the 1960s and 1970s, and acknowledges the important contributions of postwar artists who have been marginalized until now, such as Raoul Hague, Peter Grippe, and Robert Mallary.

Strikingly illustrated throughout, The New Monuments and the End of Man spans the decades from Hiroshima to the Fall of Saigon, when the atomic bomb cast its shadow over American art