[.ca] World As Sculpture (ISBN 0712664424)

A Dazzling Panorama:
I should say first of all that this book is not out of print. In fact, the paperback edition was published at the beginning of this year (2000). It is a fasinating read, not only for those interested in sculpture, but for anyone with an interest in the changing nature of modern art. It falls in two halves. The first examines the subordination of sculpture to painting in aesthetic theory and cultural representation from the Renaissance to the 19th century. The second is a truly original and eye-opening survey of the reversal of this hierarchy in the twentieth century, with a fundamental change in the Western sensorium as its basis. It takes in everything from the promotion of touch in Montessori schools to the valorisation of mobility in the urban environment. It is both erudite and entertaining - a tour de force.