[.ca] Fresh Cream (ISBN 0714839248)

From Amazon.com:
From its plastic pillow packaging to its passages of almost unreadable peach-colored type on white paper, this tall, skinny book is no stranger to the high-concept bias of contemporary art in the '90s. Fresh Cream demonstrates the continuing bull market for extreme depictions of the body, retreads of once subversive strategies, and work heavily informed by advertising imagery. The 100 artists in this second installment of a biennial publication (Cream was the first) were chosen by 10 curators from cities as far-flung as Moscow, London, Bangkok, and New York. Asked to select individuals "who have emerged internationally since about the mid-1990s or have yet to emerge at all," the curators chose such widely known video and installation artists as Doug Aitken, Vanessa Beecroft, Jason Rhoades, and Paul McCarthy, as well as those whose identifies would stump the most dedicated art-journal reader. With so many video, performance, and installation works that beg to be seen in real time and space, this book is a poor substitute for an exhibition. Based on the evidence at hand--a dozen or fewer photographs representing each artist's output and brief descriptions by the curators--the cream only rarely rises to the top. For this reader, the exceptions include Uta Barth's blurry photographic glimpses of what we see when we're focusing on something else; Doris Salcedo's eloquent furniture memorials to the sufferings of her fellow Colombians; Janet Cardiff's unsettling sound pieces; Annika Eriksson's quietly subversive community-participation events; Heri Dono's politically charged versions of traditional Japanese art forms; and witty paintings by Joanne Greenbaum, Laura Owens, and Elizabeth Peyton. --Cathy Curtis

Horrible book Design,:
The best thing about the book, was that it came in the clear plastic floater thingy. For an artbook this is a horrible design, its hard to look at, the pictures are small becuase of the deminsions of the book, it works better as a sculputer or even a life raft then a book, which is ruined once you open it. As for the art it contains, well I guess they call it "cream" because the cream always rises, backed up by the fact that it comes in a bag that will float to the top. Well, judging by the art/artist withing the book, they should have designed it as a target, because its hit and miss. There is some really good and interesting stuff, but far too much endulgent junk,I'm surprised they didn't include that artist that does enema art. It is definately pro new media, instillations, video etc. and that stuff is hard to document adequately for presentation in a book, much less a book as badly designed as this. But maybe that is where this book succeds the most, the design is as kitchy(spelling) as the work it contains, excluding the actually good interesting stuff. This is bad example of the artworld trying to find the "new thing" by displaying artist that are trying to find what I call "the thing", the enema artist, the aids artist, the womens issue artist, the gunpowder artist, the process orientated artist, the elephant dung artist, ya know the kind of artist that focus on the "thing" instead of making great art. Most are in search of their little hook. So the few good artist in the book get overshadowed by all the imature/cliche/insearch of the "thing"/asthetically unaware artist and the horrendous design of the book. If you still buy it, don't open it, just put it on your shelf because it seems cool, which is probably what was intended in the first place and how the artist were selected for inclusion.

fun book, good introduction:
I bought this book at the MoMA in November 2000, because I had the first one, Cream, and I enjoyed that one. In physical dimensions, I think Fresh Cream was an improvement from the horizontally wide and floppy paperback binding of Cream. The packaging itself was an interesting addition, and rather appropriate in the context of what this book presented, but in the manner of not judging a book by its cover, the packaging takes a back seat to the contents. This book, like the first, is a good introduction to one of the edges in modern art, and allowed me to learn more about artists whose work i had seen, and new ones. Concepts are what drive revolution and change in art, and while it isnt possible to include each and every concept behind each and every single work of art ever produced, Fresh Cream did well by providing brief insights into the leading concepts behind the most contemporary work which has been recognized in galleries and shows. I rated this book at a 4, not a 5, since the book is not as readable as I'd like it to be, and could have done without some artists, as well as included some others. Strictly speaking of content, I liked the first one, Cream, better.

Ooh, La La!!:
Rarely does a book's presentation make you squeal before you actually open it, but WOW!!! Don't buy this one used if you can help it! It comes packaged in it's very own blow-up pillow, and unless you know something I don't know, you have to destroy the pretty packaging in order to look inside! The book itself is several years out of date now, but still remains one of my top favorite resources for contemporary visual and performance art. Always filled with unique and exciting imagery from around the globe, the Phaidon Cream series is rich in content, as well as presentation!!

No Thank You:
This book is the acme of the deadend of Modernism. Phaidon is a great press, but why keep publishing books celebrating artists whose commodity is clever ideas? I'd rather see well-crafted images and intriguing subject matter (whether verism, abstraction, or in between) than one more High Concept catalog. It's a beautifully made book, thanks, but no thanks.

CREAMY:
its a great book dont get me wrong, i know from seeing a display copy at a bookstore (remember those?). but how can anyone take it apon themselves to sever the air pack pillow it comes in? rite now its sitting on my bookshelf almost reminiscent of a conceptual little sculpture itself. Phaidon should of figured out a way to reseal the book within the packaging. If not you lose a lot of what you're paying for.