Revealing Art

Illustrated with carefully chosen color and black-and-white plates of examples from Michelangelo to Matisse and Poussin to Jackson Pollock, 'Revealing art' explores some questions we can ask about art. Matthew Kieran asks how art inspires us and disgusts us and whether artistic judgment is simply a matter of taste, and if art can be immoral or obscene, should it be censored? He brings such abstract issues to life with fascinating discussions of individual paintings, photographs and sculptures, such as Michelangelo's Pietà, Andres Serrano's Piss Christ and Jackson Pollock's Summertime. He also suggests some answers to problems that any one in an art gallery or museum is likely to ask themselves; what is a beautiful work of art, and can art really reveal something true about our own nature?