Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-197) and index.

About Art Criticism -- Love and Hate -- Critical Arrogance and Humility -- Difficult Criticism -- Critics and Artists -- Critics and Audiences -- The Diversity of Critics -- Critics and the Art Market -- The History of Art Criticism -- Some Critics Past and Present -- Giorgio Vasari -- Denis Diderot -- Charles Baudelaire -- Clement Greenberg -- Lawrence Alloway -- Hilton Kramer -- Arlene Raven -- Lucy Lippard -- Criticism: A Definition -- Criticizing Criticism (and Critics) -- The Value of Criticism -- Theory and Art Criticism -- Modernity and Postmodernity -- Modernist Aesthetics and Criticism -- Postmodernist Aesthetics and Criticism -- Feminist Aesthetics and Criticism -- Multiculturalist Aesthetics and Criticism -- Queer Theory -- Describing Art -- Subject Matter -- Medium -- Form -- Painting: Leon Golub -- Sculpture: Deborah Butterfield -- Glass: Dale Chihuly -- Performance Art: Laurie Anderson -- Video: Bill Viola -- Installations: Ann Hamilton -- Lively Writing -- Internal and External Sources of Information -- Truthful Descriptions -- Interpreting Art -- Interpreting the Photographs of William Wegman -- Interpreting the Work of Jenny Holzer -- Interpreting the Paintings of Elizabeth Murray -- Principles of Interpretation -- Judging Art -- Judging Frida Kahlo's Paintings -- Peter Plagens -- Hayden Herrera -- Other Critics and Kahlo -- Judging Martin Puryear's Sculptures -- Judging Romare Bearden's Collages -- Examples of Negative Judgments -- Opposite Judgments of the Same Work -- Appraisals, Reasons, and Criteria -- Traditional Criteria -- Realism -- Expressionism -- Formalism -- Instrumentalism -- Other Criteria -- Choosing Among Criteria -- Judging Art: A Summary -- Writing and Talking About Art -- Writing Art Criticism -- Choosing What to Write About -- Describing -- Interpreting -- Judging -- Considering Assumptions -- Technicalities and Procedures of Writing -- Selecting a Style Manual -- Determining Word Count -- Identifying Your Audience -- Taking Notes -- Avoiding Plagiarism -- Making an Outline -- Writing -- Rewriting -- Common Errors and Writing Recommendations -- Editing -- Adhering to Deadlines -- Using a Word Processor -- Examples of Students' Writing -- Talking About Works of Art -- Casual Conversation About Art -- Organized Talk About Art -- Criticizing Works in the Public Domain.

For both art students and enthusiasts, this primer offers strategies for viewing and deciphering modern art. It also provides definitions of contemporary art forms, discusses principles of art criticism, and encourages readers to develop their own critical positions.