ABSTRACT
G. Roger Denson brings singular insight to Thomas McEvilley's writings. As an art writer he has explored similar territory, but from the point of view of a nomadic ideologist. His approach matches that of his subject. He addresses the issues of pragmatism, historicism, and cultural relativism. In so doing, he effectively dismantles the need to establish a master narrative. The contrast and agreement between these two writers constitutes a mapping of the terrain of contemporary culture. What sets Thomas McEvilley apart from other critics in art and culture is his direct knowledge of the newest art and theory, and his comprehensive understanding of classic art and ancient civilizations. It is rare to find a writer equally fluent in the production of modernist aesthetics, the anti-aesthetics of post-modernism, T'ang Dynasty Taoist painting, the doctrines of the Tantra, Platonic mysticism, and Aristotelian logic. This vast knowledge has enabled him to produce some of the best-conceived and eccentric
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part |80 pages
History As Context: Expanding Modernist Form
chapter |23 pages
Heads It's Form, Tails It's Not Content
chapter |43 pages
Seeking the Primal Through Paint: The Monochrome Icon
part |53 pages
The World and Its Difference
chapter |15 pages
History, Quality, Globalism 1
chapter |9 pages
Arrivederci Venice: The Third World Biennials
part |61 pages
The Self and Subjectivity
chapter |16 pages
"I Am," Is a Vain Thought
chapter |22 pages
Penelope's Night Work: Negative Thinking In Greek Philosophy
chapter |17 pages
Empyrrhical Thinking [and why kant can't]
part |23 pages
Reincarnations and Visitations: Modernism and Postmodernism All Over Again