Better than a coffee table book(but works for that too), ARTODAY contains several features that make it desirable. The first of these being nice large clear examples - pictures. The representations of work are varied and important, the "who's who" and "must know" of the art world from 1960 on. Secondly, the writings on the work are, like the pictures, clear and to the point; expressing the concept and/or contexts of the artists or works susinctly. Finally, the artist/works/concepts have been organized into 18 catagories from "Land Art, Light and Space, Body Art" and "The Survival of Abstraction" to "The Far East". This ordering tends to contain the great variety of works by themes thus making very clear developments and interests of contemporary artists. Having clear images, text, and catagories together in this way make for a table book that is actually interesting to look at and read.
This would be a very good book for those who are interested in a general overview of contemporary art, but don't have time or resources to go in depth. For example, I personally am considering this to be one of several texts for a upper level studio art class; believing the students lacking art history credits will greatly benefit from its overview. While I feel some important artists were overlooked and it is heavily "western" it does a significantly better job than most books of its kind.
