Phaidon's 'The Twenty-First Century Art Book' Criticized as Superficial and Ill-Considered

Phaidon published 'The Twenty-First Century Art Book' in 2015, a 304-page volume presenting an alphabetical A-to-Z survey of artists from the early 21st century. The book includes one work per artist, featuring both established figures and emerging talents, with entries limited to about 150 words each. Laurie Anderson and Sophie Calle are among the artists featured, with Calle's 2007 installation 'Take Care of Yourself' noted for involving contributions from 107 women. The selection process lacks transparency, as Phaidon only credits two editors and four authors without explaining criteria. A review in ArtReview Asia's Spring 2015 issue criticizes the book for its mindless consumption of images, random arrangement, and inadequate contextualization, arguing it reduces complex artworks like performances by Marina Abramović to single photographs. Non-Western artists, many from China, are included but not framed as emerging, and the glossary relies on outdated late-20th-century terminology while omitting contemporary terms like 'post-Internet'. The review dismisses the book as lazy, vacuous, and insulting to trees, suggesting it exemplifies a trend of brainless picture books that publishers produce for general audiences assumed to be unintelligent. No specific publication date beyond 2015 is provided, and the book's introduction, by an anonymous author, praises it as a fascinating overview of a prolific period in visual arts since the millennium.