"[A] highly reflective and imaginative history of images in Western art. . . . Pagliawrites with energetic lucidity, and her entries on the "Laocoon" and Donatello's "Mary Magdalene" are standouts in this absorbing volume. Both a valuable cultural critique and an elucidating history, Paglia's latest would suit the general reader, as well as those looking for an alternative approach to contemporary ways of seeing."
--"Publishers Weekly
"
"Critic/provocateur Paglia applies to the visual arts the same close scrutiny she lavished on poetry in "Break, Blow, Burn" (2005). . . . An intelligently detailed examination of 29 works of art, ranging from a tomb painting of Egyptian Queen Nefertari to George Lucas' film "Revenge of the Sith. . . . "The author cogently locates individual pieces within a cultural continuum and eloquently spotlights the artistic qualities that make them unique. . . . Paglia gives a vivid sense of the sweep and scope of art history. The author loves pop art (Warhol's "Marilyn Diptych"), but sections on Eleanor Antin's "100 Boots" and Walter De Maria's "Lightning Field" display a surprising fondness for conceptualism and minimalism as well. African-American artists get their due in essays on John Wesley Hardrick's sensitive portrait, "Xenia Goodloe," and Renee Cox's witty "Chillin' with Liberty." . . . Paglia is a wonderful popularizer of art history and art appreciation."
--"Kirkus Reviews"
"Paglia, an ardent and often controversial defender of the arts and creative freedom, argued for the value of poetry in "Break, Blow, Burn" (2005). She now presents an equally commanding case for reclaiming the visual arts as a necessary and nurturing cultural force in a time of alarmingly diminished support for arts education. Given our 'screen' habit, we are awash in a 'sea of images, ' mostly commercial in origin, that threatens to drown our ability to focus and think critically. The best way to regain our visual acuity, Paglia believe

Camille Paglia is University Professor of Humanities and Media Studies at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. She is the author of "Break, Blow, Burn;" "Sexual Personae;" "Sex, Art, and American Culture;" and "Vamps Tramps." She has also written "The Birds, " a study of Alfred Hitchcock.