Doubt

<p>In an age where art history’s questions are now expected to receive answers Richard Shiff presents a challenging alternative. In this essential new addition to James Elkins’s series <em>Theories of Modernism and Postmodernism in the Visual Arts</em> Richard Shiff embraces doubt as a critical tool and asks how particular histories of art have come to be. </p><p>Shiff’s turn to doubt is not a retreat to relativism but rather an insistence on clear thinking about art. In particular Shiff takes issue with the style of self-referential art writing seemingly 'licensed' by Roland Barthes. With an introduction by Rosie Bennett <em>Doubt</em> is a study of the tension between practicing art and practicing criticism.</p>