New Makers of Modern Culture

The two-volume reference work ‘New Makers of Modern Culture’ is the successor to ‘Makers of Modern Culture’ and ‘Makers of Nineteenth-Century Culture’, published by Routledge in the early 1980s. Invited by the editor Justin Wintle to update four of his original contributions and produce three new ones, Watson has a total of 16 entries included. The reference work includes over 800 essay-style entries and covers the period 1850-2007. It includes entries on artists, writers, dramatists, architects, philosophers, anthropologies, scientists, sociologists, major political figures, composers, film-makers and other culturally significant individuals. The publication takes into full account the rise and fall of reputation and influence over the last 25 years and the epochal changes that have occurred: the demise of Marxism and the collapse of the Soviet Union; the rise and fall of postmodernism; the eruption of Islamic fundamentalism; and the triumph of the Internet.

Watson, in collaboration with the editor, selected the subjects for his contribution, wherever possible choosing those artists and directors working in very different media who confront psychological and emotional issues. The four revised versions, David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg and Robert Rauschenberg were necessary either because the artist in question had died in the meantime or because they had produced a significant body of new work. The new entries include the directors Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Werner Herzog, and the artist Bill Viola. The writing of these entries involved extensive research into the careers of the subjects themselves in order to make sure that all the salient points were covered in a balanced and authoritative way.

The publication provides a multi-voiced witness of the contemporary thinking world. Each entry includes a short bibliography and the publication is thoroughly cross-referenced with an index of names and key terms.