If it's not an oxymoron to describe something as both distinguished and cutting edge, that's the perfect description for Rotterdam's Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art. This illustrated softcover book brings together a series of essays on contemporary art based on the center's high-octane Cornerstones lecture series. At each of the monthly lectures, one leading art historian focuses on one artist who is foundational to contemporary art. Among this volume's treasures are Donald Kuspit on Louise Bourgeois, Helmut Friedel on Gerhard Richter, Vanessa Joan Muller on John Baldessari and Douglas Crimp on Gordon Matta-Clark. These essays share the fascination that each of the authors has with the work of an artist and how this work functions in relation to larger contexts and broader ideas.