While most artists use skill and imagination to create objects of inspiration, only a mischievous few challenge viewers with a dose of humor in the form of whimsy, wit, irony, parody, satire, or nonsense. In ARTFUL JESTERS, artist and professor Nicholas Roukes provides a historical perspective on the use of humor in art, plus a showcase of 50 highly creative contemporary artists, such as Roy De Forest, Carroll Dunham, and Gladys Nilsson, whose mission is to amuse, entertain, and inform. With more than 180 full-color reproductions, ARTFUL JESTERS exposes the “other side” of art—the seriously lighthearted and often hilariously funny side, sure to refresh your spirits and change the way you think about art.