Explores why Fluxus' ambiguous affirmations and denials of modernism are not contradictory but part of a self-conscious strategy designed to manipulate the operational apparatus of modernism. Suggests that, in its separation of means and ends, Fluxus lost the authority to author itself, became the subject of a traditional modernist debate and the…

Presents a conversation that ranges from discussion of the overt questioning of understanding, meaning, and the validity of the art situation to the conscious, recurrent renewal of "crisis" as a catalyst for the arts. (RS)

In this article, we explore changing definitions of kitsch and simultaneously examine the relevance of kitsch to contemporary society. Using a number of examples, including a focus on kitsch related to September 11, 2001, we explore the current popularity of kitsch in society. We analyze the growth and influence of kitsch in everyday life and in…

Ideas are starting points-for thought, discussion, reading, viewing, writing, and making. The two "brainstorms on paper" presented in this article illustrate how taking an idea and examining it from an artistic point of view can generate thematic starting points to help teachers and students connect the visual arts to ideas that ripple across the…

Last year these authors addressed an issue in these pages that echoed Linda Nochlin 's (1971) haunting question, "Why have there been no great women artists?" (Clark, Folgo, & Pichette, 2005). That essay examined the question, "Have there now been any great women artists?" through a study of art history textbooks primarily written for college…

Each year more than 300 applicants vie for 18 slots at the Central Institute of Restoration, the program responsible for the restoration of many of Italy's greatest works of art, and the training of experts in the repair of objects of artistic and/or cultural significance. Successful candidates must demonstrate knowledge of art history, chemistry,…

Examines the "picture study" movement which began in the late 1800s and faded during the 1920s. Focuses especially on the work of Oscar Neal, a leading picture study advocate. Attempts to show how the aesthetic theory, beliefs about art, social assumptions, educational limitations, educational beliefs, and technology of the time interacted to make…

This paper considers the artistic and literary movement called "Postmodernism." Noting that postmodernism is intellectually grounded in the premise that its discourse must expose positions of privilege and power relations in society, the paper asks of art education, How much has the postmodern condition, a thesis of cultural relativism…

However innovative Cezanne's pictorial structure may appear to those with a preconceived notion of what a representation of reality ought to be, his art is not a simple continuation of previous movements, nor is it a revolutionary reversal that leads directly to cubism and abstract art. (Author/SJL)

Discipline-Based Art Education, introduced by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts in Los Angeles, California, advocates a curriculum based not just on studio experiences (or art production), but also on art history, art criticism, and aesthetics. Problems associated with making art education more academic (or legitimate) are discussed.…

Discusses problems of matching personal names in information systems and factors influencing design of personal name matching algorithms. Several examples of name matching systems in the fields of art history, bibliography, commerce, genealogy, and law enforcement used for the purposes of authority control, information retrieval, and duplicate…

Traces George Maciunas' interest in cinema beginning with his work for "Film Culture" magazine in 1955, his methods of producing/making films, his relationship to the main film avant-garde of the sixties and his ideas of cinema. (RS)

Discusses the development of Fluxus as a community of individuals who responded to complex interactions among themselves, yet who struggled against the codification of their activities into "artistic cohesion." Refutes myths of periods of ideological unity. Provides an overview of consensus among scholars, curators, and critics…

Analyzes the position of Theodor Adorno in regards to the surrealist movement, finding that Adorno emphasizes that this vanguard movement should be seen in a broader concept of art within a historically contextualized society administered and directed by the market. Calls for rejection of irrational interpretations. (BT)

Disscusses the history of Theo van Doesburg's painting Arithmetic Composition 1. Relates the work to that of Mondrian and Malevich. (MM)