FluxusNine

Atkins, Robert. “Keith Haring.” Art in America 97.4 (n.d.): 43-47. Arts and Humanities Citation Index. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

 

This article by Robert Atkins explores the strange life and untimely death of artist Keith Haring. Haring contributed many public works to the city of New York, including those surrounding the subject matter of gay rights and AIDS. His fame is deeply intertwined with his creation of works exhibiting both public and personal struggles. One of the most unusual phenomenons is Haring’s exponential explosion of popularity after his death, which Atkins explores.

 

Barkun, Deborah. "The Artist as a Work-in-Progress: General Idea and the Construction of Collective Identity." Forum For Modern Language Studies 48.4 (2012): 453-67. Arts & Humanities Citation Index, EBSCOhost. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

 

This article discusses how the group of artists known as General Idea collaborated seamlessly. Throughout art history we see artists presented as “exceptional individuals,” but this group presents a case in which three artists presented their work as one entity without issues of jealously or greed in regards to acknowledgement. The author focuses on the collective identity of the group, and how it was formed to be so seamless, and to seemingly represent the entire group’s ideals. The article talks about how the group originally formed an alter ego like persona they referred to as “The General” which eventually evolved into their collective name. Although the group still struggled with the issue of identity in their early phases, they did not break down when tested by the greater art world. The only reason for the groups eventual parting in 1994 was that the AIDS virus had claimed two of its three members.

 

Cohen, Joan Lebold. “Art and Politics in China and Tiwan” Ai Weiwei and Wu Tien-Chang.” Modern China Studies 19.2 (2011): 83-99. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2015

 

In her article, Cohen explores the political content in the works of Ai Weiwei and Wu Tien Chang. Ai Weiwei’s work surrounds not only historical and cultural Chinese politics, but contemporary themes as well. Ai Weiwei insist that is the responsibility of individuals and artists to “speak out against governmental transgressions,” a theme that is explored in his work.

 

Diawara, Manthia. “Make it Funky: the Art of David Hammons.” Artforum International 36.9 (1998): 120-7. Academic ASAP. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

           

This article comments on the eccentric nature of David Hammons as an artist, citing this as the reason the art world has mixed emotions toward him. The author recalls an interaction the two had, in which Hammons previewed one of his works to the author. After this preview Hammons talked about how he felt that young black artists in the visual arts did not have the confidence of those young black artists associated with jazz music. “For him, black artistic confidence means a willingness to transform blackness into a higher level of abstraction, to push it into silence, until the silence becomes as loud as the metallic bucket rolling across the concrete.” Many of Hammons works comment on black culture and society, often trying to push black youth toward a better future through his widely accessible art.

 

Ellsworth, Kirstin L.. “Africobra and the Negotiation of Visual Afrocentrisms”. Civilisations 58.1 (2009): 21–38. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

 

Kirstin Ellsworth explores the motivations of the AfriCOBRA collective, with quotes from many of the artists involved. The article examines the development of Afrocentric tendencies within AfriCOBRA and which lead to the development of the Afrocentric ethos of the last three decades of the 20th century.

 

Hughes, Gordon. "Power's Script: Or, Jenny Holzer's Art after 'Art after Philosophy'" Oxford Art Journal 29.3 (2006): 421-40. JSTOR. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

 

This article examines the importance of text and context in Jenny Holzer’s work.  The article focuses mainly on Holzer’s early works, most notably her “Truisms” series produced from 1977-1979.  Hughes considers the importance of site specificity in her works and argues against other critics who have called Holzer’s works contradictory.  The article also looks at Holzer’s education and influences, discussing her early interest in diagrams which strip down ideas into clear, comprehensible, and orderly systems that show the truth.  These diagrams, and most notably their captions, had a significant impact on Holzer’s work.  Holzer eventually become more interested in the captions saying, “The captions told you everything in a clean, pure way.  This was the beginning-or one of the beginnings- of my writing.”  Hughes examines many of the “Truisms” and the multiple ways they could be interpreted, noting that the statements themselves are neutral and that the context or audience gives them meaning. 

 

Lacy, Suzanne. Mapping the Terrain: New Genre Public Art. Seattle: Bay, 1995. Print.

 

This book attributes, in great part, the formation of the Protest Art movement, to Feminism, in combination with other political movements at the time. She also mentions how mediums combined and evolved through this practice. She also promotes the notion of art as socially responsive and responsible.

 

Phillips, Patricia C. "The Aesthetics of Witnessing: A Conversation with Alfredo Jaar." Art Journal 64.3 (2005): 6-27. JSTOR. Web. 19 Nov. 2015.

 

This article features an interview between Patricia C. Phillips and artist Alfredo Jaar.  The two discuss many of Jaar’s works, starting with his most recent work at the time, a film project on Angola.  Jaar’s creative process and background are examined, including his love of reading multiple newspapers in the morning and his education and experiences in theater, music, and architecture.  Jaar’s works always start with reading and research that eventually leads him to go to a place and experience and witness a situation for himself.  He describes his works as exercises and failures of his ability to represent a situation accurately and in a way that makes sense.  Also discussed are the ethical challenges of his works and his thoughts on how to make an audience truly see and pay attention to his work. 

 

Pohl, Frances K., and Judith F. Baca. “"The World Wall: A Vision of the Future Without Fear," an Interview with Judith F. Baca”. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 11.1 (1990): 33–43. Web. 21 Nov. 2015.

 

While the majority of this article focuses on Judith Baca’s World Wall, there are references throughout to the Great Wall of Los Angeles. Baca aimed to present an alternative narrative of Californian history, which included people of color and women.

 

Reed, Thomas Vernon. "The Art Of Protest: Culture And Activism From The Civil Rights Movement To The Streets Of Seattle." Google Books. U of Minnesota Press, 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 20 Nov. 2015.

 

In this book, Vernon explores the cultural expressions and forms that have helped shape the United States. The author also describes the social movements that led to protest art and their importance to the American Culture and the creation of Public Art. He traces the  art movement from its inception, around the times of the Civil Rights Movement, to today, and how it continues to mold and influence our society.