ARTF 102: Intro to Art & Design

From the early years of the American Republic to the present, art and architecture have consistently aroused major disputes among artists, critics, scholars, politicians, and ordinary citizens. Michael Kammen examines the nature, diversity, and persistence of major disputes generated by art and artists and shows what has changed since the 1830s and why. He looks at the role of artists and patrons, local and national governments, conservatives and liberals, and the media in creating and sustaining heated controversies. We see the notable acceleration of such episodes since the 1960s; the effect of the democratization of American museums; the quest for provocative shows to attract crowds; the increased visibility resulting from the public art movement that has stirred anger and created some of our stormiest battles; the desire of many artists and galleries to shock, provoke, and contest, engendering the perplexity, if not outright hostility, of audiences; the use of art as social criticism; the effort to include and appeal to minorities; the threat of litigation and the role of courts; and the commercialization stemming from dependence on corporate sponsorship. Kammen's central themes include such questions as, What kind of art is most appropriate for a democratic society? What should our relationship be to Old World criteria of excellence in the arts? How can we achieve a distinctively American art? Why have so many controversies hinged upon issues of nudity, decency, and sexuality? Why has public art (most notably sculpture) become so politicized that began in the late 1960s? He explores the "death-of-art" debate since the 1970s and issues of censorship that have arisen over time. Finally, he asks whether art controversies have invariably had a negative effect, noticing the interesting ways in which minds have been changed and museums have overcome difficult episodes. He also reminds us that when New York's Museum of Modern Art celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary, President Dwight Eisenhower declared "as long as artists are at liberty to feel with high personal intensity, as long as our artists are free to create with sincerity and conviction, there will be healthy controversy and progress in art.".

An anthology of writings on critical issues in public art, as well as an analysis of the historical developments in public art in America. The book contains 20 essays, focusing on the history of and the important issues in public art. There is material on monuments, architecture and patronage.

In the late 1990s Angels in America, Tony Kushner's epic play about homosexuality and AIDS in the Reagan era, toured the country, inspiring protests in a handful of cities while others received it warmly. Why do people fight over some works of art but not others? Not Here, Not Now, Not That! examines a wide range of controversies over films, books, paintings, sculptures, clothing, music, and television in dozens of cities across the country to find out what turns personal offense into public protest. Tepper discovers is that these protests are always deeply rooted in local concerns. Furthermore, they are essential to the process of working out our differences in a civil society. To explore the local nature of public protests in detail, Tepper analyzes cases in seventy-one cities, including an in-depth look at Atlanta in the late 1990s, finding that debates there over memorials, public artworks, books, and parades served as a way for Atlantans to develop a vision of the future at a time of rapid growth and change. Eschewing simplistic narratives that reduce public protests to political maneuvering, Not Here, Not Now, Not That! at last provides the social context necessary to fully understand this fascinating phenomenon.

What is the fate of art in an age of publicity? How has the role of traditional public (i.e., government-owned) art changed in contemporary culture, and how have changing conditions of public space and mass communications altered the whole relationship between art and its potential audiences? With contributions from the arts, philosophy, criticism, and the law, the thirteen essays in this volume explore the aesthetic, social, and political dynamics that make contemporary public art so controversial, and that that have placed recent art work at the center of public debates.

Museums have become ground zero in America's culture wars. Whereas fierce public debates once centered on provocative work by upstart artists, the scrutiny has now expanded to mainstream cultural institutions and the ideas they present. Here are examined some of the most controversial works of the 1990s. These include shows about ethnicity, slavery, Freud, the Old West, and the dropping of the atomic bomb by the Enola Gay.

Contains some thoughtful essays relating to fine art funding such as: "Friends of..." : Individual patronage through arts institutions; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs : art as municipal service; Impolitic art and uncivil actions : controversies in the public sphere; and Politicization of peer-review panels at the NEA.

Here are statements both in support of and opposed to the unrestricted funding of the National Endowment for the Arts, and discusses some of the artworks which created the controversy concerning public funding for the arts.

In their articles -- written expressly for this volume, and spanning the disciplines of law, cultural studies, public policy, and art -- the contributors consider issues at the center of arts policy. They propose various legal strategies, curatorial practices, and standards of doing business intended to serve the public interest in the arts.

Spanning the Renaissance to the 21st century, this riveting collection of scandalous works shows how the notion of "shocking" art has evolved and explores why and how artists continue to push the public's visual buttons. This fascinating volume presents dozens of paintings, prints, photographs, and installations that horrified audiences when they were created. Each example is presented with color reproductions and an insightful text exploring the artist's intentions and the piece's historical context. Most of these works no longer have the power to shock us, but a number of them still do. Together they offer a thought-provoking exploration of the artist's duty to instigate, inspire, and move audiences toward new ways of thinking.