Articles by Joe Fusaro

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Esopus Editor, Tod Lippy, Part Two

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Esopus Editor, Tod Lippy, Part Two

This is part two of my interview with Esopus editor, Tod Lippy (click here for part one). In addition to the interview, readers may also want to check out “The …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Esopus Editor, Tod Lippy, Part One

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Esopus Editor, Tod Lippy, Part One

Back in 2004, I was lucky enough to be introduced to Esopus magazine at a silent auction being held during a Mass MoCA fundraiser. Don’t ask me how, but my …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Break in the Action

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Break in the Action

Teaching with Contemporary Art is taking a break this week in order to complete special two-part interview with Esopus editor, Tod Lippy, which will be published here on the Art21 …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

A Little Heads-Up

Teaching with Contemporary Art

A Little Heads-Up

Art classrooms are often noisy places. In college they sometimes make a u-turn and become silent morgues where students wait patiently in cold studios for individual crits, but in general, …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

In the Middle: Art21 Educators

Teaching with Contemporary Art

In the Middle: Art21 Educators

About six months ago, Art21 ventured into the land of summer teacher institutes. We invited 15 teachers from across the country to come to New York City and spend a …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Transcendent: Vija Celmins and Kimsooja

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Transcendent: Vija Celmins and Kimsooja

Recently I was engaged in a little debate about whether contemporary art can truly be transcendent — taking us beyond the range of normal perception to some place else, some …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Wonder-Igniters: An Interview with Abbe Futterman

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Wonder-Igniters: An Interview with Abbe Futterman

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting The Earth School in New York’s East Village and at one point noticed a science classroom through a small window …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Anything Can Happen

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Anything Can Happen

Outside of Tyler Green (Modern Art Notes), I am not sure how many contemporary art-lover hockey fans are out there. There may be more, but down deep I think we’re …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Have Kazoo Will Travel

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Have Kazoo Will Travel

To celebrate the New Year and what are now 90 posts for the Teaching with Contemporary Art column here on the Art21 blog, I popped a bottle of champagne, played …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Bringing it Back Home

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Bringing it Back Home

December, January, May, June…. These are popular months for graduates to visit their former high schools because they are either between semesters at college or finished for the school year …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Season’s Treatings

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Season’s Treatings

Before the holidays hit us, I thought I might suggest a few destinations, dates, and stocking stuffers for those who are as late with the shopping as I am. Below …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Time to Talk

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Time to Talk

Art classrooms are mired in production. Too often the drive to complete work speeds right past the formation of a high quality idea or composition. How often have we ourselves …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Confronting History

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Confronting History

Looking through the interviews and essays featured in Art:21- Art in the Twenty- First Century 5, the companion book to season 5, I keep discovering a ton of words to …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Help Wanted

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Help Wanted

Once in a while teachers are so amazed and proud of the work their students accomplish that they just have to share it, and I’m all about flying in that …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

If the Shoe Fits, Pay For It

Teaching with Contemporary Art

If the Shoe Fits, Pay For It

I taught visual art in New York City for 13 years from 1990-2003. A majority of that time was spent in middle school classrooms and most of us received something …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Same, But Different

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Same, But Different

About a year ago at this time I was getting ready for Art21 to come in and film me teaching about the theme of power with my freshman Studio in …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Test-Driving the New Season 5 Educator’s Guide

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Test-Driving the New Season 5 Educator’s Guide

Yesterday I was talking with a two students who attended a recent preview screening that featured Paul McCarthy in the Transformation episode. The students asked me about why McCarthy’s work …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Another Kick in the Pants

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Another Kick in the Pants

I use Art21 for a kick in the pants from time to time, whether it’s to inspire my teaching by watching Carrie Mae Weems or to give my studio practice …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teamwork

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teamwork

In order to create his art, Season 5 artist Allan McCollum incorporates the time-tested strategy of teamwork. Huge installations and projects that no one person could possibly pull off by …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Shaping a Safe Space

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Shaping a Safe Space

I’ve been lucky enough over the past few years to collaborate and work with some fantastic teachers- both in my home district and around the country. Whenever we get to …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Janine Antoni, Part Two

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Janine Antoni, Part Two

The following is part two of my discussion with Janine Antoni from last week. Be sure to catch her new show at Luhring Augustine Gallery, titled Up Against, through October …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Janine Antoni, Part One

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Talking with Janine Antoni, Part One

To say it was a pleasure to be given the opportunity to interview Janine Antoni for this column is a gross understatement. In 2003, Janine Antoni‘s Season 2 segment was …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Ottawa Without a Passport

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Ottawa Without a Passport

On Monday I had the pleasure of working with 26 teachers from a variety of settings in the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District… located in western Michigan. That’s right, Michigan. …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Word Games

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Word Games

Friends like to pass along quotes because they know I love them. I hang them on my office door, take them to the studio, use them as bookmarks, and read …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

….and the Not-So-Powerful, Part 2

Teaching with Contemporary Art

….and the Not-So-Powerful, Part 2

This week I want to continue sharing a few stories in the Not-So-Powerful series about units that didn’t go well and the things that happened as a result… Years ago …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Where Am I?

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Where Am I?

The beginning of a school year, especially the first days of school, can be beautiful or brutal. I remember as a kid sitting in class after class on the first …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

What Makes Us Human

Teaching with Contemporary Art

What Makes Us Human

I’m addicted to Harper’s Magazine. I started reading it in 1985 as a freshman in college and have somehow managed, through multiple moves and roommates, to keep every single issue …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

….and the Not-So-Powerful (Part One)

Teaching with Contemporary Art

….and the Not-So-Powerful (Part One)

Ever since the blog post Jessica Hamlin wrote a few weeks back regarding my “Teaching About Power” unit I’ve been feeling a little guilty. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve gotten …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Dove and O’Keeffe… Get ‘Em While It’s Hot

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Dove and O’Keeffe… Get ‘Em While It’s Hot

There are many reasons that educators want to visit the Circles of Influence exhibit featuring Arthur Dove and Georgia O’Keeffe at The Clark Art Institute through September 7th, but one …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Dog Days and Banking

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Dog Days and Banking

Last summer, while working at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, I had the good fortune of being blown away by the Marlene Dumas exhibition, Measuring Your Own …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Avoiding Wallpaper

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Avoiding Wallpaper

This week I’d like to breathe a blissful sigh after a quiet vacation AND take on the Flashpoints question for August… Does art expand our ability to imagine? My gut …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Stepping Back….

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Stepping Back….

…. and taking a short vacation after a solid week of work with the Art21 Educators summer institute. Teaching with Contemporary Art will be back with a new column on …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Reflections on the Art21 Educators Institute

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Reflections on the Art21 Educators Institute

I’m sure everyone has had moments of blissful exhaustion- those times when you pushed yourself over a certain period, gotten to the end and said, “That was outstanding…. and I’m …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Contemporary Art in Contemporary Classrooms: Art21 Educators 2009

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Contemporary Art in Contemporary Classrooms: Art21 Educators 2009

Starting today, Art21 is pleased to welcome K-12 teachers from across the country to participate in our first summer institute, Art21 Educators. Jessica Hamlin, Marc Mayer, Joy Lai (our amazing …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Wrestling with the Past: A TwCA 2008-2009 Roundup

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Wrestling with the Past: A TwCA 2008-2009 Roundup

It’s been quite a year. Quite an academic year, that is. Between the country voicing a collective NO to four more years of the same Bushed policies and Bernie Madoff …

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Summer Reading Part 2

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Summer Reading Part 2

Continuing with my column from May 27, I’d like to suggest a few more books related to contemporary art education that you may be inspired to buy, borrow or steal …