Issues

Colored Time

by American Artist | Dec 4, 2019

Colored Time

by American Artist | Dec 4, 2019

American Artist discusses science fiction in the context of contemporary art and the concept of “Colored Time.”

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Extending Beyond Craftsmanship, into Inquiry and Exploration

by Dana Helwick | Dec 4, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Extending Beyond Craftsmanship, into Inquiry and Exploration

by Dana Helwick | Dec 4, 2019

Dana Joy Helwick explains how, and why, she uses contemporary artists as role models in her classroom.

Horror, Contemporary Art, and Film: In Conversation with Dan Herschlein and Chad Laird

by Art21 | Dec 4, 2019

Horror, Contemporary Art, and Film: In Conversation with Dan Herschlein and Chad Laird

by Art21 | Dec 4, 2019

New York Close Up artist Dan Herschlein, and professor, Chad Laird, discuss the intersection of contemporary art, film and horror.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Action Verbs

by Marie Elcin | Oct 29, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Action Verbs

by Marie Elcin | Oct 29, 2019

Art21 Educator, Marie Elcin, discusses her use of “action verbs” inside of the classroom, inspired by Richard Serra’s Verb List (1967-68).

Mel Chin’s Fundred Project Takes the Next Step

by Art21 | Oct 23, 2019

Mel Chin’s Fundred Project Takes the Next Step

by Art21 | Oct 23, 2019

Mel Chin discusses the evolution of the Fundred Project, an art initiative that has expanded nationwide to end lead poisoning. Along with the director of the program, Amanda Wiles, Chin explains what the project has accomplished, next steps, and provides some sage advice to artists inspired to engage with social and environmental issues.

Reading at the Edge of the World: The Horizon Toward Which We Move (Part II)

by PJ Gubatina Policarpio and Jerome Reyes | Oct 9, 2019

Reading at the Edge of the World: The Horizon Toward Which We Move (Part II)

by PJ Gubatina Policarpio and Jerome Reyes | Oct 9, 2019

A conversation between curator and educator, PJ Gubatina Policarpio, and educator and artist Jerome Reyes. The second installment of a two-part interview, Reyes discusses his artistic practice and inspiration.

Reading at the Edge of the World: The Horizon Toward Which We Move (Part I)

by PJ Gubatina Policarpio and Jerome Reyes | Oct 4, 2019

Reading at the Edge of the World: The Horizon Toward Which We Move (Part I)

by PJ Gubatina Policarpio and Jerome Reyes | Oct 4, 2019

A conversation between curator and educator, PJ Gubatina Policarpio, and educator and artist Jerome Reyes. The first installment of a two-part interview, Policarpio discusses the curatorial mission behind the exhibition Solidarity Struggle Victory, which also features Reyes.

The Intrinsic Openness of the Hive Mind

by Avram Finkelstein | Sep 12, 2019

The Intrinsic Openness of the Hive Mind

by Avram Finkelstein | Sep 12, 2019

Writer, artist and activist Avram Finkelstein reflects on the Science=Death movement, image commons, and the strength of the collective voice.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Creating a Platform for New Voices

by Marie Elcin | Sep 12, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Creating a Platform for New Voices

by Marie Elcin | Sep 12, 2019

Art21 Educator, Marie Elcin, describes the impact of the social practice artworks and being inspired by the work of Mel Chin.

Francis Alÿs: A Moment of Collective Complicity

by Art21 | Sep 12, 2019

Francis Alÿs: A Moment of Collective Complicity

by Art21 | Sep 12, 2019

Francis Alÿs discusses the unexpected circumstances during the production of his collaborative film Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River (2008).

The Tactile Technological Touch of Jacolby Satterwhite

by Rahel Aima | Aug 23, 2019

The Tactile Technological Touch of Jacolby Satterwhite

by Rahel Aima | Aug 23, 2019

Jacolby Satterwhite explains to Rahel Aima the freedom he found in new media, how his sources inspiration from his mother, and insight into his forthcoming album.

Demons and Deities: Martine Gutierrez’s Indigenous Inspired Iconography

by Barbara Calderón | Aug 1, 2019

Demons and Deities: Martine Gutierrez’s Indigenous Inspired Iconography

by Barbara Calderón | Aug 1, 2019

Barbara Calderón analyzes the themes of Indigenous Woman, an art magazine produced by multimedia artist Martine Gutierrez.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Cultivating Collections

by Maureen Hergott | Jul 3, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Cultivating Collections

by Maureen Hergott | Jul 3, 2019

Choice-based Art21 Educator, Maureen Hergott explains how she uses collections in the classroom to inspire creativity in her students.

Think Through Your Body

by Simon Wu | Jun 26, 2019

Think Through Your Body

by Simon Wu | Jun 26, 2019

Curator Simon Wu parallels the Jes Fan sculpture, Systems III (2018), to an essay, a poem and a song.

Elle Pérez’s Search for Intensity

by Larissa Pham | Jun 10, 2019

Elle Pérez’s Search for Intensity

by Larissa Pham | Jun 10, 2019

Larissa Pham discusses the themes of performance behind the profound photographs by Elle Pérez. Often mistaken as documentary, Pérez’s work is carefully composed, and a collaborative effort between their subjects, many of whom are peers.

Pictorial SpaceX

by Caitlin Cherry | May 30, 2019

Pictorial SpaceX

by Caitlin Cherry | May 30, 2019

Visual artist Caitlin Cherry connects her work to Donna Haraway’s 1985 essay, Cyborg Manifesto.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Harnessing the Penchant for Play

by Maureen Hergott | May 30, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Harnessing the Penchant for Play

by Maureen Hergott | May 30, 2019

Art21 Educator, Maureen Hergott, shares a lesson designed to inspire students to engage their imagination and construct artworks inspired by the human form.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Fueled by the Classroom: Being an Artist and Educator

by Joe Fusaro | May 30, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Fueled by the Classroom: Being an Artist and Educator

by Joe Fusaro | May 30, 2019

Art21’s senior education advisor, Joe Fusaro, shares how he makes meaningful connections between his art practice and being an arts educator.

A Tangible History of the American South

by Allison Janae Hamilton | May 9, 2019

A Tangible History of the American South

by Allison Janae Hamilton | May 9, 2019

Landscape has always been a foundational lens through which I interpret the world around me. As a product of the American South, I understood how landscape underscored my everyday experience and learned how natural materials hold a tangible history of lineage, labor, and land. My work reflects the role of landscape in the creation of Americana and how the natural environment is the central protagonist, not a backdrop, of everyday life.

In Conversation: Kevin Beasley and Mark Bradford

by Art21 | Apr 27, 2019

In Conversation: Kevin Beasley and Mark Bradford

by Art21 | Apr 27, 2019

An artist-to-artist conversation between Kevin Beasley and Mark Bradford, providing insight into two great creative minds at different stages of their careers. Originally published in the book Kevin Beasley, in tandem with Beasley’s first major museum exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) Boston.

Dancing between Spectacular and Ordinary

by Paul Weinberg | Apr 15, 2019

Dancing between Spectacular and Ordinary

by Paul Weinberg | Apr 15, 2019

Photographer Paul Weinberg recounts his career in documenting apartheid in South Africa, as a founding member of the Afrapix collective and alongside David Goldblatt.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

To Evoke Emotion

by Dennis Greenwell | Apr 9, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

To Evoke Emotion

by Dennis Greenwell | Apr 9, 2019

Art21 Educator Dennis Greenwell shares an exercise that encouraged students to explore and embrace emotional reactions to artwork.

Slaughter

by Courtenay Finn | Apr 3, 2019

Slaughter

by Courtenay Finn | Apr 3, 2019

For an art form so daring, defiant, and overwhelmingly public as graffiti, it is too often dismissed, ignored, and (in some cases) made invisible, disappearing into the barrage of visual information around it. Encompassing everything from large-than-life paintings to train tags or the scratching of one’s moniker into an air-conditioner grill, graffiti both animates and disrupts our landscape. This way of working was at the heart of Margaret Kilgallen’s practice.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Landscape and Inquiry

by Dennis Greenwell | Mar 20, 2019

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Landscape and Inquiry

by Dennis Greenwell | Mar 20, 2019

Art21 Educator Dennis Greenwell screened the “Extended Play” film “Julie Mehretu: Politicized Landscapes” and shares the inspiring classroom discussion and activity that ensued as a result.

Black Mentifact

by Tiona Nekkia McClodden | Mar 20, 2019

Black Mentifact

by Tiona Nekkia McClodden | Mar 20, 2019

Artist and curator Tiona Nekkia McClodden discusses how visiting exhibitions by artists Beverly Buchanan and Kevin Beasley sparked a sense of nostalgia and describes how her curatorial practice is rooted in ancestral legacy.

Family Business

by Lucia Hierro | Dec 21, 2018

Family Business

by Lucia Hierro | Dec 21, 2018

Lucia Hierro recites her path to becoming an artist. From investigating the cultural histories not available in art history to vindicating a career in the fine arts to her family, Hierro explains how she came to bring Caribbean iconography into the forefront in her work.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Agency in the Classroom: Who Makes the Decisions?

by Alisa Rodny | Nov 28, 2018

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Agency in the Classroom: Who Makes the Decisions?

by Alisa Rodny | Nov 28, 2018

Art21 Educator Alisa Rodny explains how she encourages students to take agency in their art-making and shares the story of two students who used artistic voice to express their stories of immigration to the United States.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Making Important Choices

by Joe Fusaro | Nov 13, 2018

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Making Important Choices

by Joe Fusaro | Nov 13, 2018

Educator Joe Fusaro illustrates how contemporary art and artists can have a local and global effect through the lens of works by Creative Growth Art Center, Olafur Elliason and Robin Rhode.

Waiting To See What I Would Become

by Art21 | Nov 5, 2018

Waiting To See What I Would Become

by Art21 | Nov 5, 2018

William Kentridge discusses how his family history in politics and previous employment in the film industry influenced his animations, in an interview originally published in the Art21 book, Being an Artist.

Biography is Complicated

by Catherine Morris | Oct 30, 2018

Biography is Complicated

by Catherine Morris | Oct 30, 2018

Curator Catherine Morris surveys the career of Judith Scott, a celebrated Creative Growth Art Center artist with developmental disabilities.

The Issue Of Perspective

by Lerato Dumse | Oct 17, 2018

The Issue Of Perspective

by Lerato Dumse | Oct 17, 2018

Journalist and director, Lerato Dumse, explains the significance and need for a Black lesbian perspective in media.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching as a Collaborator

by Alisa Rodny | Oct 17, 2018

Teaching with Contemporary Art

Teaching as a Collaborator

by Alisa Rodny | Oct 17, 2018

Art21 Educator Alisa Rodny shares an assignment she developed where students partner with an artist from the Art21 archive to collaborate with and using their own style as a model.

Letter from the Editor

How to Choose

by Tina Kukielski | Oct 17, 2018

Letter from the Editor

How to Choose

by Tina Kukielski | Oct 17, 2018

Art 21 Executive Director, Tina Kukielski introduces the Fall 2018 Issue, “Choice” and the release of Art21’s newest publication, “Being an Artist,” which features previously unpublished interviews across the three video series, and 18-year tenure in letting artists share their experience and process in their own words.

Whose Speech? Artists, Activists, & Being Heard: A Conversation Between Stephanie Syjuco & Astria Suparak

by Astria Suparak and Stephanie Syjuco | Sep 19, 2018

Whose Speech? Artists, Activists, & Being Heard: A Conversation Between Stephanie Syjuco & Astria Suparak

by Astria Suparak and Stephanie Syjuco | Sep 19, 2018

In this special extended interview, artist Stephanie Syjuco and curator Astria Suparak discuss the role of speech and protest in contemporary art and how working as women of color affects their ability to be heard.

Another Country

by Heather Hart and Jina Valentine | Sep 14, 2018

Another Country

by Heather Hart and Jina Valentine | Sep 14, 2018

Thirteen summers since the original convening of the Black Lunch Table (BLT), the project’s founders Heather Hart and Jina Valentine reconvene many of the original participants to discuss the project’s history and evolution and consider its future trajectory.

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Power of Words

by Jeannine Bardo | Sep 7, 2018

Teaching with Contemporary Art

The Power of Words

by Jeannine Bardo | Sep 7, 2018

Educator-in-Residence Jeannine Bardo shares her unit plan on language, in which students investigate the power of text through art.