Art Criticism Between and Around the Coasts
November 4, 2019
AICA-USA is pleased to present Art Criticism Between and Around the Coasts, a panel discussion featuring AICA-USA members from around the country. Organized as part of the College Art Association Annual Conference, the discussion will take place Saturday, February 15, 2020 from 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM at the Hilton Chicago, Salon C-3.
Susan Platt
Co-Chair
Jean Bundy
Presenter, Climate Change Alert through Arctic Aesthetics
Mahsa Farhadikia
Presenter, Art Criticism, Inclusiveness and the Problem of “Othering”
Alexandra Karl
Presenter, The State of Criticism in the Mormon West
Elliot J. Reichert
Presenter, On the Necessity of Comprehensive and Diverse Art Criticism in the Midwest
The democratization of culture, facilitated by broader access to the internet in rural areas and the proliferation of digital networking and social platforms, has greatly shifted the visual arts landscape. While regional styles of art making remain important, increased connectivity has produced the effect of flattened or more generic aesthetics, creating a more formulaic approach to criticism in some cases. An artist may not live in New York City—the center of the art world and market in the U.S.—but still feel compelled to create work that appeals to those sensibilities to receive critical reception and career opportunities.
This panel intends to call attention to the ways that critics can expand perceptions of contemporary art through coverage of artists whose artwork and practice function or resonate differently outside of New York, which for many artists and critics alike is synonymous with the market context. For example, there is a flourishing contemporary Native Art scene in the Northwest that explodes canonical aesthetics and media and addresses common issues that we all share, such as climate change, in new ways.
Topics also can include the ways geography, culture, and politics in various contexts influence an artwork’s reception and interpretation and how those factors may benefit an artist participating in the market context or be a detriment.