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Avant-Guardian Musings

  • Spring 2025
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“Art is an outlet toward regions which are not ruled by time and space”
— Marcel Duchamp

Avant-Guardian Musings is a curated space of ideas and information, resources, reviews and readings for undergraduate and graduate students studying modern and contemporary art history and visual art theory, film and photography studies, and the expanding field of visual culture and screen studies. For students currently enrolled in my courses or the field school, the blog and associated social media links also serve as a place of reflection and an extension of the ideas and visual material raised in lecture and seminar discussion.

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Blog
From the Archives | How (And Why) To Take Excellent Lecture Notes
From the Archives | How (And Why) To Take Excellent Lecture Notes
about 10 months ago
Weekly Musings + Round Up... And A Few More Things
Weekly Musings + Round Up... And A Few More Things
about 2 years ago
Weekly Musings + Round Up... And A Few More Things
about 2 years ago
Weekly Musings + Round Up... And A Few More Things
Weekly Musings + Round Up... And A Few More Things
about 2 years ago
Top 10 Modern and Contemporary Art Exhibitions Worth Visiting In 2023
Top 10 Modern and Contemporary Art Exhibitions Worth Visiting In 2023
about 2 years ago

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Delighted to find these iconic Tom Ford Whitney’s deep in my closet over the weekend ✨☀️🕶️Anyone else remember these sunglasses from back in the day? I want to say these are well over 15 years old and they were a very big splurge, but I loved
Delighted to find these iconic Tom Ford Whitney’s deep in my closet over the weekend ✨☀️🕶️Anyone else remember these sunglasses from back in the day? I want to say these are well over 15 years old and they were a very big splurge, but I loved rediscovering and wearing them today. Great design is timeless. Invest in things you love— your future self will thank you✨ . . . #tomford #sunglasses #tomfordwhitney #whatiwore #shamelessselfie
If Seoul was a colour, it would be neon and bright, and if it was a shape, it would be curved and post-structural.
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#artanddesign #odetoacity #urban #seoul #korea #design #contemporaryart #architecture
If Seoul was a colour, it would be neon and bright, and if it was a shape, it would be curved and post-structural. . . . #artanddesign #odetoacity #urban #seoul #korea #design #contemporaryart #architecture
Visited the stunning Leeum Museum of Art today and took in the spatial delights of Korean architecture married to modern art. What I love most is how the familiar European and American “masters” (i.e. Rodin, Giacometti, Rauschenberg, Hess
Visited the stunning Leeum Museum of Art today and took in the spatial delights of Korean architecture married to modern art. What I love most is how the familiar European and American “masters” (i.e. Rodin, Giacometti, Rauschenberg, Hesse, Flavin, Rothko, Andre, Lewitt, Stella, etc…) are curated both in dialogue with Korean modern artists such as Lee Ufan and Kim Chong-yung, but also in juxtaposition to the beautiful natural setting that is showcased through large windows throughout the complex. A must see gallery if you visit Seoul. . . . #seoul #korea #modernart #contemporaryart #koreanart #arthistory
Flaneur for the day in Seoul ✨🇰🇷 A global city of high contrast, beauty, and living history around every corner.
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#seoul #korea #flaneur #daytripping #streetart #contemporaryart #modernart #urbanart #arthistory #urban #globalcity
Flaneur for the day in Seoul ✨🇰🇷 A global city of high contrast, beauty, and living history around every corner. . . . #seoul #korea #flaneur #daytripping #streetart #contemporaryart #modernart #urbanart #arthistory #urban #globalcity
Hello Seoul! 🇰🇷🛬✨안녕하세요 서울 Lucky me, I am incredibly excited to have arrived in South Korea today and staying smack dab in the middle of the stylish Gangnam District at the COEX Conference Centre. It is my first time in this beautiful city and I ca
Hello Seoul! 🇰🇷🛬✨안녕하세요 서울 Lucky me, I am incredibly excited to have arrived in South Korea today and staying smack dab in the middle of the stylish Gangnam District at the COEX Conference Centre. It is my first time in this beautiful city and I cannot wait to begin exploring, especially the contemporary art and design scene. I am here to attend and give a paper at the #IPSA2025 International Political Science Association World Congress, the largest global gathering of researchers and academics working on all things political and international relations oriented. IPSA as an academic association was founded under the auspices of UNESCO in 1949 and is devoted to the advancement of political science in all parts of the world and promotes collaboration between scholars in both established and emerging democracies. The 2025 Conference theme is “Resisting Autocratization in Polarized Societies” and I was invited to present a paper on my ongoing work on Trumpism, the neo avante-garde, and visual culture on a panel examining the role of cultural actors during periods of democratic backsliding. I only had a few hours after I arrived to my hotel to check out COEX, but I had to see the world famous library housed inside the shopping complex. It was a very cool sight for a book nerd like me 🤓 . . . #seoul #korea #southkorea #politicalscience #arthistory #academiclife #conference @kpuarts @kwantlenu

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© Dorothy Barenscott, Avant-Guardian Musings, and dorothybarenscott.com, 2010-2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Dorothy Barenscott, Avant-Guardian Musings, and dorothybarenscott.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Next up on my wishlist of adult colouring books.

Next up on my wishlist of adult colouring books.

Mini Musing: I Got Adult Colouring Books For My Birthday

August 25, 2015

This week marks the end of a very long summer semester and the beginning of my mini summer vacation. I am also celebrating my birthday this week—lots to look forward to! Growing up, I was always glad to have an August birthday—the day was almost always sunny, I was most often on vacation and out of school, and my family and friends were much more relaxed and ready to join in the celebrating. This year I was happy to be reminded of past childhood birthdays when I received a fantastic gift that also happens to be the biggest art trend of 2015—adult colouring books.

Who wouldn't want all of this for their birthday? I am looking forward to some colouring time on my holidays. It will certainly appeal to my neat and organized Virgo nature to stay within the lines.

Who wouldn't want all of this for their birthday? I am looking forward to some colouring time on my holidays. It will certainly appeal to my neat and organized Virgo nature to stay within the lines.

If you haven’t been in a bookstore lately (and you would be forgiven since it seems one is closing every other month around major North American cities), you may have missed out on seeing the tables of glossy and beautifully illustrated, and mostly hand-drawn and artist-made, colouring books promising a chance at a mindful and plugged-in activity. There is something at once nostalgic and of-the-moment about this trend, offering the mind and the imagination a reprieve from the omnipresent screen culture that surrounds us. Its like we all understand that soon there will be a generation of children that don’t remember a world of creativity before the computer. Digging a little deeper into the trend, I found some pretty serious consideration given to the discussion of these books. The New Yorker published an article last month describing the interest in colouring books as being fuelled in part by an interest in play as it “correlates with academic and reproductive success, stress reduction, and innovative performance at work.” Indeed, many of the claims for this activity relate to notions of mindfulness, meditation, happiness, healthy escapism, and even a form of therapy—ideas that have been endorsed by several art therapists as somewhat valid.  Still, for many adults, I suspect the interest also stems from a longing to be artful and creative without judgement—an excuse to pick up art tools and make something creative and pleasing without worrying about labels and pretensions to being an artist. Why does this kind of art-making have to stop once you leave grade school?

Here is a great example of the kinds of illustrated pages you are invited to colour in from Steve McDonald's Fantastic Cities.

Here is a great example of the kinds of illustrated pages you are invited to colour in from Steve McDonald's Fantastic Cities.

The books chosen for me were especially fitting—Zoe De Las Cases’ Secret Paris is filled with pages of street scenes, opulent architecture, and a world of elegant food, design, art, and fashion, while Steve McDonald’s Fantastic Cities offers aerial illustrations of the world’s most interesting cityscapes, many transformed into intricate mandalas that potentially take hours and hours to complete. A quick search of the colouring books available to adults bears out that this trend is only growing and appears to cater to a diverse and dynamic set of tastes and interests. Many of the bestseller lists feature these books and it appears that hundreds of new titles will be on the market for fall. If nothing else, it will introduce many more people to the therapeutic aspects of art making while helping to keep book publishers and line artists in business. Next up on my wishlist—Secret New York and The Color Me Good James Franco Unofficial Coloring Book.

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© Dorothy Barenscott, 2010-2025