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Avant-Guardian Musings

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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
"No Fun City" Vancouver: Exploring Emotions of Detachment in Palermo, Sicily at AISU
"No Fun City" Vancouver: Exploring Emotions of Detachment in Palermo, Sicily at AISU
about a month ago
Making Sense of Art in the Age of Machine Learning—A Suggested Reading List
Making Sense of Art in the Age of Machine Learning—A Suggested Reading List
about a month ago
From the Archives | How (And Why) To Take Excellent Lecture Notes
From the Archives | How (And Why) To Take Excellent Lecture Notes
about a year 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

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Classic lines and navy blues feed my sartorial soul 💙✨
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#dopaminedressing #whatiwore #ootd #arthistorianlife #citizensofhumanity #ralphlauren  #celine
Classic lines and navy blues feed my sartorial soul 💙✨ . . . #dopaminedressing #whatiwore #ootd #arthistorianlife #citizensofhumanity #ralphlauren #celine
Perfect Vancouver day!👌🏻🍃🌊✨Autumn rides are my favourite as we take advantage of every opportunity to get out there on the Aprilias ahead of the rain and coming cold.
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#motorcycle #motorcycleofinstagram #sportbike #sportbikelife #apriliatuon
Perfect Vancouver day!👌🏻🍃🌊✨Autumn rides are my favourite as we take advantage of every opportunity to get out there on the Aprilias ahead of the rain and coming cold. . . . #motorcycle #motorcycleofinstagram #sportbike #sportbikelife #apriliatuono #apriliatuonofactory #motogirl #motogirls #vancouver
Returning home from Palermo, Sicity this week, I have been reflecting on the research I presented at a roundtable discussion at the AISU (L’Associazione promuove e diffonde lo studio della storia urbana) biennial congress centered on “The
Returning home from Palermo, Sicity this week, I have been reflecting on the research I presented at a roundtable discussion at the AISU (L’Associazione promuove e diffonde lo studio della storia urbana) biennial congress centered on “The Crossroad City.” My contribution to the presentation focused on Vancouver and my exploration of the “No Fun City” label that has emerged over the past decade or more in local discourse and popular culture. Whenever I talk to Vancouverites about this concept, there is an immediate understanding about what it is I am trying to evoke in my research. In my blog this week (link in bio), I have excerpted some parts of my talk to provide a taste of how I am connecting the emotion of detachment to this hard to language dynamic while bringing in the important element of visual representation that shapes and is shaped through the many contradictions of the city. Perhaps most striking to me as I continue probing these questions in a post-pandemic world, increasingly impacted by machine learning and democratic backsliding, is how much discussions around emotions and our collective humanity matter today more than ever. . . . #arthistory #urban #urbanemotion #architecture #palermo #vancouver
Today, I visited Sicily’s contemporary art museum in Palazzo Riso, another converted baroque palace that was heavily bombed during WWII after local fascists made it their headquarters. I love thinking how much those people would have hated the
Today, I visited Sicily’s contemporary art museum in Palazzo Riso, another converted baroque palace that was heavily bombed during WWII after local fascists made it their headquarters. I love thinking how much those people would have hated the kind of art that occupies this space and lives on its walls. This art does not celebrate beauty, nor does it tell audiences what to think, who to love, or what rules or political leaders to follow— it is art that deliberately creates questions, discomfort, and provocation while asking audiences to shape the final meaning. Even today, here in Palermo, I discovered through conversation with locals that there are many who criticize and attack the works (artworks by non-Italians, women, people of colour, gay people, and those who use unconventional materials and approaches to art-making) exhibited in the space. It appears the culture wars are again reshaping Italy as they did 80 years ago. History does not repeat itself, as the Mark Twain saying goes, but it does rhyme. Pay attention. Among the artists pictured here: Vanessa Beecroft, Regina Jose Galindo, Herman Nitsch Christian Boltanski, Cesare Viel, Sergio Zavattieri, Loredana Longo, Carla Accardi, Richard Long, William Kentridge . . . #contemporyart #arthistory #sicily #palermo #italy #artwork #artmuseum
How to describe the Palazzo Butera in Sicily? Take a baroque palace on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, restore it with great care, and then fill it with your collection of contemporary art, antiquities, ephemera, and a sprinkle of modern and Renai
How to describe the Palazzo Butera in Sicily? Take a baroque palace on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, restore it with great care, and then fill it with your collection of contemporary art, antiquities, ephemera, and a sprinkle of modern and Renaissance works. Add a beautiful cafe with a terrace facing the sea and invite the public to admire it all. This is the best of what a private collection can be— bravo to the curators and anyone who had a hand in planning this space. It is breathtaking! A must visit if you come to Sicily. . . . #palermo #sicily #arthistory #contemporaryart #artcollection #palazzobutera #modernart #artmuseum

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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.

American artist Mary Cassatt painted the iconic Reading Le Figaro in Paris in 1878. Women of France (shockingly) had to wait until 1944 to be able to vote.   

American artist Mary Cassatt painted the iconic Reading Le Figaro in Paris in 1878. Women of France (shockingly) had to wait until 1944 to be able to vote.   

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

November 06, 2016

Within a few days, one of the most important elections of our lifetime will be over. I cannot even count the number of hours I have devoted to this cycle of the US election, but I along with the rest of the world am feeling anxiety, worry, and yes fear. Being someone who regularly lectures on the history of revolutions and big social and political shifts of nation, I have been having many conversations with students, colleagues, and friends over the past year about all of the potential scenarios of a Clinton or Trump victory, and none of the outcomes seems especially promising or even a bit hopeful. Whatever happens, it is clear that there is something profoundly broken in the way the world's most influential democracy is operating. In my lifetime, I never envisioned a world where people would openly be questioning the values associated with freedom of the press or the need for expertise and education. Nor did I in my wildest dreams expect people to willfully embrace demagoguery and unabashed racism at the degree, and in the numbers, we have seen globally in the past year. The age of populism, anti-intellectualism, and the silencing of opposition appears to be upon us, and it puts educators like me in a very precarious and scary position. Whatever happens this week, I know many more people will be paying serious attention to world affairs--maybe for the first time-- and that alone brings some measure of hope. 

"On the Cover: Donald Trump by Barbara Kruger for the Election Issue"
"On the Cover: Donald Trump by Barbara Kruger for the Election Issue"

nymag.com

"How important is art history in today’s market?"
"How important is art history in today’s market?"

nytimes.com

"‘I’m an Artist, Not a Priest’: Ai Weiwei Faces His Fans—and Critics—in Brooklyn"
"‘I’m an Artist, Not a Priest’: Ai Weiwei Faces His Fans—and Critics—in Brooklyn"

thedailybeast.com

"5 Powerful Things We Learned From Marina Abramović’s Memoir"
"5 Powerful Things We Learned From Marina Abramović’s Memoir"

artnet.com

"Lost in an Art Historian’s Annals of 1960s–70s NYC"
"Lost in an Art Historian’s Annals of 1960s–70s NYC"

hyperallergic.com

"Please Turn On Your Phone in the Museum"
"Please Turn On Your Phone in the Museum"

theatlantic.com

"Donald Trump Lookalike Causes a Ruckus on Fifth Avenue With Performance Art Piece"
"Donald Trump Lookalike Causes a Ruckus on Fifth Avenue With Performance Art Piece"

artnet.com

"Preview: "Vancouver" from Season 8 of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" (VIDEO)"
"Preview: "Vancouver" from Season 8 of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" (VIDEO)"

art21.com

"In the Media Pen at a Trump Rally | 360 VR Video | The New York Times (VIDEO)"
"In the Media Pen at a Trump Rally | 360 VR Video | The New York Times (VIDEO)"

newyorktimes.com

"Happy 100th, Dada: SF celebrates influential art movement"
"Happy 100th, Dada: SF celebrates influential art movement"

sfgate.com

"On the Cover: Donald Trump by Barbara Kruger for the Election Issue" "How important is art history in today’s market?" "‘I’m an Artist, Not a Priest’: Ai Weiwei Faces His Fans—and Critics—in Brooklyn" "5 Powerful Things We Learned From Marina Abramović’s Memoir" "Lost in an Art Historian’s Annals of 1960s–70s NYC" "Please Turn On Your Phone in the Museum" "Donald Trump Lookalike Causes a Ruckus on Fifth Avenue With Performance Art Piece" "Preview: "Vancouver" from Season 8 of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" (VIDEO)" "In the Media Pen at a Trump Rally | 360 VR Video | The New York Times (VIDEO)" "Happy 100th, Dada: SF celebrates influential art movement"

List of links (for quicker linking):

  • On the Cover: Donald Trump by Barbara Kruger for the Election Issue
  • How important is art history in today’s market?
  • ‘I’m an Artist, Not a Priest’: Ai Weiwei Faces His Fans—and Critics—in Brooklyn
  • 5 Powerful Things We Learned From Marina Abramović’s Memoir
  • Lost in an Art Historian’s Annals of 1960s–70s NYC
  • Please Turn On Your Phone in the Museum
  • Donald Trump Lookalike Causes a Ruckus on Fifth Avenue With Performance Art Piece
  • Preview: "Vancouver" from Season 8 of ART21 "Art in the Twenty-First Century" (VIDEO)
  • In the Media Pen at a Trump Rally | 360 VR Video | The New York Times (VIDEO)
  • Happy 100th, Dada: SF celebrates influential art movement

 

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© Dorothy Barenscott, 2010-2025