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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
KPU FINE ARTS PARIS + VENICE BIENNALE FIELD SCHOOL (MAY/JUNE 2026)
KPU FINE ARTS PARIS + VENICE BIENNALE FIELD SCHOOL (MAY/JUNE 2026)
about a month ago
"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 2 months 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 3 months 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

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The CEO of our household reflecting on his year 🐈✨🎄
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#caturday #banksycat #endofyear #holidayseason
The CEO of our household reflecting on his year 🐈✨🎄 . . . #caturday #banksycat #endofyear #holidayseason
Frank Gehry’s passing today at 96 years old marks the remembrance of a daring, risk-taking artistic visionary. Gehry’s aesthetics, process, and design philosophy have always resonated deeply with me as an art historian invested in the stu
Frank Gehry’s passing today at 96 years old marks the remembrance of a daring, risk-taking artistic visionary. Gehry’s aesthetics, process, and design philosophy have always resonated deeply with me as an art historian invested in the study of spatial disruption and urban space. One of my most prized possessions is a Gehry designed torque ring that I purchased in New York back in 2006 and wore religiously in the years I was completing my Ph.D. as a kind of talisman. My love of silver is Gehry inspired too 🩶 Over the years I have been fortunate to visit, teach, and share knowledge of his many amazing buildings all over the world, always telling students that architects are among the most powerful people in society. Frank Gehry was arguably one of the most risk-taking and dare I say avant-garde architects and artists of our generation. “It’s not new that architecture can profoundly affect a place, sometimes transform it. Architecture and any art can transform a person, even save someone.” Frank Gehry Photos (my own) from Las Vegas (Ruvo Building), Paris (Louis Vuitton Foundation), Chicago (Jay Pritzker Pavilion), Los Angeles (Walt Disney Concert Hall), and my much loved and worn Gehry torque ring he co-designed in a collection with Tiffany and Co. #frankgehry #architecture #urbanspace #urbanism #arthistory
Proof of life photo 📸 Taken on the last day of classes of the fall semester. I survived… barely 😥 Countdown to Christmas vacation!
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#arthistorianlife #endofsemester #ootd #iykyk
Proof of life photo 📸 Taken on the last day of classes of the fall semester. I survived… barely 😥 Countdown to Christmas vacation! . . . #arthistorianlife #endofsemester #ootd #iykyk
Aren’t we all tho? 🤔

#christmasshopping #literaryfiction
Aren’t we all tho? 🤔 #christmasshopping #literaryfiction
“Knitting is the saving of life”— Virginia Woolf 🩶
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#knitterofinstagram #knitting #woolandthegang #knittersgonnaknit
“Knitting is the saving of life”— Virginia Woolf 🩶 . . . #knitterofinstagram #knitting #woolandthegang #knittersgonnaknit

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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