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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
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.

Pop sculpture and installation artist Claes Oldenburg celebrates his 89th birthday today. This poster is connected to Oldenburg's infamous The Store project (1961) when he decided to subvert the practice of selling art in the the traditional sp…

Pop sculpture and installation artist Claes Oldenburg celebrates his 89th birthday today. This poster is connected to Oldenburg's infamous The Store project (1961) when he decided to subvert the practice of selling art in the the traditional spaces of the art gallery, and instead opened his own temporary storefront on the Lower East Side of New York to sell his work. We could call him the father of the pop-art store! Archival image courtesy of MOMA

Weekly Flipboard Links and Media Round Up

January 28, 2018

I have been in the mode of spring cleaning my office all week (I know, too early), and throwing away old paperwork, cleaning out digital files, prioritizing projects, and rediscovering many books, articles, and student work filed away for later reading. It has been both cathartic to let go of that which no longer serves me, and frustrating to realize I will never have the time to pursue all of the worthy research ideas that I would like to. In many ways, this blog was started eight years ago to test out and "muse" on precisely these kinds of topics. Back then, I certainly had more time to do this sort of thing, but I see now the benefit of going back to the practice of sparking and trying on some of these ideas in short posts meant to trigger and perhaps inspire others to pursue them. I hope to do more of this as I move into this year as I have enjoyed hearing back from readers (sometimes finding a post from many years ago) that they found useful. Sharing concepts in a free exchange of information is both radical and necessary in today's world. Enjoy the links and look for ways to share and spark ideas that will serve others. 

"Agnes Martin, Richard Tuttle, and the Line Between"
"Agnes Martin, Richard Tuttle, and the Line Between"

nybooks.com

"In Puerto Rico, Artists Rebuild and Reach Out"
"In Puerto Rico, Artists Rebuild and Reach Out"

nytimes.com

"French Art Luminaries Reject Jeff Koons’s Flashy Gift to Paris as a ‘Cynical’ Act of ‘Product Placement’"
"French Art Luminaries Reject Jeff Koons’s Flashy Gift to Paris as a ‘Cynical’ Act of ‘Product Placement’"

artnet.com

"A Documentary Lays Bare the Absurdity of the Art Market"
"A Documentary Lays Bare the Absurdity of the Art Market"

hyperallergic.com

"CEOs Are Going to Art School to Think More Creatively"
"CEOs Are Going to Art School to Think More Creatively"

artsy.net

"Ancient Rome’s System of Roads Visualized in the Style of Modern Subway Maps"
"Ancient Rome’s System of Roads Visualized in the Style of Modern Subway Maps"

openculture.co

"If Liberalism Is Dead, What Comes Next?"
"If Liberalism Is Dead, What Comes Next?"

nytimes.com

"Seeing Beyond Basquiat’s Market Value"
"Seeing Beyond Basquiat’s Market Value"

hyperallergic.com

"Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)"
"Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)"

art21

"The outsider art fair New York 2018 (VIDEO)"
"The outsider art fair New York 2018 (VIDEO)"

jameskalmroughcuts

"Agnes Martin, Richard Tuttle, and the Line Between" "In Puerto Rico, Artists Rebuild and Reach Out" "French Art Luminaries Reject Jeff Koons’s Flashy Gift to Paris as a ‘Cynical’ Act of ‘Product Placement’" "A Documentary Lays Bare the Absurdity of the Art Market" "CEOs Are Going to Art School to Think More Creatively" "Ancient Rome’s System of Roads Visualized in the Style of Modern Subway Maps" "If Liberalism Is Dead, What Comes Next?" "Seeing Beyond Basquiat’s Market Value" "Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)" "The outsider art fair New York 2018 (VIDEO)"
  • Agnes Martin, Richard Tuttle, and the Line Between
  • In Puerto Rico, Artists Rebuild and Reach Out
  • French Art Luminaries Reject Jeff Koons’s Flashy Gift to Paris as a ‘Cynical’ Act of ‘Product Placement’
  • A Documentary Lays Bare the Absurdity of the Art Market
  • CEOs Are Going to Art School to Think More Creatively
  • Ancient Rome’s System of Roads Visualized in the Style of Modern Subway Maps
  • If Liberalism Is Dead, What Comes Next?
  • Seeing Beyond Basquiat’s Market Value
  • Barbara Kruger: Part of the Discourse | Art21 "Extended Play" (VIDEO)
  • The outsider art fair New York 2018 (VIDEO)
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© Dorothy Barenscott, 2010-2025