Art School: Propostions for the 21st Century

(Artist and Groundswell guest blogger Chris Kennedy makes projects for the land and for situated communities. His ongoing projects include Artiscycle, Groups and Spaces, and the Institute for Applied Aesthetics.)

MIT Press just released a new book Art School: Propostions for the 21st Century edited by Steven Henry Madoff. After reading half-way through the a great collection of essays – it’s turned out to be quite an amazing book – artists and educators alike thinking critically about what art education in the 21st century will encompass, how will we address the problematic factory of MFA programs and the lack of funding for artists emerging from institutions around the world? It offers some inspirational options, critique and invitations for action. I recommend taking a peak if you have some cash to spare!

The last explosive change in art education came nearly a century ago, when the German Bauhaus was formed. Today, dramatic changes in the art world—its increasing professionalization, the pervasive power of the art market, and fundamental shifts in art-making itself in our post-Duchampian era—combined with a revolution in information technology, raise fundamental questions about the education of today’s artists. Art School (Propositions for the 21st Century) brings together more than thirty leading international artists and art educators to reconsider the practices of art education in academic, practical, ethical, and philosophical terms.