By: CAP

CAP — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 21:25:02 +0000

Not being an art historian is one thing, but to claim Barry is not an academic seems to be stretching a point. According to his alma mater Yale – 'Mr. Schwabsky received a B.A. from Haverford College in 1979 and an M.A. in English from Yale in 1981. He began writing art criticism in 1984 and has been managing editor of Flash Art (1987?88) and editor of Arts Magazine (1988?92). He is a contributing editor to Art on Paper, and he writes regularly for such publications as Artforum and Art in America. His books include The Widening Circle: The Consequences of Modernism in Contemporary Art (Cambridge University Press, 1997); he is also coauthor of a monograph on the work of Jessica Stockholder (Phaidon Press, 1995). He has taught at the School of Visual Arts, Pratt Institute, and New York University, and has been a visiting critic or lecturer at art schools and universities across the United States, Canada, and England. He was appointed senior critic in sculpture in 2000 and reappointed in 2008.' I don't see that you can write about 'the consequences of Modernism in contemporary art' without invoking some historical perspective, and to publish it with CUB unquestionably confers an academic standing. While Barry is clearly not part of the October/Critical Theory clique it seems misleading to say he is without interest in art history or teaching - indeed my impression is that the bulk of his income derives from teaching (= academic).

Comments on: Too Smart To Be Caught In A System: Barry Schwabsky’s Words for Art

By: CAP