ART 236 : Modern Art History

Is there such a thing as contemporary art history? The contemporary, after all--as much as we may want to consider it otherwise--is being made history as it happens. By what means do we examine this moving target? These questions lie at the center of Jane Blocker's Becoming Past. The important point is not whether there is--or should be--contemporary art history, Blocker argues, but how. Focusing on a significant aspect of current art practice in which artists have engaged with historical subject matter, methods, and inquiry Blocker asks how the creation of the artist implicates and interrogates that of the art historian.

Working in a variety of media and a range of scales, from humble works on paper to monumental staged performances, Francis Alÿs (born 1959) has established himself as one of the world's leading contemporary artists. Based in Mexico City since 1986, the artist fashions much of his work from the street life he observes during long walks throughout the city.

A fully updated edition of the artist's first comprehensive monograph, more than a decade since its original publication Francis Alÿs examines the patterns of various urban sites before weaving his own fables into their tangled social fabric with wit, sensitivity, and an acutely personal connection to his subject matter.