GIA Reader (2000-present)

American artists are still emerging from a bumptious cycle of structural downs and ups and institutional changes. Since the watershed of the culture wars in the early 1990s, diverse publics and legislative bodies have questioned artists’ purposes and contributions. Supporters — patrons, funders, friends — have scrambled to help them survive. In ways that may be a great blessing, an older, constraining preoccupation with artistic excellence and peer-judged grants has eroded. More inclusive notions of who artists are and of their many missions are taking root.

This is part of the special section, Art as Research.

This is part of the special section, Art as Research.

This is part of the special section, Art as Research.

This is part of the special section, Art as Research.

This is part of the special section, Art as Research.

Two years ago, in a meeting with leaders of the arts program at the San Francisco Unified School District, a group of advisors was brainstorming a list of qualities that distinguish good teaching and learning in the arts. Professor Julia Marshall from the Art Department at San Francisco State, added to the list, “Contemporary art is research. It’s research just like science is research. It’s an investigation.”