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The essays contained within aim to consider the parameters of art and, in particular, photographic media in the 21st century through a series of conceptual inquiries and prompts, which intersect with and build upon each other. We all engage with art. Whether we produce it as artists, seek it as viewers, or peripherally interact with it as part of our daily interactions, art relates to each of us and our shared human experiences. This book serves to unpacks art's complexities for all audiences, from the most devout practitioners to those simply curious about the topic. This book culminates from 20 years of Maida teaching art to college and graduate students at a range of institutions including his alma mater, Yale University, as well as leading art colleges in and around New York City...The aim of his courses, like this book, is to provide his students with a deep understanding of what art can be for them, though honing their individual practices, and how they can understand and explain art - including their own - to others. Ultimately, the key outcome is that his students, and his readers, can determine how art can fulfill them as a central part of a successful creative life of meaning and purpose whether they make art, study art, or simply engage with it as part of their everyday lives.
About the author
Joseph Maida is an artist, writer, and educator based in New York City. Having studied under Philip-Lorca di Corcia, Gregory Crewdson, Catherine Opie and Thomas Struth, Maida’s perspective uniquely navigates the intersections between photographic ideologies of the American Northeast (Walker Evans), West Coast Conceptualism, and the Düsseldorf School. Maida has taught at Yale University, Parsons the New School, SUNY Purchase, and is on the faculty at the School of Visual Arts (SVA), where he is Chair of the BFA Photography and Video department. Maida earned his BA summa cum laude from Columbia University in architecture and art history and his MFA in photography from Yale.
Summary
The essays contained within aim to consider the parameters of art and, in particular, photographic media in the 21st century through a series of conceptual inquiries and prompts, which intersect with and build upon each other.
We all engage with art. Whether we produce it as artists, seek it as viewers, or peripherally interact with it as part of our daily interactions, art relates to each of us and our shared human experiences.
This book serves to unpacks art’s complexities for all audiences, from the most devout practitioners to those simply curious about the topic. This book culminates from 20 years of Maida teaching art to college and graduate students at a range of institutions including his alma mater, Yale University, as well as leading art colleges in and around New York City…The aim of his courses, like this book, is to provide his students with a deep understanding of what art can be for them, though honing their individual practices, and how they can understand and explain art — including their own — to others. Ultimately, the key outcome is that his students, and his readers, can determine how art can fulfill them as a central part of a successful creative life of meaning and purpose whether they make art, study art, or simply engage with it as part of their everyday lives.
