Kelly Wacker
Associate Professor of Art
Art History
Ph.D. University of Louisville–Art History 2002
M.A. Bowling Green State University–Art History 1993
B.A. Colorado State University, Fort Collins–Art History 1989
 |
Dr. Kelly Wacker is an art historian whose primary area is Contemporary Art; her secondary area is the art of the 17th century in Europe. In addition to being a specialist in Land & Environmental Art she has wide-ranging interests and has recently published a book, Baroque Tendencies in Contemporary Art (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2007). She has written essays on topics including David Bowie’s reflections on postmodern contemporary art trends, geo-politics in the work of Mel Chin, and contemporary wood sculpture in Zimbabwe. She recently participated in a lecture series called “It Is Difficult” with international artist, Alfredo Jaar. Currently she is studying the “end” of Land Art. In addition to researching and writing about contemporary art she is also the Art Department’s Gallery Director and is working with a diverse group of UM faculty to develop and implement an Environmental Studies Program at the university. When not in the classroom, her office, or the gallery she enjoys the outdoors as much as possible through organic gardening, hiking, and camping.
|
 |
Baroque Tendencies in Contemporary Art is a collection of essays by an international cadre of scholars addressing current trends within the field of contemporary art and how artists and architects reflect upon past traditions and fold them into the present. Often referred to as the Neo-Baroque, scholarship on this topic first emerged in the 1980s with the publication of several notable studies in France (but not translated into English until the 1990s); in addition, a number of recent exhibitions have focused on contemporary responses to the Baroque. The Baroque and the Neo-Baroque are frequently defined as having a propensity for instability, seriality, reflexivity, fluidity, and spectacle. This is perhaps partly why, in the millennial period, there is so much interest in the Baroque we are seeking ways to find parallels between the art of then and the art of our own diverse, pluralistic culture. This book provides context for how contemporary artists meet and deal with the Baroque both formally and conceptually. Among others, it provides discussions of the work of American artists John Currin, Jeff Koons, Frank Stella, Lisa Yuskavage; American architect, Frank Gehry; European artists Lucian Freud, Jenny Saville, Emilio Vedova; Latin American artists Monica Castillo, Raphael Cauduro, Yishai Judisman; and New Zealand artists, Richard Reddaway and Joanna Langford. |