Blurring The Boundaries: Installation Art 1969-1996

by Hugh Marlais Davies, Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego

Far from being the latest movement or a new development in contemporary art, installation art, one could argue, is only the most recent manifestation of the oldest tradition in art, going as far back as the prehistoric paintings on cave walls at Lascaux. Fundamental to this work are its habitation and incorporation of a physical site, a connection to real conditions - be they visual, historical, or social - and often, a bridging of traditional art boundaries. The aesthetic power of installation art does not reside in the singular, commodified object but rather in the artwork's ability to become, not merely represent, the continuum of real experience. Blurring the Boundaries examines the subject of installation art through the permanent collection and exhibition record of the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, an institution with a unique heritage in support of such art dating back to the 1960s.

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 2, 1997

Reviews

[Nestor · Rating 5 out of 5]

the greatest hits of installation art by all the expected names, from ann hamilton to alfredo jaar.

damn. great images, a nice intro to what people did in the first 30 years of this still misunderstood form