Dr. Allison Young

Xu Bing’s text is illegible—even to those who can read Chinese.
Xu Bing, Book from the Sky

While Hamilton's Just What is It… is considered to be among the most foundational works of Pop Art, this small collage was initially not created as a work of art.
Richard Hamilton, Just What is It That ...

From a live Smarthistory webinar: Dr. Allison Young, Teaching El Anatsui & "Global Contemporary" Art
From a live Smarthistory webinar: Dr. Allison ...

Textile or sculpture? El Anatsui purposely disregards the limiting categories imposed by Western art history.
El Anatsui, Old Man’s Cloth

How would you paint a picture of something that’s not quite representable… like the sound of voices chanting, a spiritual vision, a childhood memory, or a dream that you can’t remember?
A-level: Ibrahim El-Salahi, Reborn Sounds of Childhood ...

How would you paint a picture of something that’s not quite representable… like the sound of voices chanting, a spiritual vision, a childhood memory, or a dream that you can’t remember?
Ibrahim El-Salahi, Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams

This British-born Nigerian artist brings a Rococo painting into three dimensions, changing some critical details.
Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (After Fragonard)

Textile or sculpture? El Anatsui purposely disregards the limiting categories imposed by Western art history.
El Anatsui, Old Man’s Cloth

What might Shonibare wish to communicate by bringing together these “African” textiles with Fragonard’s Rococo images?
Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (After Fragonard)

In this work, a contemporary Ethiopian artist explores the utopian potential of chaos in a globalizing world.
Julie Mehretu, Stadia II

Why did the mayor of New York City threaten to close the museum exhibiting Ofili’s painting of the Virgin Mary?
A-Level: Chris Ofili, The Holy Virgin Mary

Neshat’s series examines the complexities of women’s identities in the Middle East’s changing cultural landscape.
A-Level: Shirin Neshat, Rebellious Silence, Women of ...

This British-born Nigerian artist brings a Rococo painting into three dimensions, changing some critical details.
A-Level: Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (After Fragonard)

This huge, abstract painting pulses with vivid color and bold gestural marks.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Earth’s Creation

Xu Bing’s text is illegible—even to those who can read Chinese.
Xu Bing, Book from the Sky

Kngwarreye’s rise to prominence as an internationally recognized artist doesn’t fit the typical mold.