Current issues in art history

A self-shredding artwork, gender and art, the destruction and looting of cultural treasures. This section introduces some of today's issues in art history.

videos + essays

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An Art History of Gender Identity and Sexuality
An Art History of Gender Identity and Sexuality

Throughout time and across the planet, works of art have revealed the complexities of a wide range of gender identities and human couplings—expressions that can connect LGBTQIA2+ people and allies today with a vibrant past and inclusive future.

Art, Pride, and the Rainbow Flag
Art, Pride, and the Rainbow Flag

LGBTQ+ history is remembered through centuries of artistic creation.

Introduction: Learning to look and think critically (1 of 2)
Introduction: Learning to look and think critically (1 of 2)

A brief introduction to art history, and what it means to learn to look and think critically. The first of two essays.

Introduction: Close looking and approaches to art (2 of 2)
Introduction: Close looking and approaches to art (2 of 2)

A brief introduction to art history, with a focus on close looking and different approaches to analyzing art. The second of two essays.

The Art Market and taxes
The Art Market and taxes

The art market is one of the many ways rich people game the system to save billions of dollars in taxes each year.

Cultural heritage “in crisis”
Cultural heritage “in crisis”

The word “crisis” suggests a temporary problem—but destruction and loss of cultural heritage is an ongoing issue.

Why Do Corporations Buy Art?
Why Do Corporations Buy Art?

Corporate lobbies and board rooms are often graced with impressive art, but why?

The $150,000 Banana
The $150,000 Banana

Artist Maurizio Cattelan duct taped a banana to a wall. Why did it capture our attention, curiosity, and memes? What does it mean?

How Climate Changes Art
How Climate Changes Art

Throughout history, art has helped reveal the climate around us and highlight our fragile relationship to it.

Should Art Be Publicly Funded?
Should Art Be Publicly Funded?

In 2018, .004% of the US budget went to the National Endowment for the Arts.

What does art tell us about gender?
What does art tell us about gender?

There is a huge range of ways that gender has been understood and represented in the history of art.

What does resistance look like?
What does resistance look like?

Resistance isn't always visible, but when we can see it in art, what does it look like?

Selected Contributors