Grundberg presents a personal reflection of his on-the-ground immersion in the world of contemporary art during the conceptual hayday of the NYC downtown scene in the 70’s and 80’s. In this scholarly tour-de-force he chronicles over 100 artists as photography became a means to deconstruct and make contemporary art approachable. 

In this book group, Andy Grundberg discusses, among other things:

The popularity of contemporary art being a consequence of photography

Women photographers use of photo and performance to challenge the male gaze

How photography revealed structures which attracted artists to the medium

Arts’ ability to reveal it’s own contradictions

Shaping culture with Cindy Shermans’ new variant of self portraiture  

Susan Sontag's prescient call to consciousness - ‘images consume reality’

The Starn twins barrier-breaking sculptural use of photography

Sophie Calle being an avatar of surveillance in photography

The import of magazine photography - it is where art photo happened

The contextualists (aka digital natives) leading photo forward

Referenced in the episode

Jill Freedman

John Edmonds

First Womens Congress

The Piedmont Manifest - Andy Grundberg 

10 Female Land Artists You Should Know - Sarah Gottesman

Painting, Photography and Film - Moholy-Nagy

Joan Jonas Vertical Roll 1972

A.D. Colemen Light Readings : A Photography Critics Writing; 1968-1978/ 1979 

Death in Photograph - Andy Grundberg 

The Photography Reader - Liz Wells

Adrian Piper

Andy Grundberg Website | Instagram

Engage with J. Sybylla Smith  https://www.jsybyllasmith.com Instagram @jsybylla and Facebook @j.sybylla.smith