Zones of Contention

Carol Becker is a cultural critic, Professor of Liberal Arts and Dean of Faculty at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the author of The Invisible Drama: Women and the Anxiety of Change and editor of The Subversive Imagination: Artists, Society, and Social Responsibility.

"Becker's analysis ranges across a broad spectrum of interests and concerns in the field of art. Larger issues, such as the role of art in society, are analyzed with the same focus and attention to the specific as are essays on individual artists and/or works of art. This book addresses perhaps the single most important area of concern in the arts at the present time. It is a really brilliant book, tremendously helpful and stimulating. " — Marcia Tucker, Director, The New Museum of Contemporary Art"The richness of Becker's experience and her journey as a thinker and educator provide inspiration to those wanting a better world and caution as to how to get there. Becker's history of study, position in the art and academic structures, and seasoning as a writer give her a unique voice that is vital and informative." — Arlene Raven, author of Art in the Public Interest"What is so remarkable about Carol Becker's book is that it imaginatively rewrites the role of the artist as a public intellectual. For Becker, understanding the complexity of the art process and its relationship with multiple publics is a pedagogical process that deepens our understanding of how industries are formed, artwork produced, and responsibilities engaged so as to enable the possibilities of democratic public life." — from the Foreword by series editor, Henry A. Giroux

• Acknowledgments Introduction PART I: ART IN SOCIETY 1. Art Thrust into the Public Sphere 2. When Cultures Come into Contention 3. Social Responsibility and the Place of the Artist in Society 4. Herbert Marcuse and the Subversive Potential of Art PART II: THE EDUCATION OF ARTISTS 5. The Education of Young Artists and the Issue of Audience 6. Private Fantasies Shape Public Events and Public Events Invade and Shape Our Dreams 7. Reimagining Art Schools PART III: WRITING ON ART 8. Imaginative Geography 9. Goat Island's We Got a Date 10. From Tantrums to Prayer 11. Drawing from the Subtle Body 12. Lineaments of Desire 13. The Prodigal Daughter PART IV: GENDER AND CREATIVITY 14. Women, Anxiety, Creativity 15. Male Anxiety and the Fear of Female Authority 16. Men in Suits 17. The Institution as Dysfunctional Family Notes on Chapters Index