Women, Making, and Everyday Value in Contemporary Installation Art

A rich new interpretation of the work of artists at the forefront of the return of the handmade and process-driven practices in sculpture and installation in the 1990s. With much needed contextualization, the book charts the legacies of this distinctive way of working in the contemporary art world. * Elissa Auther, Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and the William and Mildred Lasdon Chief Curator, Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA *Through remarkable descriptions of the room-sized works of Stockholder, Lou, and Sze, this book demonstrates the ways these artists employed untrained ‘amateur processes’ to generate something like 3D abstract paintings: an optimistic basis for a less hierarchical, more tangibly material, set of values. * Elise Archias, Associate Professor of Art History, University of Illinois, Chicago, USA *Dexterously unpacks the politics and values of making today—effectively redressing a gap in the discourse around the ‘post-medium condition’. Through stunning prose, this book equips readers with a sophisticated set of tools for grasping contemporary art practice with generosity and care. * T’ai Smith, Associate Professor, Art History, Visual Art & Theory, University of British Columbia, Canada *

Elyse Speaks is Professor of the Practice of Art History at the University of Notre Dame, USA.