Artforum
Encyclopedia
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art
.
As well as in-depth articles and reviews of contemporary art, the magazine features book reviews, columns on cinema and popular culture, and numerous full-page advertisements from prominent galleries around the world.
in 1965 before finally settling it in New York City
in 1967, where it maintains offices today. The move to New York also encompassed a shift in the style of work championed by the magazine, moving away from California style art to Late modernism
, then the leading style of art in New York City. The departure of Philip Leider as editor-in chief in 1971; and the tenure of John Coplans
as the new editor-in chief roughly coincided with a shift towards more fashionable trends and away from Late modernism
. A focus on Minimal Art, Conceptual Art
, Body art
, Land art
and Performance art
provided a platform for artists such as Robert Smithson
, Donald Judd
, Sol LeWitt
and others. In 1980 after opening his own gallery in New York City Charles Cowles divested himself of the magazine. Sister magazine Bookforum
was started in 1994.
chronicling the early history of the magazine, Challenging Art: Artforum 1962-1974, was published by Soho Press in 2000.
Sarah Thornton
's documentary book Seven Days in the Art World (2008) contains a chapter titled "The Magazine" which is set in the offices of Artforum. In it, Thornton says, "Artforum is to art what Vogue is to fashion and Rolling Stone was to rock and roll. It’s a trade magazine with crossover cachet and an institution with controversial clout."
(Philip Leider left the magazine at the end of the Summer 1971 issue, but remained on the masthead until December 1971)
Contemporary art
Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced...
.
Publication
The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue. Characterized by its 10½ inch square format, with each cover devoted to the work of a single artist, the magazine is widely known as a decisive voice in its field.As well as in-depth articles and reviews of contemporary art, the magazine features book reviews, columns on cinema and popular culture, and numerous full-page advertisements from prominent galleries around the world.
History
Artforum was founded in 1962 in San Francisco by John P. Irwin, Jr. The next publisher/owner Charles Cowles moved the magazine to Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in 1965 before finally settling it in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1967, where it maintains offices today. The move to New York also encompassed a shift in the style of work championed by the magazine, moving away from California style art to Late modernism
Late Modernism
Late modernism encompasses the overall production of most recent art made between the aftermath of World War II and the early years of the 21st century. The terminology often points to similarities between late modernism and post-modernism although there are differences. The predominant term for...
, then the leading style of art in New York City. The departure of Philip Leider as editor-in chief in 1971; and the tenure of John Coplans
John Coplans
John Coplans was a British artist. A veteran of World War II and a photographer, he emigrated to the United States in 1960 and had many exhibitions in Europe and North America...
as the new editor-in chief roughly coincided with a shift towards more fashionable trends and away from Late modernism
Late Modernism
Late modernism encompasses the overall production of most recent art made between the aftermath of World War II and the early years of the 21st century. The terminology often points to similarities between late modernism and post-modernism although there are differences. The predominant term for...
. A focus on Minimal Art, Conceptual Art
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
, Body art
Body art
Body art is art made on, with, or consisting of, the human body. The most common forms of body art are tattoos and body piercings, but other types include scarification, branding, scalpelling, shaping , full body tattoo and body painting.More extreme body art can involve things such as mutilation...
, Land art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
and Performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
provided a platform for artists such as Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson
Robert Smithson was an American artist famous for his land art.-Background and education:Smithson was born in Passaic, New Jersey and studied painting and drawing in New York City at the Art Students League of New York....
, Donald Judd
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
, Sol LeWitt
Sol LeWitt
Solomon "Sol" LeWitt was an American artist linked to various movements, including Conceptual art and Minimalism....
and others. In 1980 after opening his own gallery in New York City Charles Cowles divested himself of the magazine. Sister magazine Bookforum
Bookforum
Bookforum is a New York-based magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. It is edited by Albert Mobilio, Chris Lehmann, , and Michael Miller.-History: Bookforum was launched in 1994 as a literary supplement to Artforum...
was started in 1994.
On Artforum
A book by Amy NewmanAmy Newman
Amy Newman is an American poet, critic, and professor. She is the author of four collections of poems, most recently fall . Newman's second book, Camera Lyrica, won the Beatrice Hawley Award, and her first book, Order, or Disorder, received the Cleveland State University Poetry Center Prize in 1995...
chronicling the early history of the magazine, Challenging Art: Artforum 1962-1974, was published by Soho Press in 2000.
Sarah Thornton
Sarah Thornton
Sarah Thornton is a writer and sociologist of culture. Her early work was about clubs, raves, music taste and cultural hierarchies. Thornton has authored and edited works about subcultures. She now writes principally about art, artists and the art market...
's documentary book Seven Days in the Art World (2008) contains a chapter titled "The Magazine" which is set in the offices of Artforum. In it, Thornton says, "Artforum is to art what Vogue is to fashion and Rolling Stone was to rock and roll. It’s a trade magazine with crossover cachet and an institution with controversial clout."
Editors-in-chief
- Michelle Kuo (September 2010– )
- Tim Griffin (September 2003–Summer 2010)
- Jack BankowskyJack BankowskyJack Bankowsky was the Editor-in-Chief of Artforum throughout the 1990s and the founding editor of Artforum's sister publication, Bookforum, where he was editor from 1996 to 1998. He is currently Editor-at-Large of Artforum and a freelance critic and curator...
(September 1992–Summer 2003) - Ida Panicelli (March 1988–Summer 1992)
- Ingrid Sischy (February 1980–February 1988)
- Joseph Masheck (March 1977–January 1980)
- In February 1977 Nancy Foote operated as the managing editor without a head editor
- John CoplansJohn CoplansJohn Coplans was a British artist. A veteran of World War II and a photographer, he emigrated to the United States in 1960 and had many exhibitions in Europe and North America...
(January 1972–January 1977) - Philip Leider (June 1962–December 1971)
(Philip Leider left the magazine at the end of the Summer 1971 issue, but remained on the masthead until December 1971)