CAA News Today

Each week CAA News summarizes eight articles, published around the web, that CAA members may find interesting and useful in their professional and creative lives.

The Most Relevant Art Today Is Taking Place outside the Art World

The central claim in Michael J. Lewis’s essay on the demise of art-as-culture is that “while the fine arts can survive a hostile or ignorant public, or even a fanatically prudish one, they cannot long survive an indifferent one.” The argument, however, ignores both the artists who have been historically marginalized from galleries and museums and the artists who are taking their practices outside those places. (Read more from Artsy.)

Art Demystified: The Gallery Breakdown

The art gallery remains one of the most important pillars of the art world today. It is where artists are first introduced and their careers are launched, and where the discourse is started. But what goes on behind the heavy doors of these often secretive empires? And what are the roles of those who work there? (Read more from Artnet News.)

President Obama’s Arts Focus Was National, Not Local

It should come as no surprise that where the arts were concerned, the Obamas didn’t just ignore the Pennsylvania Avenue playbook—they wrote their own script. They established dynamic programs and raised considerable money for arts initiatives. They also sometimes drifted away from the traditions of the past, which could leave locals frustrated and impatient. (Read more from the Chicago Tribune.) 

Balancing the Books at Yale University Press in London

A letter signed by over 290 academics, curators, and writers expressed a “sense of shock at the restructuring of Yale University Press in London, particularly as it affects the renowned art books department.” Having learned that two commissioning editors were to be made redundant, the signatories asked for reassurance about Yale’s commitment to scholarly art publishing and for the rationale for the changes. (Read more from Apollo.)

Publish or Be Damned

The London office of Yale University Press has been a leading publisher of art history in the English language. When we heard of a new book planned by a leading scholar in the field, we expected to learn that Yale had pledged to publish it. When a bright graduate finished his or her dissertation, we hoped that Yale would publish it. (Read more from the Burlington Magazine.)

How Much Does Publishing Cost?

Whenever someone talks about the cost of publishing, the conversation seems to take place in a vacuum. Step inside a publishing company and ask this question: Where is the greatest amount of energy expended? The answer is in finding the best authors. Publishing, in other words, is about the relentless pursuit of the best content for a particular program. (Read more from the Scholarly Kitchen.)

Why the Hammer Museum’s New Free Digital Archives Are a Game Changer

Museum archives are historically places that draw only the most dedicated researchers to poke through boxes of files, trays of objects, and piles of ephemera generated by exhibitions. But the Hammer Museum is aiming to change the way museum archives are accessed and organized. (Read more from the Los Angeles Times.)

Valuing Intellectual Property in an AIA World

Whether one celebrates or decries the fifth anniversary of the America Invents Act, this much is clear: the law has had a dramatic impact on the value of US patents and, in turn, the broader US economy. A cloud of uncertainty hanging over patents has depressed their value and may have broader ramifications that are yet to be seen. (Read more from IP Watchdog.)