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FALL 2013 APPLICANTS!


Guest lefilsdhomme

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No no, I didn't apply to the PhD program at Wisconsin. I just checked my application for UPenn, however, and it still says it's incomplete...but everything has been reported as received. I don't understand this treachery. Should I call someone, or does anyone else who's had this problem know what this might be about?

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what do you mean by that?

I mean that many of the faculty dislike each other on another level and sometimes it effects the students (who gets what, who presents where. etc.). They are really good at faking though, so you wouldn't notice from an interview weekend. Three faculty left over the summer, one for a better school, two because they couldn't stand the negative atmosphere. So if anyone who applied there is bummed because they didn't get in, perhaps it's not so lamentable but rather akin to dodging a bullet. There are profs there who are absolutely wonderful, but they aren't the ones running the show.

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Also wondering how many different areas of art history are represented here? Each program takes so many students to each area. My area is Western Modern and Contemporary (21st Century). I am assuming that NU and UofC will admit a few students in this area. I really want a handle on what the most popular areas of focus are in order to determine my chances. Sorry to sound so strategic, but as we know, every bit of knowledge helps.

 

Good luck to all!

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Please keep this forum updated. Great work everyone!!!! I especially love the analysis of whether or not CAA impacts when the decisions come out.

 

Best,

 

I must confess that as soon as I noticed your profile name a mix of apprehension and reservation took over me.  Do you realize that you are using the "name" of an important scholar in our field, Dr. Hal Foster at Princeton? Interestingly enough, it seems as though your area of interest also coincides with his, which might explain why you chose this alias in the first place.  However, if that's the case, I wonder why you are not applying to Princeton then.  Anyway, I have read all his books and love his work too.

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Also wondering how many different areas of art history are represented here? Each program takes so many students to each area. My area is Western Modern and Contemporary (21st Century). I am assuming that NU and UofC will admit a few students in this area. I really want a handle on what the most popular areas of focus are in order to determine my chances. Sorry to sound so strategic, but as we know, every bit of knowledge helps.

 

Good luck to all!

 

This might be a pot/kettle situation here, but seriously, chill! Knowing more information about the applicants isn't going to change your chances of getting in at this point. I'm curious about the spread, too, but more out of interest in the current state of the field. There's also no guarantee that the people drawn to this forum are an accurate reflection of the overall applicant pool.

 

By the way, Hal, can you just tell me the status of my Princeton application and put me out of my misery? ;)

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Ha, love these two responses! Yes, I too enjoy Hal Foster hence the alias here. I have met Hal and read his work. I do not want to go to Princeton and do not want to ever live in New Jersey, no offense to the Jersey folks. I want to attend the schools I applied to.

 

@Runaway: You do not need a forum to understand the state of the field. That information is available via dissertation searches and the CAA conference. Sorry to offend by wanting to learn the competition, I'm just concerned like everyone else. We want what we want, there is no shame in that.

 

Thanks to all!

 

Did anyone attend the Clark symposium last year: Great little paper by Hal Foster from his "Post-Critical" essay in October last spring. 

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@Runaway: You do not need a forum to understand the state of the field. That information is available via dissertation searches and the CAA conference. Sorry to offend by wanting to learn the competition, I'm just concerned like everyone else. We want what we want, there is no shame in that.

 

I'm not an idiot. There's a big difference between even ABD and early doctoral art historians and the people who are applying this season. I'm curious about trends in interests among current applicants and what that might say about the future of the field, if anything. I already know what trends in scholarship are.

 

I'm also Modern/Contemporary, by the way, though it seems we don't have any overlap in schools. But then, I do not want to ever live in Chicago, no offense to the Chicagoans. 

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@Runaway: Sure Chicago is not for everyone. Seems like you are applying to the big name brand schools in the field anyway.

 

I doubt anyone on Grad Cafe is sharing their deepest passions for art history discourse. Seems like most of the chatter is about impatience, hopes, desires, and dreams of getting in. I doubt you'll get a real feel for what anyone actually wants to study and what they hope to contribute to the field, but if you are asking--here goes: 

 

I am interested in new approaches to art criticism and art writing looking primarily at Hal Foster, Alexander Nemerov, and Matthew Jesse Jackson. I love this quote from Ryan Wong's recent essay on Artificial Hells-"But the agitation around Bishop can also be credited to the dullness of the contemporary art discourse, where boosterism is the only form of dialogue and lack of hype around an artist suffices for criticism. Museums, biennials, art fairs and galleries proliferate constantly and seemingly ad infinitum; the expanded field of the curator is discussed everywhere, but without an accompanying rise of the critic."

 

As far as a dissertation, I am looking at social practice, community art, critical political art, and my current field of art education. I am loosely asking: Can art (or should art even try to) provide a way out of life under authoritative capitalism (and the current art world that depends so heavily upon it)? What is the role of art today? What should the role of art, artists, and the art critic be today? Are art practices and art world trends researchable, if so, how might it look? I am also aligned with Craig Harshaw in that: "I feel disinclined to divide discussions like this from class and race. What I mean by this is that so many power positions in US art schools, museums, galleries are held by people who are power evasive around these issues--color-blind racists, pro-capitalist exploitation (without admitting this) etc. Why would we expect this to be different in a country like the US with such an incredibly reductive electoral political system and such weak working class/racial justice/economic justice social movements?" Art as a social movement must look squarely at this with honest eyes.

 

I feel that contemporary art wants to be an agent of social change (recently Tania Bruguera and Nato Thompson), but it does not yet know how to articulate its point of view. Citing the above from Craig Harshaw I add that it might be helpful to radicalize the institutions of art first, the art world second, and the larger culture third. I feel connected to Ad Reeinhardt and his comments on revolutions in art: “The next revolution will see the emancipation of the university academy of art from its market-place fantasies and its emergence as a center of consciousness and conscience.” 

 

Best,

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@Hal -- interesting, thanks for sharing. Maybe I wasn't clear earlier (I know tone doesn't convey well in this medium) but I meant to say that while I share your curiosity, I didn't really expect it to be indulged. So again, thanks!

 

I won't divulge all my interests since I've already shared so much on these forums anyway, but I will say we're interested in some of the same broader questions, albeit from very different angles.

 

I did apply to brand name schools, but they also happened to be the right fit. Maybe I'll get rejected across the board. I'll know soon enough.

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No no, I didn't apply to the PhD program at Wisconsin. I just checked my application for UPenn, however, and it still says it's incomplete...but everything has been reported as received. I don't understand this treachery. Should I call someone, or does anyone else who's had this problem know what this might be about?

Hi Lamantin --

 

I just checked my UPenn app and it also says "incomplete." I'm not sure what it means, but I'll let you know if I find out. 

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Guest lefilsdhomme

This forum needs some new energy. While we're waiting, best thing you've seen in a museum or gallery recently?

I was hoping someone would offer a change to the recent unpleasantness of this thread. I was working during the decorative arts "Treasures of the Louvre" show at the Legion of Honor and it was absolutely gorgeous. Louix XIII and XIV's precious stone cups blew me away.

 

Also, the "Degas et le nu" show that was at the d'Orsay this spring left a lasting impression. Seeing those early history paintings was a dream!

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