Saul Ostrow
Encyclopedia
Saul Ostrow is an art critic
and Associate Professor of Visual Arts and Technologies at The Cleveland Institute of Art
Trained as an artist, he is best known as a critic and curator, having curated over 80 exhibitions.
. He has taught at Pratt Institute
, Syracuse University
, The School of the Visual Arts and was acting head of MFA studio program at New York University
and Director of the Center for Visual Art and Culture at The University of Connecticut
.
. This show examined the impact of digital art
on current art practice and included internationally recognized artists such as:James Welling
, Barbara Probst
, Fabian Marcaccio
, Joseph Nechvatal
, Curtis Mitchell, Matthew Buckingham and Penny Umbrico.
Mr. Ostrow is the editor of the book series "Critical Voices in Art, Theory and Culture" published by Routledge London
and is the Art Editor for Bomb Magazine
. (At one point, he was Co-Editor of Lusitania Press- acting from 1996-12004.)
His writings have appeared in innumerable art magazines, journals, catalogues and books in the USA and Europe. He also supplies reviews regularly for Art in America
. His essay; "Criticism as an Exemplary Supplement or Politics1 Phantom Limb (for JD)" appeared in "States of Criticism" - a book edited by James Elkins.
In a 2011 interview with Brian Sherwin
for FineArtViews, Ostrow declared that art criticism
is important because it helps to establish the concept of the "collective self". Ostrow suggested that criticism is important because it helps to address the "contradictions and dichotomies inherent in our social and cultural lives". In the interview Ostrow shared his experience as Art Editor for Bomb Magazine
and his insight into the "changing landscape" of art criticism due to the advent of the Internet
and art blogs. When asked about sexism, ageism, and racism within the contemporary art world Ostrow suggested that all three exist because all three exist in larger society.
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
and Associate Professor of Visual Arts and Technologies at The Cleveland Institute of Art
Cleveland Institute of Art
The Cleveland Institute of Art is a private college of art and design located in University Circle, Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. From 1891 until 1948 it was named Cleveland School of Art. During the Great Depression the school...
Trained as an artist, he is best known as a critic and curator, having curated over 80 exhibitions.
Education and professional experience
Ostrow attended the High School of Art and Design (NYC), upon graduation he attended the School of Visual Arts (NYC) for four years. He then went on to receive his M.F.A from The University of Massachusetts AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
. He has taught at Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute is a private art college in New York City located in Brooklyn, New York, with satellite campuses in Manhattan and Utica. Pratt is one of the leading undergraduate art schools in the United States and offers programs in Architecture, Graphic Design, History of Art and Design,...
, Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
, The School of the Visual Arts and was acting head of MFA studio program at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
and Director of the Center for Visual Art and Culture at The University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut
The admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
.
Professional activity
Since 1987, he has curated over 80 exhibitions in the US and abroad. Recently he curated the exhibition "Modeling the Photographic: The Ends of Photography" for the McDonough Museum of Art located in Youngstown, OhioYoungstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
. This show examined the impact of digital art
Digital art
Digital art is a general term for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative and/or presentation process...
on current art practice and included internationally recognized artists such as:James Welling
James Welling
James Welling earned both a BFA and an MFA at California Institute of the Arts in Valencia , where he studied with, among others, Dan Graham. He emerged in the 1970s as an artist for whom photographic norms and the representational field itself were and remain contested and problematized...
, Barbara Probst
Barbara Probst
Barbara Probst is a photographer and contemporary artist, born in Munich in 1964. She lives and works in New York and Munich. Probst’s images use multiple points of view by employing as many as twelve cameras and tripods, arranged around the subject, to photograph multiple points of view captured...
, Fabian Marcaccio
Fabian Marcaccio
Fabian Marcaccio is an Argentine born artist living and working in the United States whose trans-genre works including "Paintants" and '"Draftants" have been exhibited worldwide....
, Joseph Nechvatal
Joseph Nechvatal
Joseph Nechvatal is a post-conceptual art digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom-created computer viruses.-Life and work:Joseph Nechvatal was born in Chicago...
, Curtis Mitchell, Matthew Buckingham and Penny Umbrico.
Mr. Ostrow is the editor of the book series "Critical Voices in Art, Theory and Culture" published by Routledge London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and is the Art Editor for Bomb Magazine
Bomb Magazine
BOMB is a quarterly magazine edited by artists and writers. It is composed, primarily, of interviews between creative people working in a variety of disciplines — visual art, literature, music, film, theater and architecture....
. (At one point, he was Co-Editor of Lusitania Press- acting from 1996-12004.)
His writings have appeared in innumerable art magazines, journals, catalogues and books in the USA and Europe. He also supplies reviews regularly for Art in America
Art in America
Art in America is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It is designed for collectors, artists, dealers, art professionals and other...
. His essay; "Criticism as an Exemplary Supplement or Politics1 Phantom Limb (for JD)" appeared in "States of Criticism" - a book edited by James Elkins.
In a 2011 interview with Brian Sherwin
Brian Sherwin
Brian Sherwin is an American art critic, writer, and blogger with a degree from Illinois College in 2003. Sherwin is the Senior Editor for the artist social networking site myartspace, where he has written an extensive interview series with emerging and established visual artists...
for FineArtViews, Ostrow declared that art criticism
Art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art.Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty...
is important because it helps to establish the concept of the "collective self". Ostrow suggested that criticism is important because it helps to address the "contradictions and dichotomies inherent in our social and cultural lives". In the interview Ostrow shared his experience as Art Editor for Bomb Magazine
Bomb Magazine
BOMB is a quarterly magazine edited by artists and writers. It is composed, primarily, of interviews between creative people working in a variety of disciplines — visual art, literature, music, film, theater and architecture....
and his insight into the "changing landscape" of art criticism due to the advent of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and art blogs. When asked about sexism, ageism, and racism within the contemporary art world Ostrow suggested that all three exist because all three exist in larger society.
See also
- Conceptual artConceptual artConceptual 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...
- Institutional CritiqueInstitutional CritiqueInstitutional Critique is an art term that describes the systematic inquiry into the workings of art institutions, for instance galleries and museums, and is most associated with the work of artists such as Michael Asher, Marcel Broodthaers, Daniel Buren, Andrea Fraser, Fred Wilson and Hans...
- Postmodern artPostmodern artPostmodern art is a term used to describe an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath...
- Electronic artElectronic artElectronic art is a form of art that makes use of electronic media or, more broadly, refers to technology and/or electronic media. It is related to information art, new media art, video art, digital art, interactive art, internet art, and electronic music...
- Systems artSystems artSystems art is art influenced by cybernetics, and systems theory, which reflects on natural systems, social systems and social signs of the art world itself....
- New Media ArtNew media artNew media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including digital art, computer graphics, computer animation, virtual art, Internet art, interactive art, computer robotics, and art as biotechnology...
- Generative artGenerative artGenerative art refers to art that has been generated, composed, or constructed in an algorithmic manner through the use of systems defined by computer software algorithms, or similar mathematical or mechanical or randomised autonomous processes....