Abstracts
Abstract
Miniatures open us up to childhood memories, daydreaming, and nostalgia, but they can also alert us to the dangers and disappointments of our times. Many contemporary artists are utilizing small-scale artworks to represent difficult truths of contemporary American life, such as alienation, disenchantment, precarious housing, and economic insecurity writ large. In this essay, focusing on the artists Michael Paul Smith, Thomas Dolye, and James Casebere, the imaginations that encircle homes, neighborhoods, and small towns are complicated through utopian and dystopian art works that draw attention to past attachments to the future and the need for large changes now.
Résumé
Les miniatures nous ouvrent aux souvenirs d'enfance, à la rêverie et à la nostalgie, mais elles peuvent aussi nous alerter sur les dangers et les déceptions de notre époque. De nombreux artistes contemporains utilisent des oeuvres d'art à petite échelle pour représenter des vérités difficiles de la vie américaine contemporaine, telles que l'aliénation, le désenchantement, le logement précaire et l'insécurité économique au sens large. Dans cet essai, axé sur les artistes Michael Paul Smith, Thomas Dolye et James Casebere, les imaginations qui entourent les maisons, les quartiers et les petites villes sont compliquées par des oeuvres d'art utopiques et dystopiques qui attirent l'attention sur les attachements passés au futur et le besoin pour de grands changements maintenant.
Appendices
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