Research

Readings, Resources and Inspiration for SIM Major Studio

SP20 – Pandemic Semester

Here are some resources that might give some perspective on this historic moment in our lives.

FA19

Previous Semesters

Anytime

SIM Faculty Top 5 Picks

Below you will find artworks, ideas, and places that the SIM faculty believe you should know about. Viewing and/or researching the following Top 5 Picks will enhance critiques and help you make the best of your limited time in SIM.

Current Faculty Picks

Juan Obando

  1. “Instrument: Ten years with the band FUGAZI” (2001) by Jem Cohen
  2. “TAZ: Temporary Autonomous Zone” (1991) by Hakim Bey
  3. “Relational Aesthetics” (2002) by Nicolas Bourriaud
  4. “The New Aesthetic” (Ongoing Investigation) by James Bridle
  5. DEATH GRIPS

Elaine Buckholtz

  1. “4.33” (1952) John Cage
  2. “How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare” (1965) Joseph Beuys
  3. “Voice of the Actor” (reprinted 1991) Cicely Berry
  4. “Mining the museum”  (1992-93) Fred Wilson
  5. “Her Long Black Hair” (2004) Janet Cardiff

Dana Moser

  1. “Cut Piece” (1964) Yoko Ono
  2. ‘Society of the Spectacle‘ (1967) Guy Debord
  3. “Untitled” (Portrait of Ross in L.A.) (1991) Felix Gonzalez-Torres
  4. “Saddest Music in the World” (2003) Guy Madden
  5. _Citizen_ (2014) Claudia Rankine

Nita Sturiale

  1. “Manifesto For Maintenance Art” (1969) Merle Ukeles
  2. “Silueta Series” (1973–1980) Ana Mendieta
  3. “Consilience” (1999) EO Wilson
  4. “Critique Response Process” (2003) Liz Lerman
  5. “Sunflower Seeds” (2010) Ai WeiWei
Past Faculty Picks

Harris Barron (SIM Founder and Professor Emeritus)

  1. “We see only what we look for. We look for only what we know.” quote Geothe
  2. “What cannot be imagined cannot even be talked about. My difficulty is only an – enormous – difficulty of expression.” quote Ludwig Wittgentstein
  3. “When we are no longer children, we are already dead.” quote Constantin Brancusi
  4. “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. Who looks inside, dreams: who looks inside, awakes. The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity.” quote Carl Jung
  5. “Secrets, Lies and Democracy” (1994) and “Manufacturing Consent” (1988) Noam Chomsky

Donald Burgy (Professor Emeritus)

  1. The Dawn Redwood: a very tall tree in the Boston Public Garden next to Arlington Street near the Boylston street corner.
  2. Philosophers Stone: a large rock from China positioned on the front lawn of the Museum of Fine Arts.
  3. A chapel in the Mission Hill Church filled with crutches and wheelchairs abandoned during miracle healings.

Ben Bigelow (Visiting Faculty 14/15)

  1. “Fountain” (1917) Duchamp
  2. “Ways of Seeing” (1972)  John Berger <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pDE4VX_9Kk>
  3. “eRacism” (late 70’s) William Pope l.
  4. “All About Love” (2001) and “Art On My Mind” (1995) bell hooks
  5. “A Family Finds Entertainment” (2004) and “Center Jenny” (2013) Ryan Trecartin

Research Guides – For further study, the SIM faculty, along with the Morton Godine Library staff, has developed several subject-based online resources and collections designed for SIM Majors.