Art

How to Write About Contemporary Art

Gilda Williams (Author)

Chung Yeon-shim (Adivisor)

Kim Hyo-jeong (Translator)

2016. 9. 30. 380 pages 131x210 mm Softcover 9788970598642 KRW 25,000

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An essential handbook for students and professionals on writing eloquently, accurately, and originally about contemporary art

How to Write About Contemporary Art is the definitive guide to writing engagingly about the art of our time. Invaluable for students, arts professionals and other aspiring writers, the book first navigates readers through the key elements of style and content, from the aims and structure of a piece to its tone and language. Brimming with practical tips that range across the complete spectrum of art-writing, the second part of the book is organized around its specific forms, including academic essays; press releases and news articles; texts for auction and exhibition catalogues, gallery guides and wall labels; op-ed journalism and exhibition reviews; and writing for websites and blogs.

In counseling the reader against common pitfalls―such as jargon and poor structure―Gilda Williams points instead to the power of close looking and research, showing how to deploy language effectively; how to develop new ideas; and how to construct compelling texts. More than 30 illustrations throughout support closely analysed case studies of the best writing, in Source Texts by 64 authors, including Claire Bishop, Thomas Crow, T.J. Demos, Okwui Enwezor, Dave Hickey, John Kelsey, Chris Kraus, Rosalind Krauss, Stuart Morgan, Hito Steyerl, and Adam Szymczyk.

Supplemented by a general bibliography, advice on the use and misuse of grammar, and tips on how to construct your own contemporary art library, How to Write About Contemporary Art is the essential handbook for all those interested in communicating about the art of today.

Gilda Williams

Based in London since 1994, Dr. Gilda Williams is a contemporary art critic and teacher; editor of ON&BY Andy Warhol (MIT/Whitechapel Press, 2016); and author of the bestselling art book How to Write about Contemporary Art (Thames & Hudson, 2014), now published in seven languages. From 2008-23 Williams was Senior Lecturer on the MFA Curating programme at Goldsmiths College (University of London), where she taught art writing. Dr. Williams has also taught at the The Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University; The Royal College of Art, London; Frieze Academy; Sotheby’s Institute of Art London; the Guardian’s ‘Masterclass’ series, among many others. Williams has served as an Examiner on PhDs at Goldsmiths, the Royal College of Art and Birkbeck University. A longtime London correspondent for Artforum magazine and a member of the International Association of Art Critics, Williams has served as an Evaluator for the Arts Writers Grant Program, The Andy Warhol Foundation | Creative Capital, New York (2020). Since 2023 Gilda Williams’ main activity is a textile- and stitching-based studio art practice.

Chung Yeon-shim

Chung Yeon-shim is professor of Art History and Theory (예술학과) at Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. She received her Ph.D. in art history at the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Dr Chung’s research interests encompass both modern and contemporary Western and East Asian art. Before teaching at Hongik, Dr Chung was an assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and a researcher for the exhibition The World of Nam June Paik at the Guggenheim Museum, New York, in 1999. She also curated several landmark exhibitions in New York and in Seoul since 2000 as an independent curator; she worked as one of the curators for the 2018 Gwangju Biennale. Chung was a Fulbright fellow and visiting research professor at IFA/NYU from Sept. 2018 to Aug. 2019.

Kim Hyo-jeong

She majored in psychology and English literature at Yonsei University. She graduated from Glbab Academy and is currently working as a translator at Barun translation. His books include The Dollhouse, The Good Girl, Someone Knows, Writing Strategies to Capture Your Heart, What Your Emotions Tell You, The Psychology of Situations, How the Best Education is Made, How to Make a Difference, 75 Survival Wisdom from the Wilderness, The Philosophical Teenager Changes the World and more.

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How to Write About Contemporary Art