Fred Kleiner has authored Cengage’s canonical artwork historical past title, “Gardner’s Artwork by way of the Ages: A International Historical past” for the previous six editions. And now, we’d prefer to introduce ourselves as its 4 new co-authors. We’re all eagerly working to revise and reframe this title to match lots of the present instructions within the artwork historical past subject.
Get to know us and be taught why we’re enthusiastic about our upcoming adjustments to the seventeenth version, to be launched in 2027.
Get to know us: the brand new authors
Karl Whittington
My title is Karl Whittington and I’m a historian of medieval European artwork. My analysis and instructing focuses on materiality, the historical past of science and gender and sexuality research. I’m a Professor of Historical past of Artwork at The Ohio State College.
Rachel Stephens
My title is Rachel Stephens and I’m a historian of the artwork of the USA. My analysis focuses on the political implications of Nineteenth-century artwork and materials tradition within the South. I’m a Professor of Artwork Historical past on the College of Alabama.
Bing Huang
My title is Bing Huang and I’m a historian of Chinese language artwork. My analysis and instructing span the intersections of artwork and know-how, overlaying a large chronology and geography. These areas vary from Han-dynasty tomb structure, Buddhist artwork and Chinese language portray to the lengthy eighteenth century and cross-cultural trade between China and Europe, extending into AI-driven artwork and digital actuality. I’m an Affiliate Professor of Artwork Historical past at Windfall School.
Joseph L. Underwood
My title is Joseph L. Underwood. I’m a historian and curator whose analysis focuses on artists from the African continent and the Diaspora, particularly artists from Senegal energetic between 1960-1985 and people working towards right this moment. I’m an Affiliate Professor of Artwork Historical past at Kent State College.
What’s up to date in our upcoming version?
Many artwork historical past departments have just lately re-thought their curricula or are within the means of doing so. Our seventeenth version of “Gardner’s” responds to the worldwide flip within the humanities, whereas remaining foundational and approachable for college students. It provides broad, in-depth protection of artworks and monuments that signify dominant traits within the historical past of artwork throughout the globe.
New views
“Gardner’s” is thought for its balanced protection between each rigorous formal evaluation and deep historic context. We’ve retained a lot of those instructions whereas infusing further world and comparative views. We intention to complicate a few of the longstanding narratives of the sector. That is according to the wealth of latest scholarship previously a number of many years.
New analysis
The group of the textual content remains to be principally chronological and regional. Nonetheless, our new version highlights latest analysis into cross-cultural interactions that sparked the motion of artworks and artists throughout the globe. And it expands protection of many elements of the world. As co-authors, we’ve introduced collectively an unlimited quantity of data and analysis to supply college students with a stable grounding for an expansive examine of artwork historical past. This protection, mixed with supplemental supplies for sophistication preparation, can assist instructors train programs on world artwork historical past that reply to the wants and pursuits of right this moment’s college students.
New methodologies
We’ve prioritized accessibility for college students, whereas additionally aiming to encourage vital considering and a number of views on artworks. This version encourages college students to interact in vital dialogue and focus on urgent points associated to artwork historical past’s previous, current and future. The seventeenth version introduces artworks and monuments by way of a number of methodological views without delay. Along with social-historical inquiry, formal evaluation and iconography, college students can have a look at artwork by way of the lens of politics, materiality research, gender and race. Moreover, they might look at objects and monuments as actors that form our tradition.
Artwork, tradition and identification
At the moment’s college students care about how artworks intersect with the examine of identification, each previous and current. What can artwork and structure inform us about how the individuals of the previous lived, labored, cherished, struggled and conceived of the world round them? We hope to attract college students into these questions by providing new views on a few of the canonical works of worldwide artwork and structure.
We introduce lots of of latest works by artists and cultures. These are voices that won’t have been as distinguished within the subject till latest years. This version will assist college students see how finding out artwork historical past can place them to be deeper and extra vital thinkers about how visible tradition shapes identification and expertise within the trendy world.
Artwork and know-how
The evolving definition of artwork, the transformation of artistic observe and the arrival of AI are reshaping how artwork is created. They’re additionally reshaping the way it’s encountered and understood in a technology-driven period. This version emerges at a vital juncture for art-historical scholarship and human historical past. AI’s accelerating evolution is reconfiguring the circumstances of cultural manufacturing and expertise.
We’ve located these developments inside a broader historic continuum, illuminating how improvements, reminiscent of AI-driven media, are opening unprecedented aesthetic prospects and cultural horizons. On the identical time, we hope to domesticate a forward-looking creativeness — one which bridges an understanding of the previous with the capability to check the way forward for artwork in its ever-expanding varieties.
Written by Karl Whittington of Ohio State College, Rachel Stephens of College of Alabama, Bing Huang of Windfall School and Joseph L. Underwood of Kent State College.
To view a pattern chapter, log into your teacher account at school.cengage.com and enter ISBN: 9780357796979.
Add to your library > Go to Sources > Click on the carrot in dietary supplements and launch eBook Pattern Chapter.
