Cantor Arts Center

The Medium Is the Message: Art since 1950

It is the medium that shapes and controls the scale and form of human association and action.
—-Marshall McLuhan, The Medium Is the Message

In 1964, Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan published his groundbreaking study, Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man, in which he argues that the way information is transmitted is as important as the content being conveyed—or in his words, “the medium is the message.” The term medium can refer to a number of things: a means of communication, the materials from which an art object is created, or a mediating apparatus between objects and subjects. Using McLuhan’s text as a starting point, the works on display here investigate the relationship between subject, content, and the materials that informed each object’s production.

The exhibition is divided into three broad categories: “In the Abstract” explores how paint, metal, and fabric can be used as a means of abstract communication, and how the medium of abstraction has highlighted or obscured particular narratives in the history of art. “The Sum of Its Parts” examines the ways artists have used nontraditional materials for critical and expressive inquiry, and asks what the forgotten objects of yesterday tell us about the present. “The Faces We Present” reconsiders the limits of figural representation, investigating how portraiture can serve as a mediating apparatus between the past and the present—a medium for addressing historical inequities and visual disenfranchisement. The questions prompted by these examinations guide our historical understanding of the objects on view, while interrogating how they are seen in both the museum and world beyond. Viewed collectively, these works suggest that an exploration of medium is one way of challenging dominant discourses around art, culture, and history.

Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, PhD, Assistant Curator of American Art

This exhibition is organized by the Cantor Arts Center. We gratefully acknowledge support from The Clumeck Endowment Fund.

Showing 1 to 22 of 22 Records

Augusta Savage

Gwendolyn Knight
Oil on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2013.91

Currently On View

Business Man

Roger Shimomura
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.96

Currently On View

Calligraphy

Zhou Tiehai
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. China
2012.214

Currently On View

Construction for Table

Edward Kienholz
Resin and cut wood on plywood
20th C. USA
2007.54

Currently On View

Docking #1

Miriam Schapiro
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. USA
1971.19

Currently On View

Double Cross

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Mixed media
20th C. USA
2006.102

Currently On View

For McClure: Irish in Kansas

George Herms
Wood, metal, fabric, paper, and plastic
20th C. USA
2003.91

Currently On View

For Richard Wright

Melvin Edwards
Welded steel
20th C. USA
1994.23

Currently On View

Household Find

Willie Cole
Ironing board, tin, wood, and Plexiglas
20th C. USA
1996.28

Currently On View

In Out Fuck You

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Metal with collage assemblage
USA
2013.84

Currently On View

Lush Life #2

Roger Shimomura
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.97

Currently On View

Once Upon a Time

Raymond Jennings Saunders
Mixed media on board
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.26

Currently On View

Image of Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book,"....

Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book,"....
Page 4 of Jefferson's "Farm Book," January 1774,Goliath, Hercules, Jupiter, Gill, Fanny, Ned, Sucky, Frankey, Gill, Nell, Bella, Charles, Jenny, Betty, June, Toby, Duna (sic), Cate, Hannah, Rachael, George, Ursula, George, Bagwell, Archy, Frank, Bett, Scilla, ? , 2

Titus Kaphar
Oil on canvas on support panel
21st C.
2018.102

Currently On View

Sweetie Bird

George Herms
Mixed media in wood box
20th C. USA
2013.83

Currently On View

The Arab

Alice Neel
Oil on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2010.25

Currently On View

The Billionaire Deluxe

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Metal, Fresnel lens system, light bulb, and solid-state electronic second counter
20th C. USA
2007.57

Currently On View

The Block Head

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Pumice construction block, Fresnel lens, wood, leather, and a transistor radio
20th C. U.S.A.
2009.42

Currently On View

The Optic Can Royale
from The Optic Can Royale

Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz
Aluminum can, fresnel lens system, and light bulb
20th C. Assemblage
2015.78.1

Currently On View

The Waters of Then and Now

Lonnie Holley
Collage on museum board with spray paint
21st C. U.S.A.
2020.2

Untitled

Ruth Asawa
Copper or bronze wire
20th C. U.S.A. Metal
2014.110

Currently On View

Untitled (Elegy)

Robert Motherwell
Acrylic on canvas
20th C. U.S.A.
2003.81

Currently On View

Untitled #14

John McLaughlin
Oil on canvas
20th C. USA
1969.231

Currently On View

Your current search criteria is: Portfolio is "The Medium Is the Message: Art since 1950".

Last updated: 02/26/2021

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced.

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The Medium Is the Message: Art since 1950

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Augusta Savage

Business Man

Calligraphy

Construction for Table

Docking #1

Double Cross

For McClure: Irish in Kansas

For Richard Wright

Household Find

In Out Fuck You

Lush Life #2

Once Upon a Time

Sweetie Bird

The Arab

The Billionaire Deluxe

The Block Head

The Optic Can Royale
from The Optic Can Royale

The Waters of Then and Now

Untitled

Untitled (Elegy)

Untitled #14

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