Jack Burnham
Encyclopedia
Jack Wesley Burnham Jr. is an American writer
on art
and technology
, who taught art history at Northwestern University
and the University of Maryland
. He is one of the main forces behind the emergence of systems art
in the 1960s.
in 1959 and a MFA in 1961.
From 1955 until 1965 he worked as a sculptor, often created sculptures that included light. In the 1960s he started teaching art history at Northwestern University, and became chairman of their art department. He was a Fellow at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies
from 1968 to 1969. In the 1980s he moved to the University of Maryland and again chaired the art and art history departments.
Since the 1990s he is retired, and lives in Hyattsville, Maryland
, immersed in Kabbalah
.
. In systems art the concept
and idea
s of process related system
s and systems theory
are involved in the work to take precedence over traditional aesthetic
object related and material concerns. Burnham named Systems art in the 1968 Artforum
article "Real Systems Art": "He had investigated the effects of science and technology on the sculpture of this century, and saw a dramatic contrast between the handling of the place-oriented object sculpture and the extreme mobility of Systems sculpture".
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
on art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, who taught art history at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. He is one of the main forces behind the emergence of systems art
Systems art
Systems art is art influenced by cybernetics, and systems theory, which reflects on natural systems, social systems and social signs of the art world itself....
in the 1960s.
Biography
Burnham received a BFA from the Yale School of ArtYale School of Art
The Yale School of Art is one of twelve constituent schools of Yale University. It is a professional art school, granting only Masters of Fine Arts degrees to those completing studies in graphic design, painting/printmaking, photography, or sculpture....
in 1959 and a MFA in 1961.
From 1955 until 1965 he worked as a sculptor, often created sculptures that included light. In the 1960s he started teaching art history at Northwestern University, and became chairman of their art department. He was a Fellow at MIT's Center for Advanced Visual Studies
Center for Advanced Visual Studies
The Center for Advanced Visual Studies at MIT was founded in 1967 by artist and teacher György Kepes. Kepes, who taught at the new Bauhaus in Chicago, originally founded the Center as a way to encourage artistic collaboration on a large civic scale....
from 1968 to 1969. In the 1980s he moved to the University of Maryland and again chaired the art and art history departments.
Since the 1990s he is retired, and lives in Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
, immersed in Kabbalah
Kabbalah
Kabbalah/Kabala is a discipline and school of thought concerned with the esoteric aspect of Rabbinic Judaism. It was systematized in 11th-13th century Hachmei Provence and Spain, and again after the Expulsion from Spain, in 16th century Ottoman Palestine...
.
Work
Jack Burnham worked as a writer, and in the 1960s and 1970s made important contributions as an art theorist, critic and curator in the field of systems artSystems art
Systems art is art influenced by cybernetics, and systems theory, which reflects on natural systems, social systems and social signs of the art world itself....
. In systems art the concept
Concept
The word concept is used in ordinary language as well as in almost all academic disciplines. Particularly in philosophy, psychology and cognitive sciences the term is much used and much discussed. WordNet defines concept: "conception, construct ". However, the meaning of the term concept is much...
and idea
Idea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
s of process related system
System
System is a set of interacting or interdependent components forming an integrated whole....
s and systems theory
Systems theory
Systems theory is the transdisciplinary study of systems in general, with the goal of elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of systems at all nesting levels in all fields of research...
are involved in the work to take precedence over traditional aesthetic
Aesthetics
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty. It is more scientifically defined as the study of sensory or sensori-emotional values, sometimes called judgments of sentiment and taste...
object related and material concerns. Burnham named Systems art in the 1968 Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
article "Real Systems Art": "He had investigated the effects of science and technology on the sculpture of this century, and saw a dramatic contrast between the handling of the place-oriented object sculpture and the extreme mobility of Systems sculpture".
Publications
Burnham wrote two books and dozens of articles in magazines like: Art and Artists magazine, Arts and Society, Artforum magazine, Arts magazine. His books:- 1968, Beyond Modern Sculpture: The Effects of Science and Technology on the Sculpture of This Century, New York: George Braziller; London: Allen Lane/Penguin Press.
- 1969, Art in the Marcusean Analysis, vol 6 of the "Penn State Papers in Art Education", edited by Paul Edmonston (Philadelphia: Pennsylvania State University, 1969).
- 1973, The Structure of Art, Revised Edition, Brazillera, ISBN 0807605956.
- 1974, Great Western Salt Works: Essays on the Meaning of Post-Formalist Art, New York: George Braziller. 0-8076-0740-1.
About Jack Burnham
- Charlie GereCharlie GereCharlie Gere is a British academic who is Director of Research at the Institute for Cultural Research at Lancaster University.-Career:* His PhD, ‘The Computer as an Irrational Cabinet’, was part practice-based and was from the Centre for Electronic Arts and the Department of Visual Culture,...
, Art, Time and Technology: Histories of the Disappearing Body (2005) Berg, pp. 124-138 - Matthew Rampley (2005). Systems Aesthetics: Burnham and Others. In: Vector e-zine. issue B-12, January 2005.
- Corrine Robins (1972). Burnham's Burden: Art is Over...Again in Art in America. March 1972, pp. 14-15.
- Edward A. ShankenEdward A. ShankenEdward A. Shanken is an American art historian, whose work focuses on the entwinement of art, science and technology, with a focus on experimental new media art and visual culture. His scholarship has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and has been translated into six...
(1998). "The House That Jack Built: Jack Burnham's Concept of Software as a Metaphor for Art". In: Leonardo Electronic Almanac, Vol. 6, No. 10 (November, 1998). - Edward A. ShankenEdward A. ShankenEdward A. Shanken is an American art historian, whose work focuses on the entwinement of art, science and technology, with a focus on experimental new media art and visual culture. His scholarship has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and has been translated into six...
(2001). "Art in the Information Age: Technology and Conceptual Art" SIGGRAPH 2001 Electronic Art and Animation Catalog, (New York: ACM SIGGRAPH, 2001): 8-15. Expanded in Leonardo 35:4 (Aug 2002). - Edward A. ShankenEdward A. ShankenEdward A. Shanken is an American art historian, whose work focuses on the entwinement of art, science and technology, with a focus on experimental new media art and visual culture. His scholarship has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies and has been translated into six...
(2009). "Reprogramming Systems Aesthetics: A Strategic Historiography". Proceedings of the Digital Arts and Culture Conference, 2009. - Willoughby SharpWilloughby SharpWilloughby Sharp was an internationally known artist, independent curator, independent publisher, gallerist, teacher, author, and telecom activist. In 1968, Sharp co-founded Avalanche magazine with writer/filmmaker Liza Béar...
(1970). Willoughby Sharp Interviews Jack Burnham in Arts magazine. Vol. 45, No. 2, November 1970, pp. 21-23 - Luke Skrebowski (2006). All Systems Go: Recovering Jack Burnham's 'Systems Aesthetics. Tate Papers, Spring 2006
External links
- Homepage Jack Burnham
- Interview with Jack Burnham by Lutz Dammbeck