Striking the Balance: BOMB Magazine's Negotiation with Artistic Intention
Open Access
Author:
Loughran, Kathleen Rose
Area of Honors:
Art History
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Sarah K Rich, Thesis Supervisor Elizabeth J Walters, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
BOMB Magazine Betsy Sussler little art magazines NYC 1980s Avalanche Artforum Liza Bear Barthes Death of the Author
Abstract:
This thesis examines the place and agency of the artist interview in little art magazines produced during the 1970s and 1980s in New York City. In particular, it focuses on BOMB, a magazine established in 1981 by artist Betsy Sussler. Taking into consideration BOMB’s art historical predecessors, I argue that BOMB was a direct response to the conversation initially sparked by Roland Barthes’s seminal work “The Death of the Author,” which challenged the art world to focus on an artist’s work rather than on his personality. Published in 1967, “The Death of the Author” ignited controversy and led many artists and writers to recuperate the artist’s voice in criticism. This can be seen depicted in the publication of Avalanche in the late 1960s, early 1970s. Founded by artists Liza Béar and Willoughby Sharp, it reshaped the artist as genius, suggesting his interpretation was necessary in order to understand his work. Realizing this duality, Sussler fashioned a magazine that merged these two ideas. Through producing BOMB, its editors asserted that the artist’s voice was an important component to understanding his work, but it was not capable of offering the sole definitive interpretation.
