Yve-Alain Bois
Yve-Alain Bois (born 1952) is an historian and critic of modern art. Yve-Alain Bois was born on April 16, 1952 in Constantine, Algeria.
Academic Activities
In a formative early experience, he rejected Michel Seuphor's mis-characterization of Piet Mondrian as a kind of neo-Platonic monk, upon receiving this book as a confirmation present from his grandfather. He received an M.A. from the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes in Paris for work on El Lissitzky's typography, and a Ph.D. from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales for work on Lissitzky's and Malevich's conceptions of space. His advisor was Roland Barthes.
He is Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, in the chair inaugurated by Erwin Panofsky and formerly held by Millard Meiss, Irving Lavin, and Kirk Varnedoe. Previously, he served on the faculty at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.
He has written books or major articles on canonical artists of European modernism including Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, and of American postwar art including Barnett Newman, Ad Reinhardt, Cy Twombly, Ellsworth Kelly, Richard Serra, and Robert Ryman. He is also an influential interpreter of comparatively more obscure artists including Wladyslaw Strzeminski, Katarzyna Kobro, and Sophie Calle.
External links
Articles and Reviews by Bois
- Yve-Alain Bois, "Whose Formalism?" Art Bulletin, Mar. 1996 (European Graduate School)
- "Whose Formalism?" alternate version, findarticles.com
- Review of Tony Smith retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Artforum, Nov. 1998
- Review of "Supports/Surfaces" exhibition at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, Artforum, Dec. 1998
- Bois and Linda Nochlin discuss the Matisse and Picasso exhibition, Artforum, Feb. 1999
- Review of Barnett Newman retrospective, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Artforum, Mar. 2002
- "Back to the Future," review of eight books on Malevich, in Bookforum winter 2003
- "The Mourning After," panel discussion on painting, Artforum, Mar. 2003
- On Fred Sandback, Artforum, Oct. 2003
- Letter to the New York Times protesting the tone of the Jacques Derrida obituary written by "a Jonathan Kandell," Oct. 10, 2004
- Comment by Bois on discussion of Art Since 1900 reviews, Iconoduel May 8, 2005
- "Tough Love," on Hubert Damisch, in Oxford Art Journal vol. 28, no. 2 (2005)
Reviews of Bois
- Michael Leja, "Formalism Redivivus?" review of Painting As Model in Art in America Mar. 1992, pp. 35-39.
- Arthur Danto, review of Painting as Model, in Art Journal, vol. 51, pp. 95-97.
- Stephen Melville, "Matter, Model and Modernism," in Art History vol. 15, no. 3 (Sept. 1992), pp. 387-391.
- Paul Overy, "'Here-I-Am-Again-Piet': A Mondrian for the Nineties" in Art History, vol. 18, no. 4 (Dec. 1995), pp.584-605.
- Jacob Weisberg, on the 'Matisse/Picasso' split in everyday life, in Slate, Mar. 6, 1999.
- Pepe Karmel, "The October Century," review of Art Since 1900, in Art in America, Nov. 2005.
- Harper Montgomery, annotation of "Painting: The Task of Mourning" from www.chicagoschoolmediatheory.net
About Bois
- "Art Historian Yve-Alain Bois joins the faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study," press release, Jan. 7, 2005.
- Yve-Alain Bois: Bio / Lectures / Bibliography (European Graduate School)
- Vrai-Faux Passeport: "Art Since 1900" roundtable, transcript, June 2005 (password needed to access blog)
- "From Art to Barthes and Back Again," The Harvard Crimson, Sept. 19, 1991
- Google cache of the Vrai-Faux Passeport: "Art Since 1900" roundtable transcript