Printmaking: Art & Critical Theory

The sources below can augment your understanding of theory and how it is used by art historians to discuss artworks of all kinds.

“All forms of knowledge in art are intrinsically ‘theoretical,’ no matter how self-evident and commonsensical they may appear. Art is never divorced from the theorization of its meanings…As the contexts of art continue to shift and art approaches develop, as international exhibitions continue to be organized, as the role of art continues to be measured against political, economic, and technological transformations in society, so theoretical discourses continue to illuminate and ground the thinking of art.”

-- Zoya Kocur and Simon Leung, Theory in Contemporary Art since 1985 (2nd ed.). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012, p. 3.

The author is indebted to Dr. Sara Witty for her help and feedback on this guide.

The central problem of theory and library research is that library research requires words to search on. To find information relevant to an artist, just using the artist's name is usually sufficient. But to find information relevant to an idea, you have to choose words that both meaningfully describe that idea and which also appear in research resources (catalogs and indexes) in conjunction with that idea. This is a process of trial and error. The following table attempts to group theories, descriptive keywords, theorists, and artists in ways that will aid the search process.

Keep in mind, however, that in the recent practice of art history, according to Buchloh, "distinct critical models...have been merged and integrated in various ways...mak[ing] it difficult, if not altogether pointless, to insist on methodological consistency, let alone on a singular methodological position" (Foster et al 2012, p. 22). The theories and their associated keywords and theorists are, in current practice, used together "in an increasingly complex weave of methodological eclecticism." It is not necessary to "pick a theory" and apply it in isolation. Borrow ideas and keywords and texts from many theoretical traditions.

When searching in library databases (both catalogs and online indexes), it is usually important to do many different searches in order to find relevant results. This is especially true when your research involves wrestling with abstract concepts like those in critical theory.

One tool to use in searches are subject headings. They are most useful when searching for books in library catalogs, but major indexes also use them (these may differ from those applied in library catalogs; for example, they may be more specific to the subject covered in the index). Subject headings are descriptive words chosen from a limited list and applied similarly throughout the database.

These are how subject headings appear in library catalogs:

This is how they appear in indexes:

Limiting your search to "subject" will search just the terms that appear in the subject area for each item.

Here are subject headings related to critical theory.