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Ahead of Their Time

American Artscape | 2013 No. 2
Lady Pink's Lady of the Leaf, 2011, was featured in her exhibition at Woodward Gallery in New York City. Photo by Lady Pink
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About this Issue

In the modern era, it seems preposterous that jazz music was once considered controversial, that stream-of-consciousness was a questionable literary technique, or that photography was initially dismissed as an art form. As tastes have evolved and cultural norms have broadened, surely we’ve learned to recognize art—no matter how novel—when we see it.

Or have we? When the NEA first awarded grants for the creation of video games about art or as works of art, critical reaction was strong—why was the NEA supporting something that was entertainment, not art? Yet in the past 50 years, the public has debated the legitimacy of street art, graphic novels, hip-hop, and punk rock, all of which are now firmly established in the cultural canon. For other, older mediums, such as television, it has taken us years to recognize their true artistic potential.

In this issue of NEA Arts, we’ll talk to some of the pioneers of art forms that have struggled to find acceptance by the mainstream. We’ll hear from Ian MacKaye, the father of Washington, DC’s early punk scene; Lady Pink, one of the first female graffiti artists to rise to prominence in New York City; Art Spiegelman, author of Maus, who turned his love of
comics into a new literary genre; and David Chase, the creator of the acclaimed television program The Sopranos. We’ll also look at the emerging artistic movement in suburban architecture, which is beginning to transition from profit-driven, mass-market appeal to creative, thoughtful design.

Included in this Issue

Minor Threat (with Ian MacKaye in middle in hat) performing at the former Washington, DC club dc space. Photo by Susie J. Horgan

A Place for New Ideas

Ian MacKaye on the Legacy of Punk
Lady Pink at work. Photo by Matt Weber

Pure Expression

Lady Pink and the Evolution of Street Art
Art Spiegelman. Photo by Nadja Spiegelman

Mixing Words and Pictures

Art Spiegelman Discusses the Art of Comics
David Chase. Photo courtesy of Mr. Chase

Why We Can't Fuhgeddabout It

A Conversation with David Chase about The Sopranos
Group of modular backyard second units in "Sited in the Setback: Increasing Density in Levittown," a winning proposal by Meri Tepper from the Build a Better Burb competition. Sited in the Setback, from Designing Suburban Futures, Island Press, 2013

The Suburban Canvas

An Emerging Architectural Model of Artistic Possibilities
Daniel Clowes. Photo by Abigail Huller, courtesy of Oakland Museum of California

From Pages to Museum Walls

The Life and Times of Daniel Clowes
World Maker Faire 2011 at the New York Hall of Science. Photo by Reuters/Andrew Kelly

Creating a Movement

What Makes Up Maker Faire
Patti Astor with Keith Haring and LA 2’s The Smurfs at the FUN Gallery in February 1983. Photo by Eric Kroll

Patti Astor and FUN Gallery

Inventing Space for Creative Culture
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