What We Made

"What We Made is a dialogical thick description of cooperative art practices from the point of view of practitioners and many insightful interlocutors. It will be an extremely valuable resource for artists, art historians, and museum professionals." - Rebecca Zorach, author of The Passionate Triangle

"In between histories, current art practices, and theories lies the conundrum: how to describe relational and public art and the many intentions of those involved. Tom Finkelpearl gives us perspectives from artists' on-the-ground experiences and a welcome revisiting of Dewey, contextualized by a sweeping introduction that alone is worth the price of the book." - Suzanne Lacy, author of Leaving Art: Writings on Performance, Politics, and Publics, 1974–2007

“These conversations by key practitioners and thinkers are a snapshot of thinking around the emergence of social and collaborative art, which seeks to improve society and address social issues. Finkelpearl ably situates collaborative and participatory art within the chronology of American art history.” - Toro Castaño, Library Journal

"What What We Made does, perhaps better than anything I’ve read so far about this particular kind of art, is utterly refrain from arriving at singular summaries or judgments. Instead, the conversations foreground the nuanced and complex social relations tied up in any artwork, but particularly collaborative artwork that draws on communities operating largely outside of the arts marketplace. And the projects Finkelpearl has chosen to discuss and feature by and large demonstrate real possibilities for genuine exchange across networks and communities." - Alexis Clements, Hyperallergic

“What We Made is a good sourcebook of art that tackles  politics through participation and collaboration. The  author’s introduction provides a useful overview of the situation in contemporary America. . . .” - Sally O’Reilly, Art Monthly

“This book gracefully dives headfirst into a seriously murky topic, using accessible language that, thankfully, doesn’t read like a textbook.” - Kirstin Wiegmann, Public Art Review

“There’s much to admire in [Finkelpearl’s] approach and his commitment—whether it’s authoring a book whose structure abides by the ideals it sets forth or that he puts his ideas into action.” - Anne K. Yoder, Public Journal

“What We Made brings together the stars of the social practice world Rick Lowe, Tania Bruguera, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, Harrell Fletcher, and more in conversations with urban planners, educators, and each other, to create a fluid and interdisciplinary dialogue about social practice and its complicated, beautiful and necessary implications in the world.” - Katie Bachler, The Art Book Review

“An insightful examination of artistic projects that strive to involve people in participatory practices. . . . What We Made perceptively documents work that often is misunderstood within traditional arts structures.”  - Maureen Mullinax, Visual Studies

“Finkelpearl has provided his readers with a rich description of a particular, influential movement in the art museum world. This book illustrates his own commitment to social collaboration. By presenting the conversations that make up the core of this volume, he brings this aspect of the art museum world to a larger public.” - George E. Hein, Curator

“What We Made’s strength is derived from its vibrant conversations, balancing the voices of such well-known artists as Tania Bruguera, Rick Lowe, Mierle Laderman Ukeles, along with urban planners, educators, philosophers, political scientists, and participants. . . . Finkelpearl’s dialogue-based approach represents the dynamic and generative character of cooperative art.” - Sierra Rooney, Public Art Dialogue

“... [T]hose willing to situate themselves as imagined critical participants in Finkelpearl’s case studies––to envisage the creative possibility of ‘I’ giving way to ‘we’––are rewarded with an expanded appreciation of social practice art. Concluding with a rumination on the theory of progressive pragmatist John Dewey, What We Made makes a powerful bid for readers to ‘get out’ of themselves.” - Nicola Mann, Invisible Culture

“This book is extremely rich and thought provoking. It successfully challenges the reader to think differently and creatively about the ways in which art can and should be made, who might be involved, and to what purposes. It challenges us to consider possible ways in which cooperative art might influence and interact with our communities and daily lives.” - Tui Nicola Clery, Consciousness, Literature and the Arts