Today we asked Dr. Julia Robinson, curator, professor, and director of undergraduate studies at New York University: When and why did we start calling art ‘contemporary’?

And have you ever wondered what makes art “modern,” or “abstract,” or “figural,” or “minimalist”?

Or how to create, then juggle a career of curating, research and teaching?

Get bona fide answers and definitions from Professor Robinson on Episode 7 of Declassified.

About Professor Robinson:

Professor Robinson is the Director of Undergraduate Studies and an Associate Professor of Art History at New York University’s Department of Art History. She earned her B.A. from the University of Sydney in Australia and later went on to earn her master's and Ph.D. from Princeton University in the Department of Art and Archeology. Professor Robinson's areas of interest fall within but are not limited to the realm of contemporary art from the 1960s to the present. She is focused specifically on score and language-based artistic strategies as well as performance (and ‘performativity’) from Fluxus to present day.

In addition to being a professor at NYU, Professor Robinson has had a notable career in curation, writing, and speaking, and sits on several committees and boards. Some of Professor Robinson’s professional highlights include the 2020 publication of “A Desire for the Readymade: Duchamp’s Emergency in Favor of Twice” in the Modernism/Modernity journal, her 2017-18 service as consulting scholar for the Donal Judd retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and her 2009 curation of “The Anarchy of Silence: John Cage & Experimental Art” at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona.

Definitions more resources on www.declassified-pod.com/episodes/robinson & IG @declassified.pod. See you next week!