“Wild Art” refers to work that exists outside the established, rarified world of art galleries and cultural channels. It encompasses uncatalogued, uncommodified art not often recognized as such, from graffiti to performance, self-adornment, and beyond. Picking up from their breakthrough book on the subject, Wild Art, David Carrier and Joachim Pissarro here delve into the ideas driving these forms of art, inquire how it came to be marginalized, and advocate for a definition of “taste,” one in which each expression is acknowledged as being different while deserving equal merit. Arguing that both the art world and wild art have the same capacity to produce aesthetic joy, the authors contend that watching skateboarders perform produces the same sublime experience in one audience that another enjoys while taking in a ballet; therefore, both media deserve careful reconsideration. In making their case, the two provide a history of the institutionalization of taste in Western thought, point to missed opportunities for its democratization in the past, and demonstrate how the recognition and acceptance of wild art in the present will radically transform our understanding of contemporary visual art in the future. Provocative and optimistic, this book rejects the concept of kitsch and the high/low art binary, ultimately challenging the art world to become a larger and more inclusive place.

Moderated by Kristi McMillan, director of learning & engagement, with special guest Andrew Glasgow. Presented in conjunction with Intersections in American Art.