Graduate Students
Brianne Cohen
Modern/Contemporary
Brianne Cohen works on contemporary art and critical theory, with a particular emphasis on alternative modernisms and postcolonial theory. Her dissertation will explore politically-charged contemporary artistic practices, such as those of Thomas Hirschhorn, Harun Farocki, Henry VIII's Wives, and more, that attempt to imagine collectivities outside of the framework of the nation, in response to a number of political imperatives including the tide of anti-immigrant policy, violence, and rise of right-wing populist parties in Europe.
Education
PhD in progress, History of Art and Architecture. Contemporary Art and Critical Theory, University of Pittsburgh, 2006-present.
- Dissertation: "Contemporary Artists Imagining Alternative Forms of Political Affiliation." Advisor: Terence Smith.
MA, Art History. Contemporary British Art, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, United Kingdom, 2004-05.
- Thesis: "Thomas Hirschhorn: Making Art Politically." Advisor: Julian Stallabrass.
BA, Art History, Pomona College, Claremont, CA, 2000-2004, cum laude.
- Thesis: "Clouding the Clock-Face: Contemporary Art of Chuck Close, Sophie Calle, and Brooke Singer."
- Coursework done at Humboldt University and IES, Berlin, Germany, spring 2003.
Publications
"Thomas Hirschhorn's Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress: Imagining Alternative Forms of Political Affiliation," in Crossing the Boundaries XVI: Trading Spaces. Binghamton, NY: Binghamton University, 2008.
"Farocki's 'Interpretative Turn': Raising the Stakes in Deep Play," in New Perspectives in Contemporary Art. University of California, Irvine, New Business Press, 2009 (forthcoming).
Conferences
"Cai Guo-Qiang's Fireworks: Igniting a Paranational Landscape," Negotiating Difference: Contemporary Chinese Art in the Global Context, Haus der Kulturen der Welt, Berlin, October 2009.
"Farocki's Deep Play: Gambling on Spectatorship," Chance: The 25th Annual Boston University Graduate Symposium, Boston University, March 2009.
"Cai Guo-Qiang's Explosion Events as Performances of Planetarity," Imag(in)ing Asia and the Pacific: Emerging Visualities and Art Perspectives, Cornell University, February 2009.
"Farocki’s ‘Interpretative Turn:’ Raising the Stakes in Deep Play," University of Pittsburgh Graduate Symposium, Storytelling: Playful Interactions and Spaces of Imagination in Contemporary Visual Culture, October 2008.
"Thomas Hirschhorn's Utopia, Utopia = One World, One War, One Army, One Dress: Imagining Alternative Forms of Political Affiliation," Crossing the Boundaries XVI: Trading Spaces, SUNY Binghamton, March 2008.
"Finnegans Wake: Remembored Nation, Forgotten Histories," North American James Joyce Conference, Cornell University, June 2005.
Fellowships and Awards
DAAD Graduate Scholarship, Berlin, 2009-10
Marstine Family Foundation Travel Grant, for dissertation research in Europe, June 2009
Outstanding Paper Award, University of Pittsburgh Grad Expo, March 2009
Friends of Frick Fine Arts Travel Grant, for research in Beijing, China, March 2009
Arts and Sciences Graduate Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2008-09
Austrian Room Committee Scholarship, University of Pittsburgh, for dissertation research at the Bawag Foundation in Vienna, summer 2008
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, for language study in Austria, summer 2008
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship, for language study in France, summer 2007
Dissertation Development Grant, University of Pittsburgh, summer 2007
Provost’s Humanities Fellowship, University of Pittsburgh, 2006-2007
Thesis Distinction, Courtauld Institute of Art, 2005
Louisa Moseley Fine Arts Prize, Pomona College, 2004
Flintridge Foundation Research Grant , for thesis research in Ireland, summer 2003
Teaching Experience
Department of History of Art and Architecture, University of Pittsburgh
- Teaching Fellow: Instructor, Introduction to Modern Art, summers 2008, 2009
- Teaching Assistant: Introduction to Modern Art, fall 2007, History of Architecture Theory, spring 2008