The Legacy of Michael Fried’s Art and Objecthood

Instructor: Sean Tatol Date & Time: January 9, 16, 23 and 30 14:00-16:30 ET

DESCRIPTION: This Seminar examines Michael Fried’s seminal 1967 essay “Art and Objecthood” and the debates in art criticism that have surrounded it from the time of its publication to the present. Beginning with a close reading of the essay itself, we will then explore notable responses to Fried, including those by artists like Robert Smithson and Jeff Wall, as well as critics affiliated with the journal October. Special attention will be given to Fried’s later text, “Introduction to My Art Criticism,” in which he reflects on “Art and Objecthood” thirty years later, recontextualizes its polemics as less absolute than they may initially seem, and recounts the range of reactions it provoked. The Seminar culminates in a discussion of the essay’s ongoing relevance to contemporary art and criticism.
A key figure in our exploration will be Stephen Melville, whom Fried acknowledges as the “sole exception” among his critics for engaging with the actual terms of his argument. We will read Melville’s 1981 essay “Notes on the Reemergence of Allegory…” alongside Jeff Wall’s 2006 essay “Depiction, Object, Event,” which situates Fried’s argument within a broader trajectory of aesthetic thought extending into the 21st century. These texts allow us to extrapolate the stakes of Fried’s essay beyond its original 1967 context, moving past the Minimalism vs. color-field binary that framed the debate at the time.
Due to the complexity of the material, readings will be kept concise. The Seminar’s co-taught format reflects the need for collaborative unpacking of dense theoretical and art-historical texts, with the goal of giving Students the tools to engage Fried’s legacy rigorously and critically.
Session 1, “Art and Objecthood” and Contemporary Reactions: We begin with a close reading of Fried’s original essay and discuss the immediate reactions it provoked in the art world, including responses from artists and critics of the era.
Readings: Michael Fried, “Art and Objecthood”; Robert Smithson, letter to the editor of Artforum (October 1967)
Session 2, The Afterlife of “Art and Objecthood”: 1970s–1990s: This Session explores how Fried’s arguments were taken up, challenged, or reinterpreted in subsequent decades, with special focus on Stephen Melville’s influential critique and further responses from October journal.
Readings: Selections from Stephen Melville, “Notes on the Reemergence of Allegory, the Forgetting of Modernism, the Necessity of Rhetoric, and the Conditions of Publicity in Art and Criticism”; additional October journal critiques (TBD)
Session 3, The Reevaluation of “Art and Objecthood”: 1990s–2010s: We examine a new wave of reflection on Fried’s text, focusing on Jeff Wall’s essay and Fried’s own retrospective introduction, both of which reassess the essay’s stakes and legacy for a contemporary audience.
Readings: Jeff Wall, “Depiction, Object, Event”; selections from Fried, “Introduction to My Art Criticism”
Session 4, “Art and Objecthood” Now: The Seminar concludes with a discussion of the ongoing significance of “Art and Objecthood” and its critical reception today, using Melville’s recent word-by-word engagement as a touchstone for current debates.
Readings: Stephen Melville, “‘Art and Objecthood’ Word by Word”

IMAGE: Donald Judd, The Multicolored Works (installation view), 2013

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