Guest-edited ARTMargins issue critiques global modernism in postwar art and institutions

A guest-edited issue of ARTMargins, published on June 18, 2019, examines the interplay between art, artists, and international institutions from 1945 to 1973. Edited by Chelsea Haines and Gemma Sharpe, the publication challenges the scholarly framework of global modernism, arguing it may be anachronistic and obscure historical nuances. The issue focuses on new internationalisms emerging after World War II, shaped by decolonization and Cold War diplomatic tensions. It notes that the term global gained traction only after the 1960s, linked to transnational capitalism and global governance. By relying on a narrative of the global before globalization, the term risks erasing forms of exchange not aligned with economic globalization. Global modernism is also critiqued as a potential panacea for art history's discomfort with nationalism's impact on art and the art world in the late 20th century. The fluid distinctions between global, international, internationalism, and globalization are highlighted as rich complications that risk being oversimplified. Content for the article is available through MIT Press under Full Access.