Toward Joy
New Frameworks for American Art
Scala Publishers Ltd
Published on 26. August 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-1-78551-584-2 (ISBN)
Description
Offering a new approach seen through a variety of frameworks, this groundbreaking publication reframes the narrative of American Art through the collection of the Brooklyn Museum.
How might American art be experienced at this moment? Disrupting traditional presentations of art from the Americas and offering a new set of approaches to collection display and interpretation, this groundbreaking publication reframes 2,000 years of art drawn from the world-renowned holdings of the Brooklyn Museum. Organized within a variety of innovative frameworks, such as "Trouble the Water," "To Give Flowers," "Several Seats," and "Witness," iconic artworks are grouped alongside never-before-exhibited works, all beautifully illustrated and to dazzling effects. Texts written by curators, community members, botanists, drag artists, and other thought partners highlight both the curatorial approach and the unique transdisciplinary conversations that can occur between objects. Prioritizing dialogue and engagement, this bold publication creates an accessible and inclusive experience of American Art that spans time, culture, nation, and medium.
How might American art be experienced at this moment? Disrupting traditional presentations of art from the Americas and offering a new set of approaches to collection display and interpretation, this groundbreaking publication reframes 2,000 years of art drawn from the world-renowned holdings of the Brooklyn Museum. Organized within a variety of innovative frameworks, such as "Trouble the Water," "To Give Flowers," "Several Seats," and "Witness," iconic artworks are grouped alongside never-before-exhibited works, all beautifully illustrated and to dazzling effects. Texts written by curators, community members, botanists, drag artists, and other thought partners highlight both the curatorial approach and the unique transdisciplinary conversations that can occur between objects. Prioritizing dialogue and engagement, this bold publication creates an accessible and inclusive experience of American Art that spans time, culture, nation, and medium.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
200 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 282 mm
Width: 244 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1760 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78551-584-2 (9781785515842)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Stephanie Sparling Williams is the Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art at the Brooklyn Museum.
Additional contributors at the Brooklyn Museum:
Caroline Gillaspie, Assistant Curator of American Art
Grace Billingslea, Curatorial Assistant of American Art
Nancy Rosoff, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Arts of the Americas
Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art
Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts
Liz St. George, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts
Additional contributors at the Brooklyn Museum:
Caroline Gillaspie, Assistant Curator of American Art
Grace Billingslea, Curatorial Assistant of American Art
Nancy Rosoff, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Arts of the Americas
Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art
Catherine Futter, Director of Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Decorative Arts
Liz St. George, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts
Content
Director's Foreword
Anne Pasternak, Shelby White and Leon Levy Director
Acknowledgments
Stephanie Sparling Williams, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art
New Frameworks for American Art
Stephanie Sparling Williams
Through Gimlet Holes: New Visions for American Art
EXPLORING THE SHOALS
Leigh Raiford
[FROM A PLACE OF LOVE]
Leslie Wilson
SOWING SEEDS, LAYING GROUND
Kelli Morgan
A BLACK MIRROR
Brittany Webb
A BLACK FEMINIST FRAMEWORK FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTS
Tiffany Momon
LOOK AGAIN
Jonathan Michael Square
BRAIN LOVE
Xiao Situ
UNTITLED
Sara Yafah King
Framework: Trouble the Water
CRITICAL SHORT: TROUBLED WATERS AND CURRENTS OF RESTORATION
Caroline Gillaspie, Assistant Curator of American Art
Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World
Framework: Radical Care
CRITICAL SHORT: FRAMING THE WORLD THROUGH GRATITUDE
Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art
Framework: To Give Flowers
CRITICAL SHORT: FROM OUR MOTHERS' GARDENS
Grace Billingslea, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and American Art
Framework: Counterparts
CRITICAL SHORT: IN DIALOGUE
Camille Bacon and Leslie Wilson
Framework: Surface Tension
CRITICAL SHORT: THE DORSAL VIEW
Stephanie Sparling Williams with Sena Amuzu and Madeleine Levinsohn
Framework: Several Seats
CRITICAL SHORT: TO BE REAL!
Caroline Gillaspie
Framework: A Quiet Place
CRITICAL SHORT: REST LIFE
Tricia Hersey
Framework: Witness
CRITICAL SHORT: SHOWING OUR WORK
Stephanie Sparling Williams
Contributor Biographies
Photography and Copyright Credits
Anne Pasternak, Shelby White and Leon Levy Director
Acknowledgments
Stephanie Sparling Williams, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of American Art
New Frameworks for American Art
Stephanie Sparling Williams
Through Gimlet Holes: New Visions for American Art
EXPLORING THE SHOALS
Leigh Raiford
[FROM A PLACE OF LOVE]
Leslie Wilson
SOWING SEEDS, LAYING GROUND
Kelli Morgan
A BLACK MIRROR
Brittany Webb
A BLACK FEMINIST FRAMEWORK FOR THE DECORATIVE ARTS
Tiffany Momon
LOOK AGAIN
Jonathan Michael Square
BRAIN LOVE
Xiao Situ
UNTITLED
Sara Yafah King
Framework: Trouble the Water
CRITICAL SHORT: TROUBLED WATERS AND CURRENTS OF RESTORATION
Caroline Gillaspie, Assistant Curator of American Art
Thanksgiving Address: Greetings to the Natural World
Framework: Radical Care
CRITICAL SHORT: FRAMING THE WORLD THROUGH GRATITUDE
Dare Turner, Curator of Indigenous Art
Framework: To Give Flowers
CRITICAL SHORT: FROM OUR MOTHERS' GARDENS
Grace Billingslea, Curatorial Assistant, Arts of the Americas and American Art
Framework: Counterparts
CRITICAL SHORT: IN DIALOGUE
Camille Bacon and Leslie Wilson
Framework: Surface Tension
CRITICAL SHORT: THE DORSAL VIEW
Stephanie Sparling Williams with Sena Amuzu and Madeleine Levinsohn
Framework: Several Seats
CRITICAL SHORT: TO BE REAL!
Caroline Gillaspie
Framework: A Quiet Place
CRITICAL SHORT: REST LIFE
Tricia Hersey
Framework: Witness
CRITICAL SHORT: SHOWING OUR WORK
Stephanie Sparling Williams
Contributor Biographies
Photography and Copyright Credits