''October'' is an

academic journal An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...

specializing in

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

criticism Criticism is the construction of a judgement about the negative or positive qualities of someone or something. Criticism can range from impromptu comments to a written detailed response. , ''the act of giving your opinion or judgment about the ...

, and

theory A theory is a systematic and rational form of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the conclusions derived from such thinking. It involves contemplative and logical reasoning, often supported by processes such as observation, experimentation, ...

, published by

MIT Press The MIT Press is the university press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The MIT Press publishes a number of academic journals and has been a pioneer in the Open Ac ...

History

''October'' was established in 1976 in New York by

Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe (4 August 1945 – 14 August 2024) was a British-born American painter, art critic, art theorist, and educator, born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, England. In 1968, he moved to the United States, where he remained. Gilbert-Rol ...

(who resigned from the journal after the third issue), Rosalind E. Krauss,

Annette Michelson Annette Michelson (née Michelsohn; November 7, 1922 – September 17, 2018) was an American art and film critic and academic. A longtime contributor and editor to ''Artforum'' who later co-founded the journal ''October'', she also taught for man ...

and Lucio Pozzi (who withdrew before the first issue was published). The founders of the journal were originally known as "Octoberists". Its name is a reference to the Eisenstein film that set the tone of intellectual, politically engaged writing that has been the hallmark of the journal. The journal was a participant in introducing French post-structural theory on the English-speaking academic scene. According to ''The Art Story'', Krauss used the journal "as a way to publish essays on her emergent ideas on post-structuralist art theory,

Deconstruction In philosophy, deconstruction is a loosely-defined set of approaches to understand the relationship between text and meaning. The concept of deconstruction was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who described it as a turn away from ...

ist theory,

psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...

postmodernism Postmodernism encompasses a variety of artistic, Culture, cultural, and philosophical movements that claim to mark a break from modernism. They have in common the conviction that it is no longer possible to rely upon previous ways of depicting ...

and

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

, one of the co-founders of the journal, withdrew after only a few issues, and by the spring of 1977, Douglas Crimp joined the editorial team. In 1990, after Crimp left the journal, Krauss and Michelson were joined by Yve-Alain Bois, Hal Foster,

Benjamin H. D. Buchloh Benjamin Heinz-Dieter Buchloh (born November 15, 1941) is a German art historian. Between 2005 and 2021 he was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Modern Art in the History of Art and Architecture department at Harvard University. Education and ...

, Denis Hollier, and John Rajchman.

As well as in-depth articles and reviews of 20th century and

, the journal features critical interpretations of cinema and popular culture from a progressive viewpoint.

Impact

According to ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', the journal was an "influential vehicle for the debate surrounding the emergence of postmodernism and New Historicism in 20th-century art-historical studies", and the journal "contributed greatly to Anglo-American academics' adoption of French theoretical innovations, especially those pertaining to the analysis of cinema". ''The Art Story'' describes the journal as "significant for revisiting and stressing the historical importance of early modes of 20th-century avant-garde art, such as Cubism, Surrealism and Expressionism".

Collections

MIT Press has released two anthologies of articles and a book series.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Arts journals Film studies journals MIT Press academic journals English-language journals Academic journals established in 1976 Quarterly journals Contemporary art magazines

History

Contents

Impact

Collections

References

External links