The Educational Programs Committee and the Arts & Entertainment Committee of the Yale Alumni Association of Metropolitan New York (YAAMNY), in collaboration with The National Arts Club, present...

an evening with Yale University Press author Professor Joshua Shannon on his Yale Press book The Disappearance of Objects: New York Art and the Rise of the Postmodern City on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 from 7 to 8 p.m. at The National Arts Club on Gramercy Park South. Joshua Shannon is assistant professor of contemporary art history and theory at the University of Maryland. 

In the years around 1960, a rapid process of deindustrialization profoundly changed New York City. At the same time, massive highway construction, urban housing renewal, and the growth of the financial sector altered the city’s landscape. As the new economy took shape, manufacturing lofts, piers, and small shops were replaced by sleek high-rise housing blocks and office towers.

Focusing on works by Claes Oldenburg, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Donald Judd, art historian Joshua Shannon shows how New York art engaged with this transformation of the city. Shannon convincingly argues that these four artists---all living amid the changes---filled their art with old street signs, outmoded flashlights, and other discarded objects in a richly revealing effort to understand the economic and architectural transformation of their city.

This program will take place in the second floor parlor room of the National Arts Club's Tilden Mansion at 15 Gramercy Park South.

All are welcome, but pre-registration is required. This event is open to the public. Early registration is strongly encouraged. If you have any questions, please e-mail the Educational Programs Committee at:

yaamnyeducationalprograms@gmail.com.