Dore Bowen, PhD, writes on modern and contemporary art, focusing on practices that probe the texture of ordinary life, test the boundaries of appropriation, and (sometimes) alter perception. She has written on the work of such artists as Yael Bartana, Dan Graham, Akram Zaatari, Bruce Nauman, Elin Hansdottir, and Fluxus--a postwar collective that focused the viewer's attention on everyday occurrences, such as smiling or leaving the room. Her research areas include the history of photography, interdisciplinary art, phenomenology, imagination, the archive, and queer feminist strategies of adaptation.
Bowen served as lead curator for a recent reinstallation of Bruce Nauman's 1970 San Jose Installation, which culminated in her book Bruce Nauman: Spatial Encounters (with Constance M. Lewallen, University of California Press, 2019). She is currently completing a book on the diorama, and is in the process of researching a book on queer feminist adaptations of prior texts. Over the past fifteen years she has received grants and fellowships—such as from the Camargo Foundation, the Clark Art Institute, the Centre Allemand d’histoire de l’art, and San José State University—to continue her research.
HISTORY
Before entering the academy, Bowen was a professional photographer and artist. As such, she worked with many notable practitioners, such as photographer Richard Barnes, who sparked her interest in archives and evidence. She earned her MA in Inter-Arts from San Francisco State University— studying with Christine Tamblyn, Kaja Silverman, and Trinh T. Minh-ha—followed by a PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester. Her dissertation on Fluxus and photography was advised by Professors Michael Ann Holly and Douglas Crimp.
TEACHING
Bowen is an associate professor and coordinator of the Art History and Visual Culture program at San José State University. Her seminar topics include the archive, contemporary craft, photography and perception, the spectacle, and art historical methods. Her undergraduate courses include the history and theory of new media, introduction to visual culture, the art of the 1960s and 70s, and issues of materiality in contemporary art (called "The Thing").
Dore can be contacted at dore.bowen@sjsu.edu.
Bowen served as lead curator for a recent reinstallation of Bruce Nauman's 1970 San Jose Installation, which culminated in her book Bruce Nauman: Spatial Encounters (with Constance M. Lewallen, University of California Press, 2019). She is currently completing a book on the diorama, and is in the process of researching a book on queer feminist adaptations of prior texts. Over the past fifteen years she has received grants and fellowships—such as from the Camargo Foundation, the Clark Art Institute, the Centre Allemand d’histoire de l’art, and San José State University—to continue her research.
HISTORY
Before entering the academy, Bowen was a professional photographer and artist. As such, she worked with many notable practitioners, such as photographer Richard Barnes, who sparked her interest in archives and evidence. She earned her MA in Inter-Arts from San Francisco State University— studying with Christine Tamblyn, Kaja Silverman, and Trinh T. Minh-ha—followed by a PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies from the University of Rochester. Her dissertation on Fluxus and photography was advised by Professors Michael Ann Holly and Douglas Crimp.
TEACHING
Bowen is an associate professor and coordinator of the Art History and Visual Culture program at San José State University. Her seminar topics include the archive, contemporary craft, photography and perception, the spectacle, and art historical methods. Her undergraduate courses include the history and theory of new media, introduction to visual culture, the art of the 1960s and 70s, and issues of materiality in contemporary art (called "The Thing").
Dore can be contacted at dore.bowen@sjsu.edu.