informal society for undoing art historical damage

INFORMAL SOCIETY FOR UNDOING ART HISTORICAL DAMAGE | Assorted sculptural and collaged works made from dismantled copies of H.W. Janson's The History of Art

After wondering what to do with our old art history book--the one with no women artists, the one that claims to be The History of Art--we decided to dismantle it and make semi-functional objects instead of donating it. After that, other people started giving their copies of the same problematic tome to us. We've made quilted flags, garments, sculptural piñatas filled with surprises, collages, and handmade paper. So far.

N.P.I.A.E.V.F.K. (no person is an empty vessel for knowledge), Paper piñata sculpture made from a dismantled copy of Janson's The History of Art, 24". x 11" x 15", 2024.

No Blindfold, Just a Big Stick, Paper piñata sculpture made from a dismantled copy of Janson's The History of Art, 2024.

Big Bang, paper piñata made from a dismantled copy of Jansons The History of Art, 16" x 36" x 7", 2024.

Garments Against Textbooks, knitted garment made from pages of HW Janson's History of Art (Chapters 4-6: Twentieth Century Painting and Sculpture), 23" x 36", 2022.

Handmade Paper, pulped from a dismantled copy of HW Janson's The History of Art, 2025.

for all the other mothers, flag/quilt made from all the images of mothers in a dismantled copy of The History of Art by H.W. Janson, cotton thread, linen tape, alder wood, 19 1/2" x 30", 2021.

rereadings, pulverized stone and sumi ink with fragments from Janson's History of Art-Chapter 1: Magic and Ritual, 23 1/2" x 31", 2022.

party pants, collage, Michangelo's David from HW Janson's History of Art with construction paper, 7" x 9 1/2", 2021.

untitled, collage, pages of H.W. Janson's The History of Art and ink, 12" x 12", 2022.