Jordana Moore Saggese is Professor of Modern and Contemporary American Art at the University of Maryland, College Park and the former Editor-in-Chief of the College Art Association’s Art Journal. She was previously Associate Professor of Contemporary Art & Theory at California College of the Arts.
Across Dr. Saggese’s research projects there is an investment in the line between popular and critical cultures. This investment manifests in the subjects and methodologies of her research, which draw equally from visual culture studies and the traditional history of art, as well as in the dissemination of findings across both academic and general audiences. Dr. Saggese’s art history capitalizes on the cultural appeal of the popular to speak back to the exclusionary tactics of cultural institutions while also making connections between pop culture and the reality of life in the United States.
She is an internationally recognized expert on the work of the American painter Jean- Michel Basquiat (1960-88). She has published two books on his life and work: Reading Basquiat: Exploring Ambivalence in American Art (UC Press, 2014) and The Jean-Michel Basquiat Reader: Writings, Interviews, and Critical Responses (UC Press, 2021). Professor Saggese has also published essays and reviews in The International Review of African-American Art, Nka: The Journal of Contemporary Art, exposure, Khan Academy, and Artforum. Her most recent book, Heavyweight: Black Boxers and the Fight for Representation, was published by Duke University Press in August 2024.
Download a recent CV here.