Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Content vii
3. Illustrations ix
4. Introduction. Dilemmas of Professional Culture 1
5. Chapter One. The Case for Modern Art as a Distinct Form of Knowledge 16
6. Chapter Two. Modern Art in a Provincial Nation 31
7. Chapter Three. Modern Art and California’s Progressive Legacies 59
8. Chapter Four. From an Era of Grand Ambitions 75
9. Chapter Five. Becoming Postmodern 98
10. Chapter Six. California Assemblage Art as Counterhistory 130
11. Chapter Seven. Learning from the Watts Towers 154
12. Chapter Eight. Contemporary Art Along the U.S.-Mexican Border 182
13. Conclusion. Improvising from the Margins 208
14. Notes 215
15. Index 245
16. Acknowledgments 251