CONTENTS

FOREWORD by David W. Ecker v

PREFACE vi

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix

CHAPTERS

I THE ORGANIZATION OF THE INQUIRY 1

Introduction 1
Need for the Inquiry 2
Statement of the Problem 6
Delimitations 7
Definitions 7
Method 9

II STRATEGIES OF INTERPRETATION 19
The Artist as Researcher 19
Glossary 24
Field Research 26
Procedures of Interpretation 33

III DOUBLE WRITING AND DOUBLE READING 39

“Insider” Narratives 40
Giancarlo Schiaffini 40
Mitch Ross 42
Lynne Kanter 42
Willem Brugman 43
Miguel Algarin 47
Alfa Diallo 48
Arturo Lindsay 49
Butch Morris 51
David Boyle 52
Eve Vaterlaus 54

IV HISTORICAL EMIC ACCOUNT 59

BY THE ARTIST AS RESEARCHER
The Narrative “in the First Person” by Plexus 23s 59
V A CLOSE READING OF PLEXUS BLACK BOX 133
A Strategic Survival by Art Withdrawing 139
Repatriation of Art into the Community:The Artist in the First Person 143
An Open Social Ritual Multi-Arts Form: The Plexus Art Co-opera 154
Plexus Compressionist Art Process 163
Against the Slavery of Art "Isms" 168
Eating Art 173
Well Being in the XXI Century 182
Final Remarks 186

VI RELATED LITERATURE 189

Aesthetics, Hermeneutics and Deconstruction 189
Artworld and Contemporary Changes 200

APPENDICES

A PLEXUS “INSIDER” TEXTS 211

Aaron Barr 211
Fabrizio Bertuccioli 212
David Boyle 214
Gaetano Brundu 215
George Chaikin 218
Sandro Dernini 219
Antonello Dessi 227
Stephen DiLauro 228
Albert DiMartino 229
David W. Ecker 230
Frans Evers 232
Leonard Horowitz 235
Ray Kelly 238
Arturo Lindsay 239
Paolo Maltese 240
Maria Pia Marsala 240
Luigi Mazzarelli 241
Assane MBaye 243
Kre MBaye 245
Franco Meloni 245
Okechukwu E. Odita 249
Lorenzo Pace 250
William Parker 250
Frank Pio 253
Rolando Politi 254
Andrea Portas 255
Josè Rodriguez 257
 Barnaby Ruhe 261
Anna Saba 262
Micaela Serino 262
Frank Shifreen 263
Youssouph Traorè 264

B PLEXUS HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS 265

C CHRONOLOGY OF PLEXUS ACTIVITIES: 1982-2006 271

BIOGRAPHIC NOTE 289

BIBLIOGRAPHY 291