Key Publications by MMK

Books

• Bucking the Artworld Tide: Reflections on Art, Pseudo Art, Art Education & Theory. New York: Pro Arte Books, 2020.
• Who Says That’s Art? A Commonsense View of the Visual Arts. New York: Pro Arte Books, 2014.
• What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand (co-authored with Louis Torres). Chicago: Open Court, 2000.

Art-Related Articles

• “Poisoning the Well of Art Education,” Academic Questions, Fall 2021.
• “Beware the Semmelweis Reflex,” Academic Questions, Spring 2021.
• “The Lamentable Politicization of Art,” Academic Questions, Winter 2020.
• “Art History Gone Amuck,” Academic Questions, Fall 2020.
• “Why Discarding the Concept of ‘Fine Art’ Has Been a Grave Error,” Aristos, April 2017.
• “Art and Cognition: Mimesis vs. the Avant-Garde” (Aristos, December 2004) — an updated version appears in After the Avant-Gardes, published by Open Court (2016).
• “At Least He Spelled My Name Right: A Reply to [Art Ed] Professsor Edward O. Stewart,” Aristos, August 2012.
• “The Political Assault on Art Education,” Wall Street Journal, June 25, 2010.
• “The Hijacking of Art Education,” Aristos, April 2010.
• “What about the Other Face of Contemporary Art?” (co-authored with Louis Torres), Art Education, March 2008; reprinted in Aristos, June 2008.
• “Why Teach Art?” (review of Arthur Efland, Art and Cognition), Aristos, December 2006; reprinted, with notes, in Arts Education Policy Review, March/April 2007.
• “Modernism, Postmodernism, or Neither?–A Fresh Look at ‘Fine Art’,” Aristos, August 2005; reprinted, with notes, in Arts Education Policy Review, May/June 2006.
• “Rescuing Art from ‘Visual Culture Studies’,” (January 2004–reprinted, with notes, in Arts Education Policy Review, September/October 2004)
• “Where’s the Art in Today’s Art Education?,” What Art Is Online, November 2002; reprinted, with notes, in Arts Education Policy Review, March/April 2003.
• “What ‘Rand’s Aesthetics’ Is, and Why It Matters,” Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 4, no. 2 (Spring 2003): 413–89.
• “Critical Neglect of Ayn Rand’s Theory of Art” (co-authored with Louis Torres), Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, 2, no. 1 (Fall 2000): 1–46.
• “NEA Grants: ‘Is This Work Really Art?,’” Detroit News, October 9, 1990.
• The Uffizi Diptych by Piero della Francesca: Its Form, Iconography, and Purpose. Master’s thesis, Hunter College, C.U.N.Y., 1970.

See also Aristos Archives and Articles on Art Education.

Sampling of Previous Work

• “The Misreading of Literature,” Aristos, October 1986.
• Books Our Children Read (documentary film—about) [Study Guide]. Wilmette, IL: Films Inc., 1984.
• “Building Bridges Instead of Walls: An Anti-Censorship Effort That Worked,” Education Week, September 29, 1982.
• “Censorship vs. Selection—Choosing Books for Schools,” American Education, March 1982.
• “Literature as Threat: Who Bans Books? And Why?,” Humanities (National Endowment for the Humanities), December 1981.
• “Stop Feeding Junk to Kids,” Executive Educator, June 1981.
• “Nursing” (about the Frontier Nursing Service), RF Illustrated (Rockefeller Foundation), October 1980.
• “Making Diets Healthy at P.S. 166,” Nutrition Action, January 1980. [Recipient of Gold Award, 1980 Health Journalism Award, American Chiropractic Association]