The use of a single medium to identify
artists is waning in contemporary art exhibitions, which are tending
toward theme-based, collaborative ventures, site-specific installations,
and/or interactive cyberspaces. Schools of visual arts in higher education
in the United States have been gravitating toward offering “New
Media” courses or programs, or have been revising curricula in
traditional art majors previously organized by medium (i.e., sculpture,
photography, painting, etc.). To inform an understanding of collaborative
learning and artmaking, Keifer-Boyd looked to other artists who have
facilitated collaborative artworks especially related to the metaphor
of house. Research of such art projects included John Di Stefano's HUB
video (2001), Pepón Osorio, Tina's House in Home Visits (1999-2000),
Andrea Zittel's Pocket Property (2000), Rachel Whiteread's House (1993),
and Mary Lucier’s Oblique House (1993), House of the Water (1997,
Spoleta festival), and Aiken-Riken House video (1997). As an art educator,
Keifer-Boyd believes it is important to teach art in such a way that
collaborative art becomes a part of every art students’ experience
since it is an important aspect of art in the 21st century. 4" Binding Unbound (2004), Altered Realities (2000), and In.TIME.ations
(1999) are recent examples of collaborative
art that Keifer-Boyd has facilitated.