What if, for a moment, we allow ourselves to think about the possibilities of art? What if, for today, we think about art as a kind of agreement or social contract in which we agree to allow ourselves to be touched, to have our hearts opened to the gracious gifts of the creative spirit? What if art was a gift, an offering of hope, of love, and of transcendence?

Staring at the Sky is a collection of short essays about art and contemporary culture. The essays were written as a weekly practice over a five-year period from 2015 to 2020, during which the author served as Chair of the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Composed as an ongoing commitment to remaining mindful of the field and the cultural upheaval of the period, the essays are a durational project that represent Douglas Rosenberg s reflections in real time, based on ideas developed over thirty years of interdisciplinary practice in the arts as a filmmaker, writer, artist, and teacher.  

Douglas Rosenberg is the Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His scholarly work has been widely published and his work in film, video and performance has been exhibited internationally for over thirty years.