Artists writings constitute primary, documentary material for recording and interpreting the art of a given period. Blasted Allegories is the first comprehensive collection of writing by contemporary artists, making available the best and most representative examples from the past ten years, an era marked by such pluralism and eclecticism that the voice of the artist may be the clearest one to listen to. The writings have been selected both for their intrinsic quality and 'their usefulness to an understanding of contemporary art. Many are published here for the first time. Blasted Allegories includes critical writing and fictional prose. Among the artists are Laurie Anderson, Eric Bogosian, Theresa Hak Kyng Cha, Dan Graham, Spalding Gray, Jenny Holzer, Barbara Kruger, Matt Mullican, Richard Prince, Martha Rosler, Allan Sekula, and William Wegman. Brian Wallis is Adjunct Curator at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, editor of the magazine Wedge, and the editor of Art After Modernism: Rethinking Representation. Blasted Allegories is copublished with The New Museum of Contemporary Art and distributed by The MIT Press.