Howard Risatti is emeritus professor of contemporary art and critical theory in the Department of Art History at Virginia Commonwealth University. He is the author of five books: A Theory of Craft: Function and Aesthetic Expression (University of North Carolina Press, 2007); Skilled Work: American Craft in the Renwick Gallery (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998), co-authored with Kenneth Trapp; The Mountain Lake Workshop: Artists in Locale (Anderson Gallery, Virginia Commonwealth University, 1996); Postmodern Perspectives: Issues in Contemporary Art (Prentice Hall, 1990); and New Music Vocabulary (University of Illinois Press, 1975). His work has appeared in Winterthur Portfolio, Artforum, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Art Journal, among others.