Introduction

Laurie Beth Clark is a Professor in the Art Department of the University of Wisconsin where she currently also directs the Center for Visual Cultures.  Clark is an internationally recognized artist who has produced projects in North and South America, Europe,  Africa, Asia, and Australia.  With Michael Peterson, she is founder of the social practice arts collaborative Spatula&Barcode whose work is dedicated to commensality, conviviality, and criticality.  Extensive documentation of her creative work can be found at https://www.lauriebethclark.art/. As a scholar, Clark has published essays in journals and anthologies on a range of topics in visual culture and performance studies, most extensively on trauma tourism.

Michael Peterson is co-founder, with Laurie Beth Clark, of Spatula&Barcode, a social practice arts and scholarship collaborative, and Professor of Art and Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, where his teaching includes performance, cultural theory, gender studies, and visual culture.