Models of Integrity examines the relationship between contemporary art and the law through the lens of integrity. In the 1960s, artists began to engage conspicuously with legal ideas, rituals, and documents. The law—a primary institution subject to intense moral and political scrutiny—was a widely recognized source of authority to audiences inside the art world and out. Artists frequently engaged with the law in ways that signaled a recuperation of the integrity that they believed had been compromised by the very institutions entrusted with establishing standards of just conduct. These artists sought to convey the social purpose of an artwork without overstating its political impact and without losing sight of how aesthetic decisions compel audiences to see their everyday world differently. Addressing the role that law plays in enabling artworks to function as social and political forces, this important book fills a gap in the field of law and the humanities, and will serve as a practical “how-to” for contemporary artists.

"An exceptional and commanding work of scholarship. Despite the author’s qualification that the book might fall short of the visual analysis expected in an art history text, Kee’s book is vividly illustrative, and boldly leads the reader through the oft- fraught liminal space between art and law. The book’s achievements extend far beyond effectively bearing legal concepts on art or narrating the logistical relations between art and law. To be exact, its real feats lie in its rumination on not only the plasticity of the law, but also on art as an extralegal machination that structures our society. In this way, Kee’s work will serve as a model for future scholarship in this emerging interdisciplinary field."