Suzanne Lacy reflects on the relationship between activism and art, and recounts a career in which the participation of many has been key.

"One of the most peculiar galaxies known, this strange system seems to be ejecting material with explosive violence." The description appears in a vintage astronomy book from which Berkeley-based conceptual artist Lutz Bacher has torn 84 illustrated pages, dispersing them on walls throughout the 2012 Whitney Biennial.

Photographing full-size paper replicas of newsworthy sites, Thomas Demand counters the distractions of media glut to create a pared-down, subtly conceptual imagery.

Carol Bove's considerable reputation rests upon more than a decade's worth of refined and culturally literate artworks. Her early sculptural installations, often taking the form of plinths or wall-mounted shelves laden with period books and knick-knacks, evoke memories of 1960s- and '70s-era bohemianism, and the individual and societal soul-searching that accompanied the period's wrenching social transformations.

Klara Lidén, whose first U.S. museum survey opens this month, challenges social systems with provocative actions and installations staged both in and out of art venues.