- Exhibition catalog
- Anthology
High Times, Hard Times. New York Painting 1967–1975
2006
»High Times, Hard Times. New York Painting 1967–1975«, New York, 2006
© ZKM | Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
- Type of publication
- Exhibition catalog
- Anthology
- Publishing house, place
- Independent Curators International, New York ; D. A. P. / Distributed Art Publishers, New York
- Physical Description
- 176 p. : Ill.
- Language
- English
- Year
- 2006
- ISBN
- 1-933045-39-6
- Content
- During the late 1960s and early 1970s, when »painting is dead« was a popular slogan, experimental abstract painting actually was thriving, energized by a diverse group of New York artists. Influenced by new artistic freedoms and the political turmoil of the times, these artists created paintings of great joy, fury, and intellect. Contrary to popular reports, painting did not die in 1965, replaced by newer artistic mediums. In fact, the artistic and political freedoms of New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s not only made room for Performance art, video, and Conceptual art, but they revitalized painting as well. Painters moved beyond the boundaries of traditional easel painting, introducing such diverse interests and experiences as photography, sculpture, music, crafts, carpentry, psychedelic drugs, non-Western cultures, language theory, and even geodesic domes. New social realities such as the civil rights movement, feminism, and gay liberation also had profound effects on the art world and created opportunities for painters who had previously been excluded. »High Times, Hard Times« recovers painting at that critical moment, just when it disappeared from most history books, and restores it to its proper context, a larger reality that includes cutting-edge art and politics. New York itself is an important subject in »High Times, Hard Times«, and is the focus of the introduction. Du ring these years, artists came from around the world to live and work in SoHo's industrial lofts, and alternative art spaces opened throughout Lower Manhattan. The scholarly essays included here explore the key questions about painting in New York during this era, with particular attention to the conditions for African-American and women artists. Original statements by many of the artists and critics central to the period, as well as a timeline and archival photographs-many never-before published-of the artists, studios, exhibitions, and of New York itself, recreate the texture of the place and time, depicting a moment of openness, community, and optimism prior to the recession of the mid-1970s and the art-market boom of later years. An important addition to the rethinking of the art of the 1960s and 1970s, High Times, Hard Times is also required reading for anyone interested in the continuing possibilities for painting today. This catalogue is published in conjunction with »High Times, Hard Times: New York Painting 1967–1975«, a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by ICI, New York. The guest curator is Katy Siegel, with David Reed acting as advisor.
Artists
- Jo Baer
- Lynda Benglis
- Mel Bochner
- Dan Christensen
- Roy Colmer
- Mary Corse
- David Diao
- Manny Farber
- Louise Fishman
- Guy Goodwin
- Ron Gorchov
- Harmony Hammond
- Mary Heilmann
- Ralph Humphrey
- Harriet Korman
- Yayoi Kusama
- Al Loving
- Lee Lozano
- Ree Morton
- Elizabeth Murray
- Joe Overstreet
- Blinky Palermo
- Cesar Paternosto
- Howardena Pindell
- Dorothea Rockburne
- Carolee Schneemann
- Alan Shields
- Kenneth Showell
- Joan Snyder
- Lawrence Stafford
- Pat Steir
- Richard Tuttle
- Richard van Buren
- Michael Venezia
- Franz Erhard Walther
- Jack Whitten
- Peter Young
