Douglas Crimp
Encyclopedia
Douglas Crimp is an American professor in art history based at the University of Rochester
.
in New Orleans on a scholarship to study art history. His career started after moving to New York in 1967, where he worked as an art critic, writing for different magazines such as Art News. In 1968 Crimp started working at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
as a curatorial assistant, and later on he worked briefly for the couturier Charles James, helping him write his memoir.
Between 1971-1976 Crimp taught at The School of Visual Arts before enrolling graduate school at the Graduate Center at CUNY
where he studied contemporary art and theory with Rosalind Krauss as the teacher. In 1977 he was hired to be the managing editor of the journal October
, that had been founded by Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson, and Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
in 1976. He was quickly appointed to be a co-editor, and he was a central figure in the journal until he quit in 1990.
Shortly after he left October
, Crimp started teaching in the Visual and Cultural Studies Program at the University of Rochester, where he later has been promoted to be the Fanny Knapp Allen Professor of Art History.
theory. In 1977 he curated the influential exhibition Pictures at Artists Space, presenting the early work of Sherrie Levine
, Jack Goldstein
, Phillip Smith
, Troy Brauntuch
, and Robert Longo
. Two years later he elaborated the discussion of postmodern artistic strategies in an essay with the same title in October, including Cindy Sherman
in what was to be known as The Pictures Generation. In his 1980 October essay On the Museum's Ruins he applies the ideas of Foucault
to an analysis of museums, describing them as an "institution of confinement" comparable to the asylums and prisons that are the subjects of Foucault's investigations. His most important work on postmodernist art and institutional critique was published in the 1993 book, On the Museum’s Ruins.
In 1987 Crimp edited a special AIDS
-issue of October, entitled AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism. In his introduction to the edition Crimp argued for "cultural practices actively participating in the struggle against AIDS and its cultural consequences." During this time he was an active member of the AIDS-activist group ACT UP
in New York. Mourning and Militancy (1989) discusses the connections between the artistic representations of mourning and the politic interventions of militancy. Crimp argues that these two opposing positions should be allowed to co-exist. In 1990 he published a book entitled AIDS Demo Graphics on the activist esthetics of ACT UP together with Adam Rolston. Crimp’s work on AIDS has been seen as an important contribution to the development of queer theory
in the US. In 2002 he published all his previous work on AIDS in the book Melancholia and Moralism – Essays on AIDS and Queer Politics.
Crimp is currently working with two book projects, one memoir with the working title Before Pictures, on the relationship between the art world and the gay world in New York in the 1960s and 1970s; and one book of essays on Andy Warhol
’s films entitled Our Kind of Movie.
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...
.
Biography
Born in Idaho, Crimp went to Tulane UniversityTulane University
Tulane University is a private, nonsectarian research university located in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States...
in New Orleans on a scholarship to study art history. His career started after moving to New York in 1967, where he worked as an art critic, writing for different magazines such as Art News. In 1968 Crimp started working at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
as a curatorial assistant, and later on he worked briefly for the couturier Charles James, helping him write his memoir.
Between 1971-1976 Crimp taught at The School of Visual Arts before enrolling graduate school at the Graduate Center at CUNY
City University of New York
The City University of New York is the public university system of New York City, with its administrative offices in Yorkville in Manhattan. It is the largest urban university in the United States, consisting of 23 institutions: 11 senior colleges, six community colleges, the William E...
where he studied contemporary art and theory with Rosalind Krauss as the teacher. In 1977 he was hired to be the managing editor of the journal October
October (journal)
October is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in contemporary art, criticism, and theory, published by the MIT Press.-History:...
, that had been founded by Rosalind Krauss, Annette Michelson, and Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe
Jeremy Gilbert-Rolfe is a British-born, Los Angeles-based New Abstractionist painter, art critic, theorist, and educator. His work has been exhibited at the Albright-Knox Gallery of Art, Buffalo, NY; The Getty, Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; the Museum of Contemporary...
in 1976. He was quickly appointed to be a co-editor, and he was a central figure in the journal until he quit in 1990.
Shortly after he left October
October (journal)
October is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in contemporary art, criticism, and theory, published by the MIT Press.-History:...
, Crimp started teaching in the Visual and Cultural Studies Program at the University of Rochester, where he later has been promoted to be the Fanny Knapp Allen Professor of Art History.
Overview
Crimp has been an important critic in the development of postmodern artPostmodern art
Postmodern art is a term used to describe an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath...
theory. In 1977 he curated the influential exhibition Pictures at Artists Space, presenting the early work of Sherrie Levine
Sherrie Levine
Sherrie Levine is an American photographer and appropriation artist.-Education:Levine received her B.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1969. In 1973, she earned an M.F.A. from the same institution....
, Jack Goldstein
Jack Goldstein
Jack Goldstein was a Canadian born, California-based performance and conceptual artist turned painter in the 1980s art boom.-Early life and education:...
, Phillip Smith
Phillip Smith
Phillip Hagar Smith was an electrical engineer, who became famous for his invention of the Smith chart.Smith graduated from Tufts College in 1928. While working for RCA, he invented his eponymous Smith chart...
, Troy Brauntuch
Troy Brauntuch
Troy Brauntuch is an American artist.He graduated from California Institute of the Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1975.He was Adjunct Professor at Columbia University and teaches at the University of Texas....
, and Robert Longo
Robert Longo
Robert Longo is an American painter and sculptor. Longo became famous in the 1980s for his "Men in the Cities" series, which depicted sharply dressed businessmen writhing in contorted emotion.-Early life and education:...
. Two years later he elaborated the discussion of postmodern artistic strategies in an essay with the same title in October, including Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer and film director, best known for her conceptual portraits. Sherman currently lives and works in New York City. In 1995, she was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. She is represented by Sprüth Magers Berlin London in and Metro Pictures gallery in...
in what was to be known as The Pictures Generation. In his 1980 October essay On the Museum's Ruins he applies the ideas of Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
to an analysis of museums, describing them as an "institution of confinement" comparable to the asylums and prisons that are the subjects of Foucault's investigations. His most important work on postmodernist art and institutional critique was published in the 1993 book, On the Museum’s Ruins.
In 1987 Crimp edited a special AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-issue of October, entitled AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism. In his introduction to the edition Crimp argued for "cultural practices actively participating in the struggle against AIDS and its cultural consequences." During this time he was an active member of the AIDS-activist group ACT UP
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power
AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power is an international direct action advocacy group working to impact the lives of people with AIDS and the AIDS pandemic to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policies to ultimately bring an end to the disease by mitigating loss of health and...
in New York. Mourning and Militancy (1989) discusses the connections between the artistic representations of mourning and the politic interventions of militancy. Crimp argues that these two opposing positions should be allowed to co-exist. In 1990 he published a book entitled AIDS Demo Graphics on the activist esthetics of ACT UP together with Adam Rolston. Crimp’s work on AIDS has been seen as an important contribution to the development of queer theory
Queer theory
Queer theory is a field of critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of LGBT studies and feminist studies. Queer theory includes both queer readings of texts and the theorisation of 'queerness' itself...
in the US. In 2002 he published all his previous work on AIDS in the book Melancholia and Moralism – Essays on AIDS and Queer Politics.
Crimp is currently working with two book projects, one memoir with the working title Before Pictures, on the relationship between the art world and the gay world in New York in the 1960s and 1970s; and one book of essays on Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
’s films entitled Our Kind of Movie.
Books by Crimp
- AIDS: Cultural Analysis/Cultural Activism (ed.), MIT Press, 1988.
- AIDS Demo Graphics. Seattle: Bay Press, 1990.
- On the Museum's Ruins. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993.
- Melancholia and Moralism - Essays on AIDS and Queer Politics. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2002.
Interviews
- Tina Takemoto: The Melancholia of AIDS: Interview with Douglas Crimp Art Journal, 2003.
- Mathias Danbolt: Front Room Back Room: An Interview with Douglas Crimp in Trikster - Nordic Queer Journal #2, 2008.