Jack Goldstein
Jack Goldstein | |
---|---|
Born | Painter | September 27, 1945
Movement | minimalist sculpture The Pictures Generation |
Jack Goldstein (September 27, 1945 – March 14, 2003) was a Canadian born, California-based performance and conceptual artist turned painter in the 1980s art boom.
Early life and education
Goldstein was born to a
Work
A performance artist with roots in
In the early 1970s as audio and video recordings became more accessible to the general public, Goldstein seized the opportunity and began producing his own records, although not ordinary records. Among his records were "A Swim Against the Tide", "A Faster Run"(a recording of a stampede), "The Tornado", "Two Wrestling Cats" and "The Six Minute Drown". "The Six Minute Drown" in particular gained traction; in it, the dreary, agonizing sounds of a drowning man reverberate for six minutes in total isolation.
Goldstein eventually became one of the linchpins of the Pictures Group, which gained its first recognition at Artist's Space in New York City in the fall of 1977. During this time, he shared a studio building with James Welling.[3]
The Pictures artists, including Goldstein,
Goldstein began to concentrate on painting in the late 1970s.[4] His paintings were based on photographic images of natural phenomena, science, and technology – the result of Goldstein's intent to record "the spectacular instant," as previously depicted in photography.[5] Many of them depict streaking fighter jets, lightning storms, exploding nebulae and city skylines illuminated by fireworks or bombing raids.[6] Using found photographs, and highlighting the reproduction or copy, Goldstein blew up details to near abstraction and then hired painters to apply them to canvases on boxlike stretchers that stand more than six inches off the wall. He was among the first contemporary painters to hire others to make his works.[7]
By the mid-’70s, Goldstein had stopped appearing in his films and performances and instead hired actors, stuntmen and light and sound technicians from the film industry.[8] His films include the well-known Metro-Goldwyn Mayer (1975), a two-minute loop of the film studio’s roaring lion mascot on a blood red field, and Shane (1975), named for the trained German Shepherd that barks in response to inaudible commands from someone behind the camera.[9]
Most of Goldstein's work revolved around the concept of experience, the concept of grappling with the conflation of experience and our recording of it. It asks whether documentation has become primary in our experience.
As the 1980s continued and finally fizzled out there was less and less call for "salon paintings" and Goldstein's work sold less well than some others'. Reluctant to teach rather than practice full-time, Goldstein left New York in the early 1990s and returned to California where he lived out the decade in relative isolation.
His early work was revived at the turn of the century and he resurfaced briefly to some renewed acclaim. He was featured in the 2004 Whitney Biennial as a major film influence alongside Stan Brakhage, less than a year after he committed suicide by hanging himself[10][11] in San Bernardino, California on March 14, 2003.
Goldstein may be remembered for a certain conceptual/representational approach to picturemaking that helped shape a generation of artists and beyond, even though they might not even be aware of him.
A posthumous documentary was made on Goldstein in 2014, titled Jack Goldstein: Pictures and Sounds: ART/New York No. 67[12]
Exhibitions
Goldstein compiled an extensive exhibition record during his productive years. Even after he stopped painting and moved back to Southern California, museums continued to exhibit his work. In 2002, a show of his films and performances was presented at the
See also
References
- ^ Balzer, David (10 September 2018). "Review: Jack Goldstein and Ron Terada". Canadian Art.
- New York Times.
- New York Times.
- ^ Suzanne Muchnic (March 20, 2003), Jack Goldstein, 57; Artist Explored Emptiness Los Angeles Times.
- ^ "Art of the 80's: Goldstein". Collections of the Castellani Art Museum: Art of the 80's. Castellani Art Museum, Niagara University. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- New York Times.
- New York Times.
- New York Times.
- New York Times.
- ^ Laurels Too Late, Hunter Drohojowska-Philp, Los Angeles Times, January 18, 2004
- ^ HiLobrow (includes photo)
- ^ "Jack Goldstein: Pictures and Sounds: ART/new york No. 67". artnewyork.org. Retrieved 2018-12-20.
- ^ Suzanne Muchnic (March 20, 2003), Jack Goldstein, 57; Artist Explored Emptiness Los Angeles Times.
- New York Times
- ^ "Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth". Archived from the original on 2019-05-13.
External links
- Jack Goldstein at Galerie Buchholz
- Complete Goldstein bibliography, gallery, photos, etc.
- Jack Goldstein x 10,000 The first American retrospective of the Canadian-born artist Jack Goldstein at The Jewish Museum, NY.
- Bolande, Jennifer (2011-06-30). Remembering Jack Goldstein. East of Borneo. Retrieved 2011-12-15.
- The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl
- Lewis, Jim (2003-04-11). "Exile's Return: Why you should know the name Jack Goldstein". Slate. Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- Records / Films by Jack Goldstein
- Halter, Ed (2002-07-02). "Circles of Light: Jack Goldstein Returns to New York". The Village Voice. New York: Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2007-10-30. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
Krygier, Irit audio interview with Philipp Kaiser regarding the exhibition Jack Goldstein x 10,000 http://www.conversationsonthearts.com/Philipp_Kaiser_Interview.mp3