Robert C. Morgan (1943 – October 23, 2024) was an American

art critic An art critic is a person who is specialized in analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating art. Their written critiques or reviews contribute to art criticism and they are published in newspapers, magazines, books, exhibition brochures, and catalogue ...

, art historian, curator, poet, and visual artist.

Life and career

Robert C. Morgan received his M.F.A. in

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

from the

University of Massachusetts, Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the Flagship university, flagship campus of the Univer ...

in 1975 and his Ph.D. in art education from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1978. Professor Morgan had an extensive academic career. He taught at

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

, the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

, the

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by Silas ...

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. From 1981- 2001, he was Professor of the History and Theory of Art at the

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

. He was an adjunct professor of Fine Arts in the Graduate School of Fine Arts at

Pratt Institute Pratt Institute is a private university with its main campus in Brooklyn, New York. It has an additional campus in Manhattan and an extension campus in Utica, New York at the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. The institute was founded in 18 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. Morgan worked extensively as an independent

curator A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

. He organized museum retrospectives of

Allan Kaprow Allan Kaprow (August 23, 1927 – April 5, 2006) was an American performance artist, installation artist, painter, and assemblagist . He helped to develop the " Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. ...

(1979) and Komar and Melamid (1980), both at the Ulrich Museum of Art in Kansas. In 1990, he curated ''Concept -- Decoratif'' in conjunction with the Holly Solomon Gallery in New York. From 1989 to 1990, he directed the Nahan gallery in

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

in New York City where he curated a dozen exhibitions of both emerging and established artists, including Carolee Schneemann, Nancy Grossman, Hung Liu, Hong-Wen Lin, Robert Barry, Douglas Huebler,

Mel Bochner Melvin Simon Bochner (August 23, 1940 – February 12, 2025) was an American conceptual artist. He is considered to be one of the founders of Conceptual Art,Haus der Kunst (March 7, 2013 - June 23, 2013) Mel Bochner: If the Color Changes./ref ...

, Antoni Muntadas, and

Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...

. In 1994, he co-organized the exhibition ''Logo Non Logo'' with French critic

Pierre Restany Pierre Restany (22 June 1930 – 29 May 2003), was an internationally known French art critic and cultural philosopher. Restany was born in Amélie-les-Bains-Palalda, Pyrénées-Orientales, and spent his childhood in Casablanca. On returning ...

at the Thread Waxing Space in New York, which later traveled to the Art Museum of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

in Tampa, Florida. Morgan authored numerous books, catalogs and monographs on contemporary artists in various countries. His book on the American conceptualist Robert Barry was published by Karl Kerber Press in Bielefeld, Germany (1986). Haim Steinbach was published by the Musee d’Art Contemporain,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

(1988). ''Duchamp, Androgyny, Etc.'', (on

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, ; ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, Futurism and conceptual art. He is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Pica ...

) was published by Editions Antoine Candau in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

(1990). A Hans Bellmer ''Miscellany'' was published by Baum/Malmburg in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, Sweden in 1993. His ''Turkish Bath'' installation at

Artists Space Artists Space is a non-profit art gallery and arts organization first established at 155 Wooster Street in SoHo, Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1972 by Irving Sandler and Trudie Grace and funded by the New York State Council on the Arts ...

in 1976 has been recognized an early example of

post-conceptual art Post-conceptual, postconceptual, post-conceptualism or postconceptualism is an art theory that builds upon the legacy of conceptual art in contemporary art, where the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take some precedence over traditiona ...

. Morgan frequently wrote

art criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...

for the

Brooklyn Rail ''The Brooklyn Rail'' is an American publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics, based in Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, critics, and ...

. His books and collected critical essays published include commentaries on conceptual art,

, and the new media arts (Umbrella Associates, 1992). He published the following books in the United States: ''After the Deluge: Essays on the Art of the Nineties'', (Red Bass Publications, 1993), ''Conceptual Art: An American Perspective'' (McFarland, 1994); ''Art into Ideas: Essays on Conceptual Art'' (Cambridge University Press, 1996), ''Between Modernism and Conceptual Art'' (McFarland, 1997): and ''The End of the Art World'' (Allworth Press, 1998). His critical anthologies on

Gary Hill Gary Hill (born April 4, 1951) is an American artist who lives and works in Seattle, Washington. Often viewed as one of the foundational artists of new media art, based on the single-channel work and video- and sound-based installations of the 1 ...

(2000) and

Bruce Nauman Bruce Nauman (born December 6, 1941) is an American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives near Galisteo, New Mexico. Life and work ...

(2002) were published by

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

Press. An edited volume of the late writings by the critic

Clement Greenberg Clement Greenberg () (January 16, 1909 – May 7, 1994), occasionally writing under the pseudonym K. Hardesh, was an American essayist known mainly as an art critic closely associated with American modern art of the mid-20th century and a formali ...

was published by the

University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. It had annual revenues of just over $8 million in fiscal year 2018. Founded in 1925, the University of Minnesota Press is best known for its book ...

in 2003. In 1995, he traveled to Korea on a

Fulbright Fellowship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

. Morgan died from

amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weigh ...

on October 23, 2024, at the age of 81.

Books

*Duchamp, Androgyny, Etc., Editions Antoine Candau, Paris 1990 *Commentaries on the New Media Arts Pasadena, CA: Umbrella Associates, 1992 *After the Deluge: Essays for Art in the Nineties. New York: Red Bass, 1993 *Conceptual Art: An American Perspective. Jefferson, NC and London: McFarland, 1994. Introduction by Michael Kirby *Art Into Ideas: Essays on Conceptual Art. London:Cambridge University Press, 1996 *Between

Modernism Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

and Conceptual Art. Jefferson, North Carolina and London: McFarland, 1997 *The End of the Art World New York: Allworth Press (in collaboration with the

), 1998. Introduction by Bill Beckley *The enigmatic world of Dmitri Strizhov. Author. Global Curiosity, 1st edition. 1998 *

, editor. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000 *

, editor. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002 *

: Late Writings, editor. University of Minnesota Press. 2003 *Vasarely. New York: George Braziller, 2004 *Wild Dogs in Bali: The Art of Made Wianta. Singapore: SNP Editions, 2005 ;Anthologies and monographs *"Asparagus and Chrysanthemums = Sentimentality and Power," in Muntadas and D'Agostino, eds., The Un/Necessary Image, New York: Tanam Press and Cambridge, Committee on the Visual Arts, MIT, 1983 *"The Delta of Modernism" Re-Dact, Edited by Peter Frank. New York: Willis, Locker, and Owens, 1984. Revised and reprinted in Kostelanetz, ed., Esthetics Contemporary, 2nd Edition, (Buffalo, New York: Prometheus Books, 1989 ( Spanish Translation appeared in Revista Esthetica (CAYC, Buenos Aires), Fall 1991. Revised in The End of the Art World, New York: Allworth Press, 1998. *"Systemic Books by Artists" in Joan Lyons, ed., Artists' Books: A Critical Anthology and Sourcebook, Peregrine Smith Books and

Visual Studies Workshop Visual Studies Workshop (VSW) is a non-profit organization dedicated to art education based in Rochester, New York, in the Susan B. Anthony House, Susan B. Anthony Neighborhood. VSW supports makers and interpreters of images through education, pu ...

Press, Rochester, N.Y., 1985. *Haim Steinbach: Monograph of an Exhibition, Bordeaux: capc Musee d'art contemporain, 1990 (French) *''

Joseph Nechvatal Joseph Nechvatal (born January 15, 1951) is an American post-conceptual digital artist and art theoretician who creates computer-assisted paintings and computer animations, often using custom computer viruses. Life and work Joseph Nechva ...

: Laminations of the Soul'' in

. Paris: Antoine Candau Editions, 1990 (English and French)
Online
*"La Situacion del Arte Conceptual Desde "January Show" Hasta Nuestros Dias" in Juan Vicente Aliaga and José Miguel G. Cortés, editors, Arte Conceptual Revisado, Universidad Poletechnica de Valencia, 1990 (Spanish and English) *"Entretien avec Robert C. Morgan" en

Richard Serra Richard Serra (November 2, 1938 – March 26, 2024) was an American artist known for his large-scale Abstract art, abstract sculptures made for Site-specific art, site-specific landscape, urban, and Architecture, architectural settings, a ...

: Ecrits et Entretiens, 1970-89 (Daniel Lelong Editeur, 1990). English Edition, Chicago University Press, 1993 *Colin Naylor, ed .Contemporary Masterworks (London: St. James Press, 1992) Entries include critical discussions of works by

Isamu Noguchi was an American artist, furniture designer and Landscape architecture, landscape architect whose career spanned six decades from the 1920s. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Grah ...

, Gordon Bunschaft, and Josep Renau. *Oscar de Mejo:The Naive Surrealist, Essay by Robert C. Morgan. New York: Abrams, 1992 *Marcel Delmotte. Essay by Robert C. Morgan. Nahan Galleries (in collaboration with Galerie Isy Brachot, Brussels), 1991 *"The Miralda Honeymoon Celebration in Las Vegas", Nevada State Council on the Arts, 1992 *" Hans Bellmer:The Infestation of Eros" in A Hans Bellmer Miscellany, Anders Malmburg, Malmö and Timothy Baum, New York, 1993 *" Dorothea Tanning's Sculptural Interlude" in Dorothea Tanning (New York: George Braziller, 1995) *"

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

: The Photographer" (1984, revised 1996), Writings on Glass: Essays, Interviews, Criticism. Edited by

Richard Kostelanetz Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic. Birth and education Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) fr ...

and Robert Flemming. (New York: Schirmer Books, 1997) *"The Language of Eros" in Noritoshi Hirakawa, Matters, 1988–1997. New York: Deitch Projects and Antwerp: Zeno X Gallery, 1998 *"A Sign of Beauty" in Bill Beckley and David Shapiro, Uncontrollable Beauty. New York: Allworth Press, 1998. *"Touch Sanitation: Mierle Laderman Ukeles" in Linda Frye Burnham and Steven Durland, editors. The Citizen Artist: 20 Years of Art in the Public Arena. Critical Press. The Gunk Foundation, 1998 *"The End of the Art World" (excerpt) in Patricia Hills, Modern Art in the USA: Issues and Controversies of the 20th Centuries" Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000

Film appearance

* Ciria, (Pronounced Thiria) (2013), directed by Artur Balder

Notes and references

External links

Official site for Robert C. Morgan Robert C. Morgan in Conversation with Phong Bui (July-August 2009)Gallery site for Proyectos Monclova
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Robert C. 1943 births 2024 deaths American art critics American art historians American art curators Cultural historians Artists from New York (state) American conceptual artists Rochester Institute of Technology faculty American male poets Post-conceptual artists Pratt Institute faculty

Life and career

Books

Film appearance

See also

Notes and references

External links