Carl Andre

Carl Andre (born September 16, 1935) is an American minimalist artist recognized for his ordered linear and grid format sculptures and for the suspected murder of contemporary and wife, Ana Mendieta. His sculptures range from large public artworks (such as ''Stone Field Sculpture'', 1977 in Hartford, Connecticut and ''Lament for the Children'', 1976 in Long Island City, New York), to large interior works exhibited on the floor (such as ''144 Magnesium Square'', 1969), to small intimate works (such as ''Satier: Zinc on Steel'', 1989, and ''7 Alnico Pole'', 2011).

Andre married earth-body artist Ana Mendieta. In 1985, she fell from their apartment window and died after an argument with him. He was acquitted of a second-degree murder charge in a 1988 bench trial, but supporters of Mendieta, have protested at his subsequent exhibitions.

Early life

Andre was born September 16, 1935 in Quincy, Massachusetts. He completed primary and secondary schooling in the Quincy public school system and studied art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts from 1951 to 1953.''Naked by the Window,'' by Robert Katz published 1990 by The Atlantic Monthly Free Press While at Phillips Academy he became friends with Hollis Frampton who would later influence Andre's radical approach to sculpture through their conversations about art''12 Dialogues,'' Carl Andre and Hollis Frampton 1962–1963 published by Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Press and New York University Press, edited by Benjamin HD Buchloh and through introductions to other artists.''Minimalism: Art and Polemics in the Sixties,'' edited by James Meyer, published 2004 by Yale University Press ,

Andre served in the U.S. Army in North Carolina 1955–56, and moved to New York City in 1956. While in New York, Frampton introduced Andre to Constantin Brâncuși, through whom Andre became re-acquainted with a former classmate from Phillips Academy, Frank Stella, in 1958. Andre shared studio space with Stella from 1958 through 1960.

Work

Early work

Andre has cited Brâncuși as inspiration for his early wood sculptures, but his conversations with Stella about space and form led him in a different direction. While sharing a studio with Stella, Andre developed a series of wooden "cut" sculptures (such as ''Radial Arm Saw cut sculpture'', 1959, and ''Maple Spindle Exercise'', 1959). Stella is noted as having said to Andre (regarding hunks of wood removed from Andre's sculpture) "Carl, that's sculpture, too."

From 1960 to 1964, Andre worked as freight brakeman and conductor in New Jersey for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The experience with blue collar labor and the ordered nature of conducting freight trains would have a later influence on Andre's sculpture and artistic personality. For example, it was not uncommon for Andre to dress in overalls and a blue work shirt, even to the most formal occasions."

During this period, Andre focused mainly on writing and there is little notable sculpture on record between 1960 and 1965. The poetry would resurface later, most notably in a book (finally published in 1980 by NYU press) called ''12 Dialogues'' in which Andre and Hollis Frampton took turns responding to one another at a typewriter using mainly poetry and free-form essay-like texts. Andre's concrete poetry has exhibited in the United States and Europe, a comprehensive collection of which is in the collection of the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam.

Mature work

In 1965, he had his first public exhibition of work in the ''Shape and Structure'' show curated by Henry Geldzahler at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery.

Andre's controversial ''Lever'' was included in the seminal 1966 show at the Jewish Museum in New York entitled ''Primary Structures (1966 exhibition), Primary Structures''.

In the late 1960s, the entrepreneur Karl Ströher from Darmstadt / Germany (Wella) acquired three major works from Andre to give them on loan to the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt. Peter Iden then acquired these works for the Museum für Moderne Kunst Frankfurt in 1981. The works have since been shown in various "Change of Scene" exhibitions (1992–2002) at the museum in Frankfurt and internationally.

In 1969, Andre helped organize the Art Workers Coalition.

In 1970, he had a solo exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Equivalent VIII

In 1972, Britain's Tate Gallery acquired Andre's ''Equivalent VIII'', an arrangement of 120 firebricks.

The piece was exhibited several times without incident, but became the center of controversy in 1976, after being featured in an article in ''The Sunday Times'' and later being defaced with blue food dye. The "Bricks controversy" became one of the most famous public debates in Britain about contemporary art.

Lever

Carl Andre's 'Lever' consists simply of a single line of 137 firebricks. The work concisely divides a space as the bricks hug the floor. The exhibiting of ‘Lever’ at “Primary Structures” brought recognition to Carl Andre.

Criticism

The gradual evolution of consensus about the meaning of Carl Andre's art can be found in ''About Carl Andre: Critical Texts Since 1965'', published by Ridinghouse in 2008. The most significant essays and exhibition reviews have been collated into one volume, including texts written by some of the most influential art historians and critics: Clement Greenberg, Donald Kuspit, Lucy R. Lippard, Robert C. Morgan, Barbara Rose and Roberta Smith.

Personal life

In 1979, Andre first met artist Ana Mendieta through a mutual friendship with artists Leon Golub and Nancy Spero at AIR Gallery in New York City. Andre and Mendieta married in 1985. In 1988, Andre was tried and acquitted in the death of Mendieta. Mendieta fell to her death from Andre's 34th story apartment window in 1985, after an argument with Andre. Andre was charged with second degree murder. He elected to be tried before a judge with no jury. In 1988, he was acquitted of all charges related to Mendieta's death. Andre remains a controversial figure, and museums who exhibit his work have been met with outrage from Mendieta's supporters. In 2017, protestors attended the opening of his exhibition at The Geffen Contemporary at Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, MOCA in Los Angeles, distributing postcards that read “Carl Andre is at MOCA Geffen. ¿Dónde está Ana Mendieta?” (Spanish for "Where is Ana Mendieta?").

Artist books

''Quincy'', 1973. Artist book by Carl Andre which features commissioned photographs of landscapes and monuments in his hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts. ''Quincy'' was originally printed in conjunction with Andre's 1973 solo show at Addison Gallery, and reprinted by Primary Information in 2014.

''America Drill'', 2003, Les Maîtres de Forme Contemporains, mfc-michèle didier and Paula Cooper Gallery. Limited edition of 100 numbered, signed and stamped copies, 400 numbered copies and 100 artist's proofs.

Bibliography

* ''About Carl Andre: Critical Texts Since 1965'', 2008, published by Ridinghouse .
*
*Rolf Lauter, Lauter, Rolf: ''Carl Andre: Extraneous Roots.'' Museum für Moderne Kunst in the Monastery of the Carmelites, Frankfurt am Main 07.06.-14.07.1991.
*Rolf Lauter, Lauter, Rolf; Christian K. Scheffel; ''Carl Andre: Blickachsen 4, Skulpturen im Kurpark Bad Homburg v. d. Höhe'', Bad Homburg 18.05.-05.10.2003.
* Christel Sauer: ''Carl Andre: Cuts'', DE/EN, Basel 2011,
* Rider, Alistair. ''Carl Andre: Things in their Elements''. London: Phaidon Press, 2011.

References

External links

Official WebsiteFilmed interview with Carl Andre – TateShotsCarl Andre collection MMK Frankfurt

Carl Andre exhibition at Paula Cooper Gallery, NYC 2014Retrospective Gets a Master’s Touch Carl Andre Emerges to Guide Installation at Dia:Beacon NEW YORK TIMES by Randy KennedyCarl Andre Dia Retrospective
from the Art Story Foundation website

from the Guggenheim Museum

Timeline of Exhibitions 1964–present
Carl Andre
at the Tate Modern
Brooklyn Rail
''In Conversation: Carl Andre with Michèle Gerber Klein and Phong Bui''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andre, Carl
1935 births
Living people
Minimalist artists
Sculptors from New York (state)
American contemporary artists
People from Quincy, Massachusetts
People acquitted of murder