Robert Pincus-Witten
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Robert Pincus-Witten (April 5, 1935 – January 28, 2018) 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 catalogu ...
, curator and
art historian Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, ...
.


Biography

Born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Pincus-Witten earned his undergraduate degree at
The Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...
, in New York City in 1956. He wrote his master's degree (1962) and Ph.D. (1968) both at the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
. His dissertation, on
Joséphin Péladan Joséphin Péladan (28 March 1858 in Lyon – 27 June 1918 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a French novelist and Martinist. His father was a journalist who had written on prophecies, and professed a philosophic-occult Catholicism. He established th ...
and the Salon de la Rose + Croix was written under Joshua Taylor and
John Rewald John Rewald (May 12, 1912 – February 2, 1994) was an American academic, author and art historian. He was known as a scholar of Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cézanne, Renoir, Pissarro, Seurat, and other French painters of the late 19th c ...
. Pincus-Witten joined the
City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven pro ...
in 1964. In 1970 he was promoted to professor at
CUNY The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the public university system of New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges and seven prof ...
. Pincus-Witten retired from CUNY in 1990. In 1966 he began writing criticism for
Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notably ...
magazine as its senior editor. He became associate editor of Artforum in 1976. An initial book on
minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...
and the era following it was issued in 1977. His collected
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 que ...
was published as Eye to Eye: Twenty Years of Art Criticism, in 1984. His treatise on
post-modern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...
art,
Postminimalism Postminimalism is an art term coined (as post-minimalism) by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971Chilvers, Ian and Glaves-Smith, John, ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', second edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. ...
into Maximalism: American Art 1966-1986, appeared in 1987. Postminimalism is an art term coined (as "post-minimalism") by Pincus-Witten in 1971Chilvers, Ian and Glaves-Smith, John, ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', second edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 569. . used in various artistic fields for work which is influenced by, or attempts to develop and go beyond, the aesthetic of
minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...
.Kristine Stiles & Peter Selz, ''Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings'' (Second Edition, Revised and Expanded by Kristine Stiles) University of California Press 2012, p. 687 Pincus-Witten curated art shows for the
Gagosian Gallery Gagosian is a contemporary art gallery owned and directed by Larry Gagosian. The gallery exhibits some of the most influential artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. There are 16 gallery spaces: five in New York City; three in London; two in P ...
(East) in New York City, until 1996. That same year he joined the staff of C&M Arts (Mnuchin Fine Arts), New York City as Director of Exhibitions and then retired after eleven years. On July 3, 2013, Pincus-Witten and Leon Hecht were married in NYC.


Bibliography

* Postminimalism. New York: Out of London Press, 1977 * Entries (Maximalism): Art at the Turn of the Decade * New York: Out of London Press, 1983; and Armstrong, Richard, and Hanhardt, John G. * The New Sculpture 1965–75: between Geometry and Gesture. 1976 * New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1990 * Postminimalism into Maximalism: American Art, 1966–1986. Ann Arbor, MI : UMI Research Press, 1987 * Eye to Eye: Twenty Years of Art Criticism, Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1984.


See also

*
Conceptual art Conceptual art, also referred to as conceptualism, is art in which the concept(s) or idea(s) involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic, technical, and material concerns. Some works of conceptual art, sometimes called ins ...
*
Post-conceptual 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 takes some precedence over traditional ...
*
Postmodern art Postmodern art is a body of art movements that sought to contradict some aspects of modernism or some aspects that emerged or developed in its aftermath. In general, movements such as intermedia, installation art, conceptual art and multimedia, ...
*
Postminimalism Postminimalism is an art term coined (as post-minimalism) by Robert Pincus-Witten in 1971Chilvers, Ian and Glaves-Smith, John, ''A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art'', second edition (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. ...


Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pincus-Witten, Robert 1935 births 2018 deaths American art critics American art historians Cultural historians City University of New York faculty People from New York City