Joyce Arlene Cutler–Shaw (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Joyce Cutler; 1932–2018) was an American multidisciplinary artist, illustrator, and educator. She is known for her drawings of human and small animal bones. She also worked in many other mediums, including in installation art, sculpture, performance art, multimedia art, and artist books. Cutler–Shaw was also the founder of the Landmark Art Project, Inc., and Landmark Art Collaborative.

Early life and education

Joyce Cutler was born on June 25, 1932 in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and was raised in New York. She studied at

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 ...

, and received a B.A. degree in 1953, followed by further study at the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego in communications material, formerly and colloquially UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California, United States. Es ...

(UCSD), where she received a M.F.A. degree in 1972, in the first M.F.A. graduating class in visual arts at the university. She was married to Jerome "Jerry" Shaw in the 1950s, and together they had three children.

Career

Cutler–Shaw taught at the University of California, San Diego Extension (1972 to 1974),

Palomar College Palomar College is a public community college in San Diego County, California. The main campus is in San Marcos and three centers and four education sites are located elsewhere throughout north San Diego County. Academics Palomar College off ...

(1974 to 1978), and at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

(1978 to 1980). She served in an

artist-in-residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

from 1992 to 2015, at the

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is the graduate medical school of the University of California, San Diego, a public land-grant research university in La Jolla, California. It was the third medical school in the Univer ...

. Her artwork often focused on the cycle of life and death. While in graduate school, she frequently visited the UCSD School of Medicine to draw the dead bodies and bones. Cutler–Shaw launched the artist-in-residence program in 1992, and served as the first artist. Cutler–Shaw was the founder of the Landmark Art Project, Inc., and Landmark Art Collaborative (1985 to 1992). She had an "Art and Artist Lecture Series," which consists of interviews with visual artists that were documented on video, which included

David Antin David Abraham Antin (February 1, 1932 – October 11, 2016) was an American poet, art critic, performance artist, and university professor. Education and early career Antin was born in New York City in 1932. After graduating from Brooklyn Techni ...

Eleanor Antin Eleanor Antin (née Fineman; February 27, 1935) is an American performance artist, film-maker, installation artist, conceptual artist, feminist artist, and university professor. Early life and education Eleanor Fineman was born in the Bronx o ...

Edward Rusha Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

Christo Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks a ...

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. ...

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and Extended technique, non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one ...

, and

John Baldessari John Anthony Baldessari (June 17, 1931 – January 2, 2020) was an American conceptual artist known for his work featuring found photography and appropriated images. He lived and worked in Santa Monica and Venice, California. Initially a paint ...

. She was part of the group exhibition 'Women of the Book" (1998) which traveled to four locations in Los Angeles, including to Finegood Art Gallery, the West Valley Jewish Community Center, 22622 Vanowen St., and West Hills Gallery. In 2007, Cutler–Shaw had a two person show alongside artist Sarah Perry, featuring drawings of the bones of small animals at the USC Fisher Museum of Art in Los Angeles.

Death and legacy

Cutler–Shaw died on March 18, 2018, in San Diego, after struggling with a progressive neurological disease called

corticobasal degeneration Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease involving the cerebral cortex and the basal ganglia. CBD symptoms typically begin in people from 50 to 70 years of age, and typical survival before death is eight years. It is cha ...

. The UC San Diego Library’s Special Collections & Archives holds the Cutler–Shaw Papers. She has work in museum collections, including at the

Walker Art Center The Walker Art Center is a multidisciplinary contemporary art center in the Lowry Hill, Minneapolis, Lowry Hill neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The Walker is one of the most-visited modern and contemporary art museums in ...

. She was the subject of the documentary film ''She is Fierce: the Art of Joyce Cutler-Shaw'' (2016), directed by Becky Cohen.

References

External links

Joyce Cutler Shaw papers, 1974-1977
from

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

, Smithsonian Institution * Video
''She is Fierce: the Art of Joyce Cutler-Shaw'' (2016)
from UCTV {{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler-Shaw, Joyce 1932 births 2018 deaths American illustrators American installation artists American performance artists American sculptors American women illustrators American women installation artists American women performance artists American women sculptors Artists from Detroit Artists from San Diego New York University alumni Neurological disease deaths in California San Diego State University faculty University of California, San Diego School of Medicine alumni University of California, San Diego alumni