Ryan Trecartin
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Ryan Trecartin (born 1981) is an American artist and filmmaker currently based in
Athens, Ohio Athens is a city in Athens County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 23,849 at the 2020 United States census. Located along the Hocking River within Appalachian Ohio about southeast of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, Athe ...
. He studied at the
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...
, graduating with a BFA in 2004. Trecartin has since lived and worked in New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Miami. His creative partner and long-term collaborator is
Lizzie Fitch Lizzie Fitch (born 1981) is an American artist who works in the mediums of sculpture, video, performance, and installation art. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Her long-term collaborator is Ryan Trecartin; their videos ...
, an artist that he has been working with since 2000. In 2006, the ''
Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'' included Trecartin in a selection of ten top emerging US artists including
Dash Snow Dashiell A. Snow (July 27, 1981 – July 13, 2009) was an American artist based in New York City.Roberta Smith"Dash Snow, New York Artist, Dies at 27" ''The New York Times'', July 14, 2009. Snow's photographs included scenes of sex, drugs, viole ...
,
Rosson Crow Rosson Crow (born 1982) is an American artist, best known for her large-scale paintings. She is based in Los Angeles, California. Biography Crow grew up in Dallas, Texas. She moved to New York City in 2000 and graduated with a B.F.A, from School ...
,
Zane Lewis Zane Lewis (born 1981) is an American visual artist based in Brooklyn, New York.Slenske, Michael"Spray It Loud" '' Wmagazine.com'', 10 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014. His abstract paintings and sculptures reference color field painting, poin ...
, and Keegan McHargue. More recently, in 2009, Trecartin was the recipient of the inaugural Jack Wolgin International Competition in the Fine Arts, the world's largest juried individual fine art prize, awarded by
Tyler School of Art The Tyler School of Art and Architecture is part of Temple University, a large, urban, public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Tyler currently enrolls about 1,350 undergraduate students and about 200 graduate st ...
; he received the New Artist of the Year Award at The First Annual Art Awards hosted by the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
, New York; and he was awarded a 2009
Pew Fellowship in the Arts The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage is a nonprofit organization, nonprofit grantmaking organization and knowledge-sharing hub for arts and culture in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US established in 2005. In 2008, Paula Marincola was named the first ...
. His work is featured in the
Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...
collection and has appeared in many museum exhibitions including ''The Generational: Younger Than Jesus'' at
The New Museum The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, ''Queer Voice'' at the ICA in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
, ''Between Two Deaths'' at the Center for Art and Media in
Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...
, and the 2006
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...
, as well as in recent solo exhibitions at
The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian public art gallery located at Harbourfront Centre in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Gallery is a registered Canadian charitable organization. Initially established in 1976 as ...
in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, and the
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (MOCA) is a contemporary art museum with two locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near the Walt Disney Concert Hall. MOCA's ori ...
, among others.


Early life

Ryan Trecartin was born in
Webster, Texas Webster is a city in the U.S. state of Texas located in Harris County, within the Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. Its population was 12,499 at the 2020 U.S. census. History The community was founded in 1879 by James ...
, and spent most of his childhood in Ohio. His mother was a homemaker and then a teacher, and his dad was a steelworker. Although he was not exposed to the world of high art until college, Trecartin was interested in performance from a young age. In high school, he would build sets and costumes, write music, and dance and act with his friends. After graduating from high school, Trecartin "decided to apply to art school because it seemed like a place where people can have creative freedom and easily move between different mediums and cultural discussions." In 2000, Trecartin enrolled in the
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...
, where he met Lizzie Fitch, who would become his longtime collaborator and creative partner. Trecartin graduated in 2004 with a BFA. Fitch appears in many of Trecartin's early videos, such as ''Wayne's World'' (2003).


Work

Trecartin's first major work, '' A Family Finds Entertainment'', was finished his senior year of college and first screened at the college's auditorium. The video was posted on his Friendster page and DVD copies were sold. Although there are several versions of this story, one of the DVDs made it to artist Sue de Beer's hands who then showed it to
New Museum The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a museum at 235 Bowery, on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1977 by Marcia Tucker. History The museum originally opened in a space in the Graduate Center of the then-nam ...
curator Rachel Greene. In 2006, Trecartin was the youngest artist to present at the
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932; the first biennial was held in 1973. It is considered ...
. The film stars Laura Colella, Patrick Thompson,
Lizzie Fitch Lizzie Fitch (born 1981) is an American artist who works in the mediums of sculpture, video, performance, and installation art. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Her long-term collaborator is Ryan Trecartin; their videos ...
, Lindsey Beebe, and others. Trecartin's second major work, and his first feature-length film, ''I-Be Area'', starring Trecartin himself as well as frequent collaborator and friend
Lizzie Fitch Lizzie Fitch (born 1981) is an American artist who works in the mediums of sculpture, video, performance, and installation art. She graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Her long-term collaborator is Ryan Trecartin; their videos ...
, Mecca Vazie Andrews, Jasmine Albuquerque, Tara Brook, Samuel Adrian III, and more, was finished in 2007. It debuted the same year at Elizabeth Dee Gallery in New York City. Elizabeth Dee worked as well to co-produce eight films with Trecartin, including ''I-Be Area''. The film was also displayed in the
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue between 88th and 89th Street (Manhattan), 89th Streets on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It hosts a permanent coll ...
collection. It was greeted with a "joyous critical consensus rarely seen in the art world." Trecartin completed the film while obtaining his master's degree at RISD The film has become beloved in the experimental film world, and has inspired the works of other experimental artists. In 2012,
Experimental hip hop Alternative hip-hop (also known as alternative rap and experimental hip-hop) is a subgenre of hip-hop music that encompasses a wide range of styles that are not typically identified as mainstream. AllMusic defines it as comprising "hip-hop group ...
group
Death Grips Death Grips is an American experimental hip-hop band formed in 2010 in Sacramento, California. The group consists of producers Zach Hill (drums), Andy Morin (keyboard), and vocalist Stefan Burnett, also known as MC Ride. Though he is not the ...
sampled soundbites from the film in their song " @DeathGripz".
Holland Cotter Holland Cotter is an American writer and co-chief art critic with ''The New York Times''. In 2009, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Life and work Cotter was born in Connecticut and grew up in Boston, Massachusetts. He earned his A.B. fr ...
of the
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
described subversive nature of the work in his 2008 write up; "... it told a story, one with dozens of characters and multiple subplots, which is what entertainment, not art, is supposed to do, if you assume there’s a hard and fast difference between the two."


Process

One of the important aspects of Trecartin's work is his emphasis on collaboration as an integral element of creative process. Lizzie Fitch explains that since their early days at Rhode Island School of Design the two of them were always looking for ways to transcend the boundaries of mediums through collaboration. For example, they would try to see how they could create sculptures that worked as other things than sculptures, or "a movie conceived as a movie and as something to be shared socially as a container to hold other artworks." Fitch also remarks that "one of the most striking things about Ryan is how naturally he opens up his rigorous, focused vision to working with others." Trecartin remarked in an interview with
Cindy Sherman Cynthia Morris Sherman (born January 19, 1954) is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters. Her breakthrough work is often co ...
that "it's important to me that the traditional director-actor hierarchy disappear into the work." He sees authorship as "a fluid space and collaboration as an inherent, connective reality." Comparisons have been drawn to
The Factory The Factory was Andy Warhol's art studio in Manhattan, New York City, which had four locations between 1963 and 1987. The Factory became famous for its parties in the 1960s. It was the hip hangout spot for artists, musicians, celebrities, and ...
, but Trecartin has rejected the similarity, and emphasizes that his work is much more pluralized.


Influences

Although critics have made various comparisons to other
video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...
ists, such as
John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, actor, writer, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films, including '' Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), '' Pink Flamingos'' (1972) and '' Fe ...
,
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
, and Jack Smith, Trecartin has repeatedly stated that fine art was never a major source of inspiration for his work. Randy Kennedy, an art writer for The New York Times, remarked that Trecartin was unaware of the artists he was being compared to when he first heard of them. Per Trecartin: "Contemporary art or artists alone have never been a main catalyst for me to want to make art. I've been more inspired by how language is used—in culture generally, whether in casual conversation or various forms of media—or by music, TV, dance, and movies…I never think about disentangling moments from my cumulative experience of culture that may have influenced me the most… it means more in its blended entirety than it does a series of key experiences or authors." Trecartin also cites
The Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Launched on April 18, 1983, under the na ...
and ''
Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...
'' as being sources of inspiration for his films in an interview with
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
. Trecartin is also quoted saying "When I was young and my baby sitters came over and turned on music videos, I was inspired by that."


Reception

Critics and writers have often struggled to describe Trecartin's work as it straddles the line between multiple mediums, drawing from an eclectic multitude of sources while moving at a frenetic, almost chaotic pace. As art dealer and curator
Jeffrey Deitch Jeffrey Deitch (pronounced ''DIE-tch'';Mike Boehm (January 12, 2010)''Los Angeles Times''. born July 9, 1952) is an American art dealer and curator. He is best known for his gallery Deitch Projects (1996–2010) and curating groundbreaking exhib ...
describes, "His art is not about formal self-definition but about an embrace of the connections between different media and between progressive art and popular culture." Deitch goes on to say that Trecartin "has brought a new level of complexity to the question of when life becomes art and art becomes life… He is one of the first artists whose work looks and feels like life today." Howard Halle writes, "the plots are slippery and almost non-narrative, but his style is so original and refreshing that the work could never be called boring. Often, in fact, it's downright thrilling." From Brian Droitcour: "To find another artist who engages a plurality of art forms with simultaneous, equal intensity—all while rethinking what art is and how it touches its audience—you'd have to go back to Wagner."


Filmography

*"Kitchen Girl" (2001) *"Valentine's Day Girl" (2001) *"Yo! A Romantic Comedy" (2001) *"Wayne's World" (2003) *"What's the Love Making Babies For" (2003) *'' A Family Finds Entertainment'' (2004) *"(Tommy Chat Just E-mailed Me.)" (2006) *''I-Be Area'' (2007) *''Trill-ogy Comp'' (2009) :*"K-CoreaINC. K (section a)" :*"Sibling Topics (section a)" (2009) :*"P.opular S.ky (section ish)" (2009) *''Re'Search Wait'S'' (2010) :*"Ready" (2010) :*"The Re'Search" (2010) :*"Roamie View: History Enhancement" (2010) :*"Temp Stop" (2010) *''CENTER JENNY'' (2013) *"Comma Boat" (2013) *"Item Falls" (2013) *"Junior War" (2013) *''Mark Trade'' (2016) *''Temple Time'' (2016) *''Whether Line'' (2019)


References


External links


Ryan Trecartin on VimeoTrecartin's YouTube channel
*

* ttp://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/ryan_trecartin.htm About Ryan Trecartin and his art from the Saatchi Gallerybr>Ryan Trecartin on ArtabaseAn artist portrait / spike art quarterlyRyan Trecartin by Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer
''
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'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Trecartin, Ryan 1981 births Living people American gay artists People from Webster, Texas Artists from Houston Mass media people from Houston Rhode Island School of Design alumni American artists Pew Fellows in the Arts Artists from Texas American gay men Psychedelic artists