Willoughby Sharp

Willoughby Sharp (January 23, 1936 – December 17, 2008) was an American artist, independent curator, independent publisher, gallerist, teacher, author, and telecom activist.[1]

Willoughby Sharp
Sharp in Berlin, 2006
Born(1936-01-23)January 23, 1936
DiedDecember 17, 2008(2008-12-17) (aged 72)
Alma materBrown University (BA)
Spouse(s)Pamela Seymour Smith Sharp

Since 1969, Sharp has had more than 20 solo exhibitions at museums, and art galleries such as: Brown University; the University Art Museum, Berkeley, California; The Museum of Conceptual Art, San Francisco; CAYA, Buenos Aires, Argentina; the University of Iowa; the Ontario College of Art, Toronto; the University of California, Los Angeles; the Vancouver Art Gallery, and Pumps Gallery, Vancouver. His work has also been seen in many group shows in the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia.

Early life

Sharp was born in New York City. He attended Brown University, where he studied art history and graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1957. He undertook graduate study in art history at the University of Paris, the University of Lausanne, and Columbia University.[2]

Career

Sharp began his media work in 1967 by shooting a small number of films in 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm including “Earth,” (1968, Collection: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) and “Place & Process,” (1969, Collection: MoMA, New York). After these films, he produced a body of video works in 1/2, 3/4 and 1-inch tape. These works included video sculpture, video installations, “Videoviews,” (1970–1974), Videoperformances (1973–1977), cable television programs (1985–1986), and broadcast TV programs (2001–2008).

In February 1969, at the invitation of Hans Haacke, he presented a three-part video installation, “Earthscopes,” at Cooper Union, N.Y., which included the only showing of a video catalogue of the historic “Earth Art” exhibition that he had curated at the Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. In March 1969, Sharp created “Einstein’s Eye,” a closed-circuit b/w video sculpture exhibited at the Richard L. Feigen Gallery in Soho, N.Y.

The following year, Sharp’s film “Place and Process” was included in MoMA’s “INFORMATION” exhibition curated by Kynaston McShine. Also in 1970, Sharp curated “Body Works,” an exhibition of Video art with works by Vito Acconci, Bruce Nauman, Terry Fox, Keith Sonnier, Dennis Oppenheim and William Wegman which was presented at Tom Marioni's Museum of Conceptual Art, San Francisco, California.

At the San Jose State TV studios in 1970, Sharp began the “Videoviews” series of videotaped dialogues with artists which he continued after he bought one of the first Sony 3400 Porta-Pac video recording systems in 1972. The “Videoviews” series consists of Sharp's dialogues with Bruce Nauman (1970), Joseph Beuys (1972), Vito Acconci (1973), Chris Burden (1973), Lowell Darling (1974), and Dennis Oppenheim (1974). More recently, working with ARTENGINE, N.Y., Sharp has produced a series of 30-minute documentary programs on Dennis Oppenheim (2001), Keith Sonnier (2002), Earle Brown (2002), and Morton Subotnick (2003).

Sharp in 1973

In 1971, Sharp created Points of View: A Taped Conversation with Four Painters, for Arts Magazine, a live interview with painters: Ronnie Landfield, Brice Marden, Larry Poons, and John Walker.

In 1976, under an NEA grant to Center for New Art Activities, Inc., he co-produced with Liza Béar “Five Video Pioneers: Vito Acconci, Richard Serra, Willoughby Sharp, Keith Sonnier, William Wegman (Collection: MoMA, N.Y.). That year, he also represented the United States in the Venice Biennale.

Shortly afterward, Sharp started to produce a series of international, multi-casting, pre-Internet projects which simultaneously interlaced information from computers, telefax, In September 1977, he participated in Send/Receive Satellite Network: Phase II, co-produced and directed by Keith Sonnier and Liza Béar in collaboration with a group of San Francisco and New York artists; this was the first trans-continental interactive satellite work made by artists. His participation in Send/Receive in part led to Sharp’s current preoccupation with global collaborative work through a series of interactive telecommunications and streaming transmissions. This ongoing series of projects honors the accomplishments of electrical geniuses Guglielmo Marconi (1981), Heinrich Hertz (1986) and Nikola Tesla (2005–2006). In 2006 his interview with Serkan Ozkaya (conceptual artist) has been published under the title Have You Ever Done Anything Right? in English and Spanish, by Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien and Smart Art Press.

Magazine contributions

In 1968, Sharp co-founded Avalanche magazine (in publication from 1970–1976) with filmmaker Liza Béar and published interviews they conducted with contemporary artists such as Vito Acconci, Dennis Oppenheim, William Wegman, and Yvonne Rainer.[3]

Sharp has been the contributing editor to four publications: Impulse (1979–1981); Video magazine(1980–1982); Art Com (1984–1985), and the East Village Eye (1984–1986). He has published three monographs on contemporary artists, contributed to many exhibition catalogues, and has written articles, essays, and interviews featured in Artforum, Art in America, Arts magazine, Laica Journal, Quadrum, Rhobo, and Studio International.

Collaboration with Joseph Beuys

Sharp met Joseph Beuys in Düsseldorf in 1958, and maintained a close, collaborative relationshipuntil Beuys' death in 1986. Sharp was instrumental in bringing Beuys’ work to the attention of the American art world. Starting with an ARTFORUM interview (December, 1969), Beuys was also featured in the first issue of Avalanche magazine (1970). In 1972, Sharp produced the Beuys Videoview which constituted Beuys’ first solo show at Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., N.Y. He also produced “Public Dialogue” in which Beuys performed as part of the “Videoperformance” exhibition Sharp curated din 1974. In 1974, at Beuys’ request, Sharp videotaped “I Like America, America Likes Me” his performance at the Rene Block Gallery, New York City, which has recently been released as “America” (1974–2003). In 1979, Beuys invited Sharp to curate the film/video sections of his retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum.

Teaching career

Sharp taught on the faculties of the School of Visual Arts, Humanities and Science Department (1984–1988); the University of Rhode Island, Kingston, where he was also the director of the Fine Arts Center (1988–1990); and the New School University, Parsons The New School for Design, Graduate Faculty, Digital Design Department, N.Y. (2000–2003).

Death

Sharp died of throat cancer at the age of 72 on December 17, 2008 in the Lower East Side.[4]

On October 15, 2009, a memorial was held for Sharp at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Speakers included Dennis Oppenheim, Les Levine, Ronald Feldman, Liza Bear, Carolee Schneeman, and his widow Pamela Seymour Smith Sharp.

Curatorial work

Beginning in 1964, Sharp curated numerous exhibitions, including:

  • 1964 POP ART: AN ART HISTORICAL APPROACH, Columbia University, NY. No Catalogue.
  • 1964 ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld, Germany. Catalogue.
  • 1966 GUNTHER UECKER, Alfred Schmela Gallery, Düsseldorf, Germany. Catalogue.
  • 1966 GUNTHER UECKER, Howard Wise Gallery, NY. Catalogue.
  • 1966 KINETIC AND PROGRAMMED ART, November 25 – December 4, 1966. Rhode Island School of Design, Museum of Art, Providence. Brochure.
  • 1967 SLOW-MOTION, Rutgers University, NJ. Catalogue.
  • 1967 LIGHT–MOTION-SPACE, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN. and the Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, WI. Catalogue.
Front cover, LUMINISM exhibition catalogue, 1967
  • 1967 LUMINISM, The Artists Club, NY. Catalogue.
  • 1968–1969 AIR ART, Arts Council, YM/YWHA, Philadelphia, PA; traveled to: Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH; Lakeview Center for the Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois; University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley, CA; Lamont Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH; Edmonton Art Gallery, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Catalogue.
  • 1968 KINETICISM: SYSTEMS SCULPTURE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATIONS (Official Olympic Games Exhibition), University Museum of Arts and Science, Mexico City, Mexico. Catalogue.
  • 1969 EARTH ART, Andrew Dickson White Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Catalogue.
  • 1969 PLACE & PROCESS, The Edmonton Art Gallery, Alberta, Canada. No catalogue.
  • 1970 BODY WORKS an exhibition of Video art presented at Tom Marioni's Museum of Conceptual Art, San Francisco, California.
  • 1970 THIS IS YOUR ROOF exhibition is presented at the international art festival held in Pamplona, Spain.
  • 1971 PIER 18, a site/non-site exhibition on an abandoned Pier on Manhattan's West Side.[5]
  • 1971 Vito Acconci, Claim, 93 Grand Street, NY. Performance.
  • 1971 William Beckley, 93 Grand Street. Performance
  • 1971 Terry Fox, Yeast, 93 Grand Street, NY. Videotaped performance.
  • 1973 JOSEPH BEUYS, Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., NY. Beuys’ first show in the U.S. No catalogue.
  • 1973 AVALANCHE DIE ENTWICKLUNG EINER AVANTGARDE-ZEITSCHRIFT, Cologne Kunstverein; traveled to: Hanover Kunstverein; Munster Kunstverein; Frankfurt Kunstverein. No catalogue.
  • 1974 VIDEOPERFORMANCE, 112 Greene Street, Gallery, NY. Catalogue: Avalanche magazine Issue Number 9.
  • 1979–1980 Joseph Beuys, Guggenheim Retrospective, curated the film/video section. Catalogue.
  • 1984 Joseph Nechvatal, Machine Language Book by Willoughby Sharp, 74 pages
  • 1988–1991 WILLOUGHBY SHARP GALLERY.[6]
  • 1988 Lawrence Weiner, Fine Arts Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston Rhode Island. No catalogue.
  • 1989 Joan Jonas, Fine Arts Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston Rhode Island. No catalogue.
  • 1990 MICROSCULPTURE, Fine Arts Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island. Catalogue.
  • 1990 Adrian Piper, Fine Arts Center, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island. No catalogue.
  • 2003 POLARITIES, The Lobby Gallery, 1155 Avenue of the Americas, NY. Brochure.

Awards and grants

Sharp has received numerous grants, awards, and fellowships both as an individual or under the sponsorship of the three non-profit arts organizations that he co-founded.

  • DAAD Berlin grant with Pamela Seymour Smith, (2006)
  • Emily Harvey Foundation artists-in-residence grant with Pamela Seymour Smith (2006)
  • ACE award (1986)
  • Department of Communications, Canadian Government (1981)
  • Canada Council, Explorations Department, (1981)
  • National Endowment for the Arts (1976–1978, 1980–1981)
  • New York State Council on the Arts (1975–1977, 1979, 1985)
  • Rockefeller Foundation individual artists grant (1971)

Museum collections

His video and film works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art New York; the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, N.Y.; ZKM (Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie) in Karlsruhe, Germany; The Collection of the Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island; the National Art Gallery, Ottawa, Canada; The Western Front, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, as well as many private collections worldwide.

Body of work
  • Joseph Beuys' America (1974–2003) 12 min
  • Earle Brown By Artengine, New York (2002) 28 min
  • Dennis Oppenheim By Artengine, New York (2001) 28 min
  • Keith Sonnier By Artengine, New York (2002) 28 min
  • Who Killed Heinrich Hertz? (1986–1987) 20 min
  • Willoughby Sharp's Downtown New York (1986, in collaboration with Timothy Binkley, George M. Chaikin, Gretta Sarfaty and Ira Schneider) 58 min
  • Art And Telecommunications (1983) 60 min
  • The Space Shuttle Is A Robot (1983) 20 min
  • Willoughby Sharp's Beta 1: DBS (1982) 20 min
  • Five Video Pioneers: Acconci, Serra, Sharp, Sonnier & Wegman (1977) 30 min
  • Two-Way Demo(1977) 20 min
  • Willoughby Sharp Videoviews Chris Burden (1975) 27:45 min
  • Art Stars in Hollywood: The DeccaDance (with Chip Lord and Megan Williams) (1974) 60 min
  • Art Stars Interviews (with Chip Lord and Megan Williams) (1974) 60 min
  • Joseph Beuys' Public Dialogue (1974) 120 min
  • Willoughby Sharp's Videoperformances (1973–1974) 58 min
  • Chris Burden Videoview (1973) 30 min
  • Joseph Beuys Videoview (1973) 30 min
  • Vito Acconci Videoview (1973) 30 min

References
  1. Larsen, Lars Bang. "Frieze blog". Willoughby Sharp. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  2. Fox, Margalit. "New York Times". Willoughby Sharp, 72, Versatile Avant-Gardist, Is Dead. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  3. "Avalanche". Primary Information. Retrieved October 28, 2011.
  4. Finch, Charlie. "Remembering Willoughby". artnet Magazine. Retrieved 2020-06-06.
  5. Harry Shunk Projects: Pier 18 (First ed.). Nice: Musee D'art Moderne et D'art Contemporain. 1992. pp. 11, 15.
  6. http://www.boweryboogie.com/2014/01/legendary-willoughby-sharp-gallery-storefront-rediscovered-spring-street/
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.