The Mountain of Tomorrow's Sunrise by William Crump
The Mountain of Westward Expansion by William Crump
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Tuesday Edition: William Crump
Good day to you, fine collector people! You'll get this announcement at its regularly scheduled time*, but I'm tapping away uncharacteristically early due to some anticipation-related insomnia. I'm trying to wrap things in the morning hours in the hopes of visiting The Met this afternoon, and the novelty of my field trip is the culprit for last night's fitful slumber. It reminds me of grade school days, when anxieties about who my buddy would be kept my young self tossing and turning on the eve of such outings. Fortunately for me, I have my buddy system presorted this time!
Speaking of school, and as my friend just said to me on IM, "I can't wait for September already!" These last days of August are not just Summer's swan song, they're also the last week of our first year in business, which I can hardly believe. In honor of the approaching anniversary, all three of our releases this week are double headers.** I am pretty smitten with today's pairing of The Mountain of Western Expansion and The Mountain of Tomorrow's Sunrise by painter William Crump.
I've adored William's work since he submitted slides to me shortly after the gallery opened in 2003. (Slides! That seems so... retro.) He is one of several painters who got away from me in those early days when my curatorial bravado was mostly limited to photography. As I was saying during a two hour phone conversation (!!) last night, I felt more confident in the realm of photography because, in spite of not knowing its history thoroughly, I had a certain fluency by way of merely existing in our image-saturated culture.
Painting seemed a vast, unknowable mystery to me and I was scared of making mistakes. I had not yet fully absorbed Frank O'Hara's "You just go on your nerve!" credo, which meant I didn't trust my instant captivation by work from artists like William, Tucker Nichols and Amy Bennett. God, it makes me sad just typing it!
I've since learned to fully embrace the mistake making and have the psychic bumps, bruises and endurance to prove it. Added bonus: I've learned stuff along the way (mistakes do that to you, if you're lucky.) Now I know why I respond to the work I like; occasionally I'm even capable of being articulate about it, although I cannot guarantee that today will be one of those occasions.
William's work keys in on many abiding fascinations of my own that regular newsletter readers will already be familiar with: the American frontier, heroism and childhood games of make-believe. All that thinky stuff aside, I'm really impressed by his combination of figurative and abstract elements, and his way with color. It's smart, funny and contemporary without being overly ironic or condescending. I feel taken in rather than left out, and also more connected with those thinky things I mentioned a few sentences ago.
I am back tomorrow with more photographic goodness from another recent Hot Shot. In the meanwhile, I wanted to share a few good links with you:
A Fall art show preview from New York magazine. I'm personally looking forward to Aitken at 303, Cindy Sherman @ Feature, Inc., Eggleston at the Whitney, a street photo show at the Bronx Museum, and three great shows at the Met: Calder, Giorgio Morandi and Rudy Burckhardt. I'm also immeasurably excited about the Chris Johanson show that's opening at Deitch next Thursday, where I'm planning on cornering Chris and asking him to please, pretty please with sugar on top, do an edition with us.
A book recommendation from a 20x200 collector, who wrote in yesterday and said:
What powerful images you have brought us today! I just wanted to recommend as a companion book, of sorts, The Dancing Girls of Lahore: Selling Love and Saving Dreams in Pakistan's Pleasure District by Louise Brown. I recently finished it, and it compliments Kate's vivid photo stories.
New from Steidl: Berenice Abbott, which consists of "two clothbound hardcover books each with a tipped-in photo housed together in a slipcase" and William Christenberry's Working from Memory.
Video: Curator Mark Beasley of Creative Time invites musicians to play the Battery Maritime Building, in conjunction with David Byrne's awesome Playing the Building which I caught on its very last day.
Hopefully this art fix will keep you sated till tomorrow's dispatch. Me? I'm insatiable when it comes to art, so off to the museum I go.
*Insofar as I succeed at the regular scheduling, where I admit to a spotty record.
**It is still August though, which means that the capable Noona, our wonderful shipping person, is on vacation. She'll be back at it on Sept 2nd, and will get you all caught up on your art then.
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