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COLUMBIA
FORUM
Experiments
in the Everyday
Allan Kaprow,
Hysteria (1956). 79" x 72", oil, aluminum, foil, and canvas
on canvas.
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During the 1960s,
artistic production in America shifted from abstract expressionism
to a new aesthetic vision that employed everyday, industrial materials
and challenged traditional perceptions of what was art. "Experiments
in the Everyday: Allan Kaprow and Robert Watts - Events, Objects,
Documents," an exhibition on display at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach
Art Gallery, highlights the work of two avant-garde artists central
to this aesthetic transformation. The two works presented here -
Allan Kaprow's Hysteria (1956) and Robert Watts's Table for Suicide
Event (1961) - are among more than 80 works on display.
Although both
artists began as abstract expressionist painters, each moved beyond
the limits of the painted field. Best known for his collage-like,
collaborative performances known as "Happenings," Kaprow (b. 1927)
worked to move art into everyday spaces. Watts (1923-1988), too,
tried to break down the distinctions between art and the everyday,
becoming a key figure in the quasi-anarchic artists' collective
known as Fluxus and producing unconventional projects and objects.
Both men received master's degrees in art history from Columbia
- Watts in 1951 and Kaprow in 1952 - though they did not become
friends, or collaborate on any projects, until after 1953, when
they were each hired by Rutgers.
The Wallach
Art Gallery is located on the 8th floor of Schermerhorn Hall; the
exhibit runs from 1 to 5 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday, through December
4 (except Thanksgiving week). A fully illustrated catalogue will
be available from the Wallach Gallery for $30. For more information,
please call (212) 854-2877.
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