While for many people, this year may stand out for the passing of one of the fathers of postwar American art,
Robert Rauschenberg, 2008 also saw the deaths of countless other important art-world figures. Here, ARTINFO offers an In Memoriam list.
Robert Rauschenberg (d. May 12; age 82)
Rauschenberg was known worldwide as one of the purveyors and shapers of American art in the 20th century, working across media in painting, sculpture, and drawing, as well as across disciplines, designing sets and costumes for dance and theater companies. He initially became famous for his all-black and all-white paintings as well as his assemblages of found materials, and in 1953, he made waves in the art world when he erased a de Kooning drawing. He was a close friend of fellow artist Jasper Johns, with whom he lived in a series of lofts in lower Manhattan in the 1950s and ’60s. In 1964, he represented the U.S. at the Venice Biennale, where he was the first modern American to win the international grand prize. His work was shown in major exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art during his lifetime.
Ettore Sottsass (d. December 31, 2007; age 90)
Italian postmodernist designer Ettore Sottsass has been hailed as “the greatest Italian designer of the last half century.” His creations include limited-edition ceramics and furniture as well as everyday objects like silverware and television sets. He is credited as one of the founders of the Milan design group Memphis in the 1980s, which emphasized bright, colorful, often playful furniture, lighting, and ceramics. Trained as an architect, he also designed the Milan Malpensa airport, and built apartments and designed a golf resort for the People’s Liberation Army in China. In 2006, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art presented the first major American survey of his work, and a retrospective exhibition celebrating his 90th birthday ran in Trieste, Italy, from December 2007 to March 2008.
Angus Fairhurst (d. March 29; age 41)
Angus Fairhurst, one of the Young British Artists (YBAs), was found dead on March 29 in a remote part of Scotland. He took his own life at the age of 41. Fairhurst was among the 16 Goldsmiths College students who participated in the influential YBA exhibition “Freeze,” which was organized by Damien Hirst, in 1988. He also showed at the Tate Britain with Hirst and Sarah Lucas in 2004. Born in Pembury, Kent, Fairhurst was known primarily for his bronze gorilla sculptures. Hirst said of him: “He was a great artist and a great friend, he always supported me in fair weather and foul. He shone like the moon and as an artist he had just the right amount of slightly-round-the-bend. I loved him.”
Cornell Capa (d. May 23; age 90)
Photojournalist Cornell Capa worked for Life magazine from 1946 to 1954 and then for Magnum Photos, documenting political events with a focus on social justice. He used the term “concerned photographer” to describe those like him in his profession who took pictures with a humanitarian focus. He founded the International Center of Photography in 1974, which evolved from his International Fund for Concerned Photography, which he established in 1966 with the goals of assisting photographers, preserving photographic archives, and encouraging public engagement with the medium. Capa served as the director of the ICP for many years. He also helped establish his brother Robert Capa’s legacy as a great war photographer.
John Weber (d. May 23; age 75)
Weber was an art dealer known for his early promotion of conceptual art, Postminimalist sculpture, and Arte Povera. Weber first worked at the Dayton Art Institute in Ohio before becoming the director of the Martha Jackson Gallery in New York in 1960. In 1962, he moved to Los Angeles to work at the Virginia Dawn Gallery, where he organized several group shows, including “De Europa,” one of the first exhibitions of Arte Povera in the U.S. Weber became the director of Virginia Dawn”s New York gallery in 1968, and in 1971 opened his own space in the first gallery building in SoHo. The gallery later moved to Chelsea and closed in 2000. He represented a wide range of artists, often early in their careers, including Giovanni Anselmo, Richard Long, and Dorothea Rockburne.
Save to Del.icio.us
Digg this