Between Artists

by Dave Hickey (Introduction)

Despite all the critical analyses, art histories, surveys, reviews, critiques, and articles we might read, there is no substitute for an artist's own words to inform us of his or her intentions and ideas. Published interviews provide such access. When reading this remarkable collection of 12 conversations between artists who are intimately familiar with each other's work, one feels a little like a voyeur or a fly on the wall. In these revealing interviews, artists discuss their relationship with their work and reflect on the culture in which they live, giving readers a deep understanding of their daily roles and struggles. They share their insights on such topics as AIDS, art history, craft, tradition, religion, and feminism, and their voices reflect a reassuring diversity. Some interesting pairings are Felix Gonzalez-Torres interviewed by Tim Rollins, and Anne Scott Plummer interviewed by Viola Frey. It is surprising to learn, for instance, that Gonzalez-Torres never worked in a studio for fear it would paralyze his creativity.

Genres: Art

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 12, 1971

About the author

David Hickey (born circa 1939) is an American art and cultural critic. He has written for many American publications including Rolling Stone, Art News, Art in America, Artforum, Harper's Magazine, and Vanity Fair. He is currently Professor of English at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and Distinguished Professor of Criticism for the MFA Program in the Department of Art & Art History at the University of New Mexico.

Known for his arguments against academicism and in favor of the effects of rough-and-tumble free markets on art, his critical essays have been published in two volumes: The Invisible Dragon: Four Essays on Beauty (1993) and Air Guitar: Essays on Art and Democracy (1997). In 2009, Hickey published a revised and updated version of The Invisible Dragon, adding an introduction that addressed changes in the art world since the book's original publication, as well as a new concluding essay. He has been the subject of profiles in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report, Texas Monthly, and elsewhere. He was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the so-called "genius grant."

Hickey graduated from Texas Christian University in 1961 and received his PhD from the University of Texas two years later. In 1989, SMU Press published Prior Convictions, a volume of his short fiction. He was owner-director of A Clean Well-Lighted Place, an art gallery in Austin, Texas and director of Reese Palley Gallery in New York. He has served as Executive Editor for Art in America magazine, as contributing editor to The Village Voice, as Staff Songwriter for Glaser Publications in Nashville and as Arts Editor for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In 1994, he received the Frank Jewett Mather Award for art criticism from the College Art Association.[1] In 2003, he was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame, sponsored by the Friends of the University of Nevada, Reno Libraries.

Reviews

[Jeff Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth seeking out, if only for the potent Dave Hickey essay about how artists became relegated to mere "cultural producers." And the illuminating Mike Kelley interview, which details the ideas about morphology, identification, and gift-giving behind his stuffed animal pieces.

[Amalie]

A small part is reprinted in "Painting", with chuck close and vija celmins, which I really liked.