In Memory of My Feelings: Frank O'Hara and American Art

by Russell Ferguson

Not only was Frank O'Hara (1926-1966) one of the most important American poets of his generation, he was also intimately involved with the art world of the 1950s and 1960s, a time when New York had become the cultural capital of the world. As an associate curator at the Museum of Modern Art, O'Hara organized a series of important exhibitions, notably of the work of Franz Kline and of Robert Motherwell. In Memory of My Frank O'Hara and American Art explores this key period in modern art by presenting artists who were associated with O'Hara and whose seminal works are reflected in his poetry.

Featuring over 80 works by twenty-three artists, the book focuses on works closely tied to specific poems by Frank O'Hara, notably Jasper Johns's In Memory of My Feelings—Frank O'Hara and Grace Hartigan's Oranges . Included are direct collaborations between O'Hara and various artists such as Joe Brainard, Norman Bluhm, and Larry Rivers, as well as portraits of the poet by Elaine de Kooning and Alex Katz. Franz Kline, Alice Neel, and Joan Mitchell are some of the other artists highlighted.

The book is a timely re-examination of the relationship between art and poetry at this crucial moment in American art. It also offers new insights into the charismatic figure of Frank O'Hara and his world.

The exhibition, In Memory of My Frank O'Hara and American Art , will be at The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles , from July 11 to November 14, 1999; at The Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, Ohio , January 28 to April 16, 2000; and the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton, New York , in May, 2000.

Genres: Poetry, Art, Nonfiction

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful catalogue documenting Frank O'Hara's friendships with many artists and poets. You might be surprised at the collaborations he did during his short lifetime. Wish I had seen this exhibition.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

a profoundly moving tribute to my favorite poet.

[Kerfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book focuses on Frank O'Hara as the center around which the mingling and merging of poetry and the art that become known as Abstract Expressionism orbited and converged.

It's full of anecdotes about the relationships between the writers and painters working and living together in New York in the mid 20th century, and the organic nature of the many collaborations that were the result of their intersecting lives. But even more importantly, it contains many many examples of O'Hara's work both collaboratively, and as seen in the cross-fertilized influence of word to image and image to word.

Books, prints, paintings, film, drawings, cartoons, collage--it is a multimedia journey, that also includes a chapter of portraits of O'Hara by various artists. Throughout, O'Hara himself remains elusive.

"O'Hara loved the process of one thing becoming another." His own refusal to be categorized was an important component of his ability to serve as a catalyst for artists opening themselves to new ways to express their ideas. The quality and sweep of the collaborations in turn acts as a source for others to explore what else is possible.

O'Hara's words and his collaborations with his contemporaries and friends are well represented, as well as works by the individual artists in his circle. There's much to think about, look at more closely, and think about again. His sudden early death changed the direction of those whose lives he touched, and leaves the question of what might have happened if he had lived longer to nurture and expand on another generation of creative thought.

[Biscuits · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you really like O'Hara, you should read his poems, duh. And once you've done all that, walk around your neighborhood and look at this book.