GORDON MATTA CLARK: YOU ARE THE MEASURE
SUSSMAN, ELISABETH
Qualifying the ancient Greek saying Man is the measure, Gordon Matta-Clark (19431978) asserted instead You are the measure, conveying the defining theme in an oeuvre that would exert a powerful influence on fellow artists and architects. In artworks that combined minimalist, conceptual, and performative practices, Matta-Clark gave primary importance to the individual and considerations of everyday life. This comprehensive book incorporates important new information from the Matta-Clark archive, presenting a compelling reappraisal of the unique beauty and radical nature of Matta-Clarks punnings, plans, performances, and interventions evident in the many media in which he worked: sculptural objects (most notably from building cuts), drawings, films, photographs, and documentary material.
The son of Chilean Surrealist painter Roberto Matta and godson of Marcel Duchamp, Matta-Clark trained as an architect. He is renowned for his poignant use of urban landscapes, creating many site-specific works (often outside of a museum or gallery context) in New York and abroad. In this handsome book, distinguished scholars of contemporary art provide new insights into Matta-Clarks work: the reception of his art during his lifetime; the impact of his socially engaged lifestyle; the production of his films; his photography, in particular his collages that have not been thoroughly explored; the creation and conservation of his building cut Splitting; and much more.
Elisabeth Sussman is curator and Sondra Gilman Curator of Photography; Joan Simon is curator-at-large; and Tina Kukielski is senior curatorial assistant, all at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Briony Fer is professor, history of art, University College London. Gwendolyn Owens is consulting curator at the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal. Spyros Papapetros is assistant professor at the School of Architecture at Princeton University. Christian Scheidemann is an independent conservator.
