A Short Life of Trouble: Forty Years in the New York Art World

A Short Life of Trouble: Forty Years in the New York Art World

This engrossing memoir brings to vivid life the behind-the-scenes struggles of Marcia Tucker, the first woman to be hired as a curator at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the founder of the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York City. Tucker came of age in the 1960s, and this spirited account of her life draws the reader directly into the burgeoning feminist movement and the excitement of the New York art world during that time. Her own new ways of thinking led her to take principled stands that have changed the way art museums consider contemporary art. As curator of painting and sculpture at the Whitney, she organized major exhibitions of the work of Lee Krasner, Joan Mitchell, Robert Morris, Bruce Nauman, and Richard Tuttle, among others. As founder of the New Museum of Contemporary Art, she organized and curated groundbreaking exhibitions that often focused on the nexus of art and politics. The book highlights Tucker's commitment to forging a new system when the prevailing one proved too narrow for her expansive vision.

Product Details

Amazon Sales Rank: #8432 in Books

Published on: 2008-10-22

Original language: English

Number of items: 1

Binding: Hardcover

224 pages

---

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In this insightful and well-crafted memoir, long-time contemporary art curator Tucker (1945-2006) gives readers a backstage account of forty years on the New York and national art scene. A passionate art student, Tucker's career began when she put down the paint brush and dedicated herself to tracking down contemporary art; before long, she would become the first woman curator of The Whitney Museum, before founding and directing The New Museum. Her curatorial history is both humble and sophisticated ("it's one thing to want to create something, another to spend your life interpreting what someone else has made"), as well as vivid, charming and honest, revealing in direct language her reasons for exhibiting Bill Bollinger's giant boulder, pulled whole from the WTC excavation site, or storming out of a class-and her PhD program-after a professor referred to Nancy Graves's realistic, life-size camel sculptures as "novelty art." Aside from meeting some of the most famous artists of our time, from Marcel Duchamp to Bob Dylan, Tucker's personal story involves a tragic family life and years as a starving artist, related poignantly but without pandering. Deftly edited by close friend and artist Lou, this is an arresting tour of a life devoted to new art, with a perfectly charming guide.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"Offers some much-needed inspiration [and] ample evidence of Tucker's take-no-prisoners attitude and passion for "difficult" art."--New York Times Book Review "A good book about a good person."--Art + Auction "A great read [and] a page turner... In less than 200 pages she encapsulates her life, sharing her triumphs and insecurities."--Pelican Press "A candid, entertaining, and illuminating account of the 1960s art world. E. . A perfect antidote to this bloated, spectacle-heavy moment."--Bookforum

Review
"Offers some much-needed inspiration [and] ample evidence of Tucker's take-no-prisoners attitude and passion for "difficult" art."--New York Times Book Review

"Tucker's book is conventional, accessible, even chatty. But this modest volume, in concert with the shiny playful building on the Bowery, denotes a remarkable legacy."--Village Voice

"A good book about a good person."--Art + Auction

"A candid, entertaining, and illuminating account of the 1960s art world. Ê. . A perfect antidote to this bloated, spectacle-heavy moment."--Bookforum

"A joyful exploration of all things art-related. . . . Tucker's balanced assessment of her work and personal life is commendable."--Bust

---

Customer Reviews

A life in/as art
Brilliant. Philosophical and personal, touching, funny, sexy, eye-opening, compelling. Anyone interested in women, or in art, or in women in art will find a treasure here. If you didn't know Marcia, you will after reading this extraordinary memoir. If you did, as I did, you'll be reminded once again how much you miss her.

absorbing memoir
I tend to be an escapist in literature and rarely venture into non-fiction, so I was surprised by how engaging this book was for me. I was fascinated by the personal depiction of a very exciting time period--especially in the art world and in the early struggles of feminism. Most of all I was delighted to experience this vibrant, gutsy, indomitable personality. Recommended definitely!

Marcia Tucker's Short Life of Trouble.
After being fired from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Marcia Tucker (1940-2006) founded the New Museum of Contemporary Art, where she was the director from 1977 to 1999. She was also a frequent contributor to the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, Art in America, Art Forum, and ARTnews, among other publications. Tucker was known as an artistic rebel. In the 1980's it was rumored that she belonged to the gorilla-masked Guerrilla Girls, a feminist watchdog group of the art world. No stranger to artistic controversy, she organized major exhibitions including The Time of Our Lives (1999), A Labor of Love (1996), and Bad Girls (1994), and exhibited a boulder from the World Trade Center site. In her engaging memoir, A Short Life of Trouble, Tucker describes a vibrant period in the New York art scene from the mid-1960s to 2000, including her friendships and encounters with famous artists like Bob Dylan, Marcel Duchamp, James Rosenquist, Lee Krasner, Andy Warhol, Joan Mitchell, and Bruce Nau. Tucker's memoir is candid, witty, saucy, spirited, and insightful. Recommended.

G. Merritt

Price: $18.15 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
Related Links : Product by Amazon or shopping-lifestyle-20 Store