Page 24 - Studio International - June 1974

Lucy Lippard, that the snow was put together Irving Sandler, director of 'The Committee can be considered for nm year. This is one
as a reply to the comment 'the arc no womea for the VISUl Am' established to admin way of gett that decion-maki process out
concep arti'. It succes analysed the the gallery and the CODD prog told of our hands.
reasons why the show was never critically me ofthe selectiprocedure: 'We would D$: Another kind of 1tructure then.
disc in terms of the curr tiilure of the choose an arti who would be nnafliJiat:ed with IS: No, it still rema the same.
art world to adjust its definitions to include any oommerdal or co-otive gallery, and DS: As the fundental nature of this procs
women and their art. could not have shown in New York for two works on a one-to-one ratio, do you not think
The action of mounting the Lucy Lippard years. We decided furt, because of the huge that the selecti artist might nominate an
show produced in a minor way an alterntive gallery spac to have three one-man shows a arti of simi artistic sympathy?
situation. The emphatic lesson of all these month, because this seemed the best way to IS: Not necessarily-at the moment we have
events is that politics involves the manipulation pres an artist's work.'
of power, taki decions and implementing The gallery has quite a capaty of spac
them, in art as elsewhere. Grumbling, measuring approximately 100 x so ft.
discussion, theorizi and oomplain within • The committee which runs the gallery is a
the system are not alternatives to actuay group formed less than a year ago to devise
cbanging it. D · progres for visual artists in NY State,
SUBRADEN including Doroth Rockburne
Michael Heizer, Philip Pearlstein,
Peter Agostini, Sol Le Witt, Ronald Bladen,
Creativity at work: Carl Andre, Richard Nonas, Lucas Samar
and Nancy Graves. Initially both Sandler, art
Artists' Space historian/critic and teacher, and Trudy Grace,
executive admintrator of tbc committee,
At a time when idealism seems to have were involved in an admintive capacity for
succumbed to expeency and materiasm, New the State Council on the Arts in NYC. Both they
York bas recently witnessed the emergence of a and the state felt the need to set up dire
new form of gallery enterprise. Set up with grants for visu artists and so began to refie
finacial aid from the New York State Council and sharp the conception of needs, meeting
on the Arts and The National Endowment for frequently with groups of artists. The conct of
the Arts, Artists' Space is the name of this open just another gallery did not at first
pioneer gallery. It is situated in SoHo, Lower appeal much, until at last they determined it was
Manhatten, and is endeavouring to provide an something that was really needed. When the .
insight into the difficulty of getti state grants programmes were drawn up; the state decided three shows, chosen by two sculptors working
to actuay reach and assist those individual that it wasn't going to administer them because in a hard minimali!lt vein ••• no .•• it hasn't
studio artists who, unconnected with that wasn't its fullon, but sugg that they really worked in the way you desai15ed. For
commercial or co-otive gallery interests, set up their own orgation. This instance, one of the most strongly figured
find them abandoned. orgation became known as 'The Co�ttee painters in America selected an abstract
There arc a number of reasons why this for the VJSual Arts' -a non-profit-maki sculptor. This leads to the otherproblem in the
Artists' Space is unique; it doesn't represent comm exis solely to administer the present programme-the artist known by the
artists but is designed to give space and a gallery gallery and formulate prog of general artist creates a kind of limitation.
sett for the use oflesser-known artists. use to visual artists. DS: Can you foresee an 'open arena' whereby
State machery in art centres the world over Arti' Space is the first gallery to recee artists are invited to exhibit?
reco their inadequacy in providing the such finacial aid-a total of$81,750 for its IS: Yes, we have decided to set up a file, so that
necessary outlets for the enormous number of oper expe-thus seve the long no matter who comes into the gallery, if they
young artists pour out of our schools and tradition of denying such supp to art galleries. provide slides and a short biography we will
colleges each year. Artists' Space is one of As the Councicann give dire finacial enter it; so that the selecti artists might go
several plans in a progre devis to meet assistance to individual arti, their decision to through the file and if there is any interesting
this problem; others include the redetion of suppo the committee is one way of helping work, uµght pay a visit to the person concerned.
the present 'artist in residence' prog, indirey. This is a very di1ft thing to being forced
and those of decentraltion-all of w�ch The following is an extr froi a conversation to sit upon a jury and being bombarded with.
point to some kind of development in the recoed late last year with Sandler: work.
relationship l>etwccn state and artist. One of the Derek S,agrf: The arti selected to compose DS: This file can be used by people other than
main reasons why the NY State Council the panel reprt a comprehive group of artists.
supped this particular gallery was the individuals. Are you satisfed with the_ selection IS: One of the particular thin we had in mind
'open selection' proc employed.· proce? was that anyone could use it-it might be heads
Lesser-known arti arc selected by a panel of lmng Sandl: There are at the moment two of colleges and universities interested in what
established, recogni7 artists involved in the weak spots in the gallery's proges; the younger arti is up to, and of course critics,
New York art world. The decision as to who firs the selection proc. We hope to be able, dealers, curators and collecto.
exlul,its in the gallery bas been delegated to provided we contue nm year, to pitch this· DS: The gallery is for a probationary period of
those artists selected to head the panel. The proc into the art oommunity itself. We have one year; like ever else with public funds,
value of this is in the initiation and devis cert ways, one of which seems to be you� them for a limited time only. You said
reprtation of one artist by another, in an most promising-if we could get a list of say 200 earlier that one of the committee's problems is
attempt to boycott the exte/materi or 300 artists' names, make a ballot oompris to_ develop other funding sources -for instance,
motivations, which can at times limit the scope of these names, send them to tlie selecti the National Government and various private
and variety of aesthetics promoted. Arti' artists and ask them to choo the 24 they individuals and non-profit foandations. What
Space is attempting to provide an alterntive amsidcr dese and we will take the top 24 has been the resp from the community?.
machery to that of the usual gallery system. names. But none of the ards chos this year IS: It's been almost uniformly enthusiastic.

274