Rosalind Krauss on Medium, Modernism, and Her Critical Evolution
In an interview conducted in New York in October 2003, art historian Rosalind Krauss reflected on her intellectual development. She grew up in Washington, D.C., where she often visited the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection, passionately defending modern art despite her father's disapproval. At Wellesley College, she focused on art history, writing her senior thesis on Willem de Kooning, inspired by Clement Greenberg's Art and Culture. Although she formed a friendship with Greenberg at Harvard, they later clashed over issues like the Vietnam War and Minimalism, with Krauss supporting Richard Serra's work. She advocates for medium specificity, referencing James Coleman's slide-tape medium, and criticizes installation art. Her 2011 publication, Under Blue Cup, delves deeper into these concepts.
Key facts
- Rosalind Krauss was interviewed by David Plante in New York in October 2003.
- Her critical outlook was shaped by childhood visits to the National Gallery of Art and the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C.
- Clement Greenberg's book Art and Culture was pivotal to her understanding of Willem de Kooning's work.
- She broke with Greenberg over political differences regarding the Vietnam War and his rejection of Minimalism and Richard Serra.
- Krauss's first book was a dissertation on sculptor David Smith, published after his death in Bennington, Vermont.
- She discovered the work of William Kentridge at an exhibition at MACBA in Barcelona.
- Krauss argues for medium specificity as defined by Greenberg, citing James Coleman's slide-tape works as an example.
- She strongly dislikes installation art and video, and her 2011 book Under Blue Cup explores the concept of the medium.
Entities
Artists
- Rosalind Krauss
- David Plante
- David Smith
- William Kentridge
- Joan Miró
- Richard Serra
- Willem de Kooning
- Mark Rothko
- Adrian Stokes
- Clement Greenberg
- Tony Caro
- James Coleman
- Ellsworth Kelly
- Salvador Dalí
- Man Ray
- Hollis Frampton
- Michael Snow
- Paul Sharits
- Bob Smithson
- Carl Andre
- Louise Bourgeois
- Rebecca Horn
- Jessica Stockholder
- Jacques Lacan
- Fred Jameson
- Denis Hollier
- Kazimir Malevich
- Piet Mondrian
- Pablo Picasso
- Georges Braque
- Paul Klee
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Institutions
- Wellesley College
- Harvard University
- Artforum
- Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona (MACBA)
- MIT Press
- Princeton University
- Anthology Film Archives
- National Gallery of Art
- Phillips Collection
- Department of Justice
- Cinémathèque
- A Kind of Blue
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Washington, D.C.
- Cambridge
- Bennington
- Vermont
- Barcelona
- Spain
- Paris
- France