Vincent Katz's 2003 catalogue examines Black Mountain College's experimental legacy
From 1933 until 1956, Black Mountain College was active in North Carolina, established by John Andrew Rice. Lacking an endowment, the institution did not provide salaries or degrees, allowing both faculty and students to create their own courses. Physics teacher Ted Dreier reached out to Philip Johnson, who suggested Josef Albers, paving the way for innovative art education. The college relocated to a 667-acre site at Lake Eden. Distinguished instructors included Albers, Lyonel Feininger, Walter Gropius, and Willem de Kooning. Enrollment peaked in 1948 but dwindled to just seven by 1954. Charles Olson took over from Albers, founding the Black Mountain School of writers. In 1955, the college lost land, and its buildings fell into disrepair. Vincent Katz compiled the 2003 exhibition catalogue "Black Mountain: Experiment in Art."
Key facts
- Black Mountain College operated from 1933 to 1956 in North Carolina
- Founded by John Andrew Rice with faculty-run governance
- Located 15 miles from Asheville, later moved to Lake Eden on 667 acres
- Josef Albers joined after recommendation from Philip Johnson of MoMA
- Teachers included Josef Albers, Willem de Kooning, John Cage, Buckminster Fuller
- John Cage's 4'33" derived from Robert Rauschenberg's White Paintings seen there
- Charles Olson took over in 1948, shifting focus to literature
- Vincent Katz edited 2003 catalogue "Black Mountain: Experiment in Art" for MIT Press
- Catalogue accompanied exhibition at Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid
Entities
Artists
- Vincent Katz
- Martin Brody
- Kevin Power
- Robert Creeley
- John Andrew Rice
- Ted Dreier
- Philip Johnson
- Josef Albers
- Lyonel Feininger
- Ilya Bolotowski
- Walter Gropius
- Willem de Kooning
- Helen Frankenthaler
- Jacob Lawrence
- Beaumont Newhall
- Ben Shahn
- Robert Motherwell
- Elaine de Kooning
- Franz Kline
- John Cage
- Merce Cunningham
- Buckminster Fuller
- Harry Callahan
- Aaron Siskind
- Thornton Wilder
- Henry Miller
- Irwin Panofsky
- Anais Nin
- Robert Rauschenberg
- Charles Olson
- Fielding Dawson
- Robert Duncan
- Joel Oppenheimer
- Dorothea Rockburne
- Katherine
Institutions
- Black Mountain College
- Museum of Modern Art
- Museo Nacional Centro De Arte Reina Sofia
- MIT Press
- Columbia
- Harvard
- Wesleyan
- Office of War Information
- Black Mountain Review
Locations
- North Carolina
- Asheville
- Lake Eden
- New York
- Madrid
- Spain
- United States