Published in conjunction with exhibition Jack Whitten: The Greek Alphabet paintings at Dia Beacon, Beacon, New York, November 18, 2022 - July, 10, 2023. Text by Courtney J. Martin, Matilde Guidelli-Guidi, Donna De Salvo, Fred Moten, and Gregg Bordowitz; 1976 interview of the artist by Juan Cash, 1983 interview of the artist by Henry Geldzahler with Kellie Jones, and 1997 interview of the artist by Jeanne Siegel. Includes bibliographical references.
Contents:
Director's foreword / Jessica Morgan -- Jack Whitten and the "Omalos Experiment" / Courtney J. Martin -- Weaving of Light / Matilde Guidelli-Guidi -- "Gray is power": Jack Whitten's Xerox project / Donna De Salvo -- Plates -- Surfacing / Fred Moten -- Space metal / Gregg Bordowitz -- Jack Whitten: The Greek alphabet paintings, Dia Beacon -- Archival documents -- Complete list of Greek alphabet paintings -- Contributors -- Photography credits
Summary:
"The first-ever publication to delve deeply into Jack Whitten's mid-1970s Greek Alphabet painting series, this volume will include critical essays by curators, artists, and scholars; never-before published writings by Whitten and related archival materials; and a fully illustrated plate section of the Greek Alphabet paintings. In the exhibition's companion publication, art historical insight into the unprecedented achievement of the Greek Alphabet paintings and related works on paper is provided in essays by art historian Courtney J. Martin and Dia curators Donna De Salvo and Matilde Guidelli-Guidi. Poetic reflections on Whitten's art, biography, and cultural importance are provided in the contributions of artists Fred Moten and Gregg Bordowitz. Previously unpublished materials from Whitten's archives, including his own personal writings, supplement this unprecedented publication. In his lifetime, Whitten never had the opportunity to exhibit more than a handful of these works. In presenting a significant number of these paintings together for the first time-with forty-two color plates representing the sixty-some paintings in the series-Jack Whitten: The Greek Alphabet Series makes possible a fuller appreciation of the formal and material permutations of Whitten's practice"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.