Criss-Cross
Encyclopedia
Criss-Cross was an artist's cooperative that formed in Colorado in the early 1970s. Having evolved out of Drop City
, the 1960s artists' community, C-C focused on issues surrounding "pattern and structure" and became associated with the 70's art movement "P&D" (Pattern and Decoration
).
In 1974, the five founders, Gene Bernofsky, JoAnn Bernofsky, Richard Kallweit, Charles DiJulio and Clark Richert, artists and filmmakers from Drop City, regrouped in Boulder, Colorado
to start the new artist's cooperative, Criss-Cross. C-C's purpose, like Drop City
's, was to function in a "synergetic" interaction between peers to create experimental artistic innovation. Between 1974 and 1980 the participants in Criss-Cross expanded to include filmmaker Fred Worden
(included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial), University of Arkansas painter/printmaker Marilyn Nelson, and New York artists Gloria Klein, George Woodman
and others.
Filmmakers:
Artists
Writers
Drop City
Drop City was an artists' community that formed in southern Colorado in 1965. Abandoned by the early 1970s, it became known as the first rural "hippie commune".-Establishment:...
, the 1960s artists' community, C-C focused on issues surrounding "pattern and structure" and became associated with the 70's art movement "P&D" (Pattern and Decoration
Pattern and Decoration
Pattern and Decoration was an art movement situated in the United States from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s. The movement has sometimes been referred to as "P&D" or as The New Decorativeness.The movement was championed by the gallery owner Holly Solomon....
).
In 1974, the five founders, Gene Bernofsky, JoAnn Bernofsky, Richard Kallweit, Charles DiJulio and Clark Richert, artists and filmmakers from Drop City, regrouped in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
to start the new artist's cooperative, Criss-Cross. C-C's purpose, like Drop City
Drop City
Drop City was an artists' community that formed in southern Colorado in 1965. Abandoned by the early 1970s, it became known as the first rural "hippie commune".-Establishment:...
's, was to function in a "synergetic" interaction between peers to create experimental artistic innovation. Between 1974 and 1980 the participants in Criss-Cross expanded to include filmmaker Fred Worden
Fred Worden
Fred Worden, filmmaker, has been involved in experimental cinema since the 1970s. His work has been screened at The Museum of Modern Art, in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, The Centre Pompidou, in Paris, The Pacific Film Archive, The New York Film Festival, The London Film Festival, The Rotterdam...
(included in the 2002 Whitney Biennial), University of Arkansas painter/printmaker Marilyn Nelson, and New York artists Gloria Klein, George Woodman
George Woodman
George Woodman is an American ceramicist, painter, and photographer.-Biography:Woodman was born in 1932. He went to Harvard University and married Betty Woodman in 1953. After earning a master's degree in painting at the University of New Mexico, he taught painting and art criticism at the...
and others.
- Between 1974 and 1980 published the nationally distributed avant gardeAvant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
art periodical "Criss-Cross Art Communications" curated national and international art exhibitionArt exhibitionArt exhibitions are traditionally the space in which art objects meet an audience. The exhibit is universally understood to be for some temporary period unless, as is rarely true, it is stated to be a "permanent exhibition". In American English, they may be called "exhibit", "exposition" or...
s focused on "pattern and structure". - Criss-Cross constructed the first "61-Zone System" (in collaboration with Steve BaerSteve BaerSteve Baer is an American inventor and solar and residential designer. Baer has served on the board of directors of the U.S. Section of the International Solar Energy Society, and on the board of the New Mexico Solar Energy Association. He is the Founder, Chairman of the Board, President, and...
of ZomeWorks of Albuquerque New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
) at the Art Research CenterArt Research CenterThe Art Research Center was founded in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1964 by constructivist artist Thomas Michael Stephens.ARC grew out of the new center U.S. art cooperative gallery which was dissolved in 1964 when the original idea for ARC was conceived. The founders of this gallery were part of an...
in Kansas City.
Filmmakers:
- Stan BrakhageStan BrakhageJames Stanley Brakhage , better known as Stan Brakhage, was an American non-narrative filmmaker who is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th century experimental film....
- Kurt KrenKurt KrenKurt Kren was an Austrian avantgarde filmmaker. He is best known for his involvement with the Vienna Aktionists and the group of films that resulted.-Biography:...
- Bruce ConnerBruce ConnerBruce Conner was an American artist renowned for his work in assemblage, film, drawing, sculpture, painting, collage, and photography, among other disciplines.-Early life:...
- Fred WordenFred WordenFred Worden, filmmaker, has been involved in experimental cinema since the 1970s. His work has been screened at The Museum of Modern Art, in the 2002 Whitney Biennial, The Centre Pompidou, in Paris, The Pacific Film Archive, The New York Film Festival, The London Film Festival, The Rotterdam...
- Charles DiJulio
- Gene Bernofsky
- Ken JacobsKen JacobsKen Jacobs is an American experimental filmmaker. He is the director of Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son , which was admitted to the National Film Registry in 2007, and Star Spangled to Death , a nearly seven hour film consisting largely of found footage.He coined the term paracinema in the early 1970s,...
Artists
- Richard Kallweit
- Marilyn NelsonMarilyn NelsonMarilyn Nelson is an American poet, translator and children's book author. She is the author or translator of twelve books and three chapbooks.-Early life:...
- Charles DiJulio
- Clark Richert
- Dee Shapiro
- Gloria Klein
- George WoodmanGeorge WoodmanGeorge Woodman is an American ceramicist, painter, and photographer.-Biography:Woodman was born in 1932. He went to Harvard University and married Betty Woodman in 1953. After earning a master's degree in painting at the University of New Mexico, he taught painting and art criticism at the...
- Robert Swain
- Alvin LucierAlvin LucierAlvin Lucier is an American composer of experimental music and sound installations that explore acoustic phenomena and auditory perception. A long-time music professor at Wesleyan University, Lucier was a member of the influential Sonic Arts Union, which included Robert Ashley, David Behrman, and...
- Joe Clower
- Margaret Neumann
- John Fudge
- Buky SchwartzBuky Schwartz-Biography:Schwartz was born in Jerusalem in 1932. From 1956 to 1958, he studied sculpture with Yitzhak Danziger at the Avni Institute of Art and Design in Tel Aviv. In 1959, he moved to London, where he studied at the St. Martin's School of Art from 1959 to 1962. After returning to Israel in...
- Donald LipskiDonald LipskiDonald Lipski is an American sculptor. He is best known for his provocative works with objects, his installation work and his large scale public works.- LIFE :...
- Bruce Pearson
- Tony RobbinTony RobbinTony Robbin is an American artist and author, who works with painting, sculpture and computer visualizations.He is considered part of the Pattern and Decoration art movement.-Work:...
Writers
- Ed DornEd DornEdward Merton Dorn was an American poet and teacher often associated with the Black Mountain poets. His most famous work is Gunslinger.-Overview:...
- Sidney GoldfarbSidney GoldfarbSidney Goldfarb is a Harvard College-educated American poet and experimental playwright, whose work continues the tradition of poetic theater. Goldfarb co-founded the acclaimed Creative Writing Program at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1975, serving as its first director. He continues to...
- Jeanie Weiffenbach
- Robert CreeleyRobert CreeleyRobert Creeley was an American poet and author of more than sixty books. He is usually associated with the Black Mountain poets, though his verse aesthetic diverged from that school's. He was close with Charles Olson, Robert Duncan, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners and Ed Dorn. He served as the Samuel P...
- Alan Sondheim
- Mark Blane
- Peter Frank
- Henery Korn