David Hare (artist)
Encyclopedia
David Hare was an American
artist
, associated with the Surrealist
movement. He is primarily known for his sculpture
, though he also worked extensively in photography
and painting
.
. Using his previous education in chemistry
Hare developed an automatist
technique called "heatage" in which he heated the unfixed negative
from an 8 by 10-inch plate, causing the image to ripple and distort.
Hare's Surrealist experiments in photography were only one of his many projects. In 1940 he received a commission from the American Museum of Natural History
to document the Pueblo Indians
of the American Southwest
, for which he eventually produced 20 prints developed using Eastman Kodak
's then-new dye transfer process (a time-consuming and complicated technique). In the same year, he also opened his own commercial photography studio in New York City
and exhibited his photographs in a solo show at the Julien Levy Gallery.
In the next few years, through his cousin the painter Kay Sage
, he came into contact with a number of Surrealist artists who had fled their native Europe
because of World War II
. Hare became closely involved with the émigré Surrealist movement and collaborated closely with them on projects such as the Surrealist journal VVV, which he cofounded and edited from 1941 to 1944 with André Breton
, Max Ernst
, and Marcel Duchamp
. He began to experiment with Surrealist sculpture, which soon became his primary focus, and exhibited his work as solo shows in a number of prestigious venues, including Peggy Guggenheim
's The Art of This Century gallery. Meets and marries Jacqueline Lamba
.
In 1948 he became a founding member, along with Mark Rothko
, William Baziotes
and Robert Motherwell
, of the Subjects of the Artist School in New York. Hare continued to be closely associated with influential artists and thinkers throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, counting Jean-Paul Sartre
, Balthus
, Alberto Giacometti
, and Pablo Picasso
among his friends and acquaintances.
He belonged to the early generation of New York School
Abstract Expressionist artists whose artistic innovation by the 1950s had been recognized across the Atlantic, including Paris. He participated from 1954 to1957 in the invitational New York Painting and Sculpture Annuals. These Annuals were important because the participants were chosen by the artists themselves.
During the 1960s and 1970s Hare held teaching positions at several different schools, including the Philadelphia College of Art. During this period, he began work on his Cronus series of sculpture, paintings, and drawings, which became the subject of a solo show at New York's Guggenheim Museum
in 1977. In subsequent years he was included in many Surrealist retrospectives, primarily represented by his sculpture and painting.
He died on December 21, 1992 in Jackson, Wyoming
, after an emergency operation for an aortic aneurysm
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, associated with the Surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
movement. He is primarily known for his sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
, though he also worked extensively in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
and painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
Life and work
In the late 1930s, with no previous artistic training, he began to experiment with color photographyColor photography
Color photography is photography that uses media capable of representing colors, which are traditionally produced chemically during the photographic processing phase...
. Using his previous education in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
Hare developed an automatist
Surrealist automatism
Automatism has taken on many forms: the automatic writing and drawing initially practiced by surrealists can be compared to similar, or perhaps parallel phenomena, such as the non-idiomatic improvisation of free jazz....
technique called "heatage" in which he heated the unfixed negative
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
from an 8 by 10-inch plate, causing the image to ripple and distort.
Hare's Surrealist experiments in photography were only one of his many projects. In 1940 he received a commission from the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
to document the Pueblo Indians
Pueblo people
The Pueblo people are a Native American people in the Southwestern United States. Their traditional economy is based on agriculture and trade. When first encountered by the Spanish in the 16th century, they were living in villages that the Spanish called pueblos, meaning "towns". Of the 21...
of the American Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
, for which he eventually produced 20 prints developed using Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak
Eastman Kodak Company is a multinational imaging and photographic equipment, materials and services company headquarted in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded by George Eastman in 1892....
's then-new dye transfer process (a time-consuming and complicated technique). In the same year, he also opened his own commercial photography studio in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and exhibited his photographs in a solo show at the Julien Levy Gallery.
In the next few years, through his cousin the painter Kay Sage
Kay Sage
Katherine Linn Sage , usually known as Kay Sage, was an American Surrealist artist and poet.-Biography:...
, he came into contact with a number of Surrealist artists who had fled their native Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
because of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Hare became closely involved with the émigré Surrealist movement and collaborated closely with them on projects such as the Surrealist journal VVV, which he cofounded and edited from 1941 to 1944 with André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
, Max Ernst
Max Ernst
Max Ernst was a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was one of the primary pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism.-Early life:...
, and Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
. He began to experiment with Surrealist sculpture, which soon became his primary focus, and exhibited his work as solo shows in a number of prestigious venues, including Peggy Guggenheim
Peggy Guggenheim
Marguerite "Peggy" Guggenheim was an American art collector. Born to a wealthy New York City family, she was the daughter of Benjamin Guggenheim, who went down with the Titanic in 1912 and the niece of Solomon R. Guggenheim, who would establish the Solomon R...
's The Art of This Century gallery. Meets and marries Jacqueline Lamba
Jacqueline Lamba
Jacqueline Lamba Breton was a French painter perhaps best known as the second wife of André Breton and "the subject of many of his poems". With Breton she had a daughter, Aube Elléouët Breton. She and Breton separated in 1943...
.
In 1948 he became a founding member, along with Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko
Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian...
, William Baziotes
William Baziotes
William Baziotes was an American painter influenced by Surrealism and was a contributor to Abstract Expressionism.-Life and career:...
and Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell
Robert Motherwell American painter, printmaker and editor. He was one of the youngest of the New York School , which also included Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Willem de Kooning, and Philip Guston....
, of the Subjects of the Artist School in New York. Hare continued to be closely associated with influential artists and thinkers throughout the late 1940s and 1950s, counting Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Sartre
Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...
, Balthus
Balthus
Balthasar Klossowski de Rola , best known as Balthus, was an esteemed but controversial Polish-French modern artist....
, Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti
Alberto Giacometti was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draughtsman, and printmaker.Alberto Giacometti was born in the canton Graubünden's southerly alpine valley Val Bregaglia and came from an artistic background; his father, Giovanni, was a well-known post-Impressionist painter...
, and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
among his friends and acquaintances.
He belonged to the early generation of New York School
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
Abstract Expressionist artists whose artistic innovation by the 1950s had been recognized across the Atlantic, including Paris. He participated from 1954 to1957 in the invitational New York Painting and Sculpture Annuals. These Annuals were important because the participants were chosen by the artists themselves.
During the 1960s and 1970s Hare held teaching positions at several different schools, including the Philadelphia College of Art. During this period, he began work on his Cronus series of sculpture, paintings, and drawings, which became the subject of a solo show at New York's Guggenheim Museum
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum is a well-known museum located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States. It is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art and also features special exhibitions...
in 1977. In subsequent years he was included in many Surrealist retrospectives, primarily represented by his sculpture and painting.
He died on December 21, 1992 in Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson, Wyoming
Jackson is a town located in the Jackson Hole valley of Teton County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 8,647 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Teton County....
, after an emergency operation for an aortic aneurysm
Aortic aneurysm
An aortic aneurysm is a general term for any swelling of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal, usually representing an underlying weakness in the wall of the aorta at that location...
.
Catalogs which include David Hare (artist)
- Reuniting an Era abstract expressionists of the 1950s, Exhibition: Nov. 12, 2004-Jan. 25, 2005, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
- The Third Dimension Sculpture of the New York School, by Lisa Phillips, Exhibition circ.: December 6, 1984-March 3, 1985 The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York ISBN 0-87427-002-2
- American Painting of the 1970s, essay by Linda L. Cathcart, Exhibition circ.:December 8, 1978-January 14, 1979 Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
- 200 Years of American Sculpture, Bicentennial Exhibition: March 16-September 26, 1976, organized by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, David R. Godine, Publisher in association with the Whitney Museum of American Art ISBN 0-87923-185-8 HC
Books
- Marika Herskovic, American Abstract Expressionism of the 1950s An Illustrated Survey, (New York School Press, 2003.) ISBN 0-9677994-1-4. pp. 158–161
- The Annual & Biennial Exhibition Record of the Whitney Museum of American Art 1918-1989. Incorporating the serial exhibitions of The Whitney Studio Club, 1918–1928; The Whitney Studio Club Galleries, 1928–1930; The Whitney Museum of American Art, 1932–1989, ed. by Peter Falk, Sound View Press, 1991 ISBN 0-932087-12-4
- New York Cultural Capital of the World 1940-1965 ed. Leonard Wallock, Rizzoli, New York 1988 ISBN 0-8478-0990-0
- American Sculpture in Process: 1930/1970 by Wayne Andersen, New York Graphic Society Boston, Massachusetts, Little, Brown and Company Publisher, 1975 ISBN 0-316-03681-1
- American Art of the 20th Century by Sam Hunter and John Jacobus, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1973 ISBN 0-8109-0135-8
- American Art Since 1900 A Critical History by Barbara Rose, Frederick A. Praeger, Publishers, New York, Washington 1967 Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 67-20743
- Modern Sculpture from the Joseph H. Hirshhorn Collection, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, 1962 Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 62-19719
- The Sculpture of this Century by Michel Seuphor, Gorge Braziller Inc., New York, 1960 Library of Congress Card Catalog Number 60-7807
- Sculpture of the Twentieth Century by Andrew Carnduff Ritchie, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Thames & Hudson, Ltd., London, December, 1952.
External links
- Artcyclopedia - Links to Hare's works
- davidhareart.com - Comprehensive website with photographs of his work.