Gary Indiana
Encyclopedia
Gary Indiana is an American
writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He teaches philosophy and literature at the New School in New York City
. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles
.
, the man who murdered Gianni Versace
, it uses fictional recreations of undocumented conversations and events to explore contemporary American obsession with celebrity and fame. More obviously a novel, Resentment seems nevertheless to be an account, or perhaps a speculative exploration, of the case of California brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez
, convicted of the murder of their parents, though names and other details have been changed. Another fictionalization of real events can be found in Depraved Indifference, in which Indiana makes use of the case of Sante
and Kenneth Kimes, mother-and-son con artists convicted of murdering heiress Irene Silverman (though again, names and details are changed). Indiana uses these stories to explore sexuality, violence, money, the media, and the contemporary American scene—with a special focus, perhaps, on those aspects of it associated with postmodernity
. These three novels share aspects of satire with much of the rest of Indiana's oeuvre, and features of postmodern literary practice are also employed to varying degrees.
Indiana has also based multiple novels on fictionalized events from his own life and those of his associates and contemporaries. Gone Tomorrow, for example, mines his history as a film actor, particularly his work with German director Dieter Schidor and others in Rainer Werner Fassbinder
's circle. Years later, Indiana returned to the raw material of his own life for Do Everything in the Dark, in which characters from earlier novels such as Horse Crazy and Gone Tomorrow return in a later, more melancholic stage of life.
In 2009, New York-based independent publishers Two Dollar Radio
published Indiana's most recent novel, The Shanghai Gesture. (The Shanghai Gesture
is also the name of a 1941 film by Josef von Sternberg
.)
, Cookie Mueller
, Evan Lurie, Allen Frame, Warhol superstar Viva, and Taylor Mead
.
Performed in small New York venues like the Mudd Club, Club 57, the Performing Garage, and Bill Rice's East 3rd Street studio, works included "Alligator Girls Go to College" (1979), "The Roman Polanski Story" (1981), and the very well regarded "Roy Cohn/Jack Smith", performed by Ron Vawter
and filmed by Jill Godmilow.
Semiotext(e)
has collected Indiana's scripts in Last Seen Entering the Biltmore: Plays, Short Fiction, Poems, 1975–2010.
, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, New York Magazine and the London Review of Books, among others.
In the early 1980s, Indiana established his name in art writing, despite having no formal education in art theory or practice. After writing several extended essays on, primarily, mid-century art for Art in America
, Indiana joined the New York alternative weekly The Village Voice as art critic in 1985. This was a particularly influential position, given that the Voice was then one of only two New York newspapers that reviewed exhibitions still hanging. It was at the Voice that Indiana's journalistic style—an intelligent blend of dark wit, penetrative observation and uncompromising honesty—came into its own. Clear prose (notwithstanding a notable vocabulary) and a particular interest in the social and commercial context of art set his work apart from much art writing in the period. The excesses and political pressure of the booming 1980s art market led him to become unhappy in the position, however, and he left the paper in 1988.
He was largely to forgo art criticism during much of the following period, concentrating instead on his literary work—his primary interest. But he has subsequently returned to art writing as a contributor to Artforum
and to catalogues and monographs of, among others, Barbara Kruger
, Christopher Wool
, Cameron Jamie, Roberto Juarez, and Nancy Chunn
. Samples of his work for Art in America, the Voice and Artforum, among other publications from this period, have been collected in the anthology Let It Bleed: Essays 1985–1995. A later collection, Utopia's Debris, collects further critical pieces.
Today, Indiana writes on a wide variety of cultural phenomena, covering topics from art, literature and film to politics and the media. He has authored a study of Pier Paolo Pasolini
's Salò for the British Film Institute
; The Schwarzenegger Syndrome: Politics and Celebrity in the Age of Contempt, an account of Arnold Schwarzenegger
's election to the governorship of California
and its broader cultural implications; and Andy Warhol and the Can That Sold the World, Indiana's account of the iconic Andy Warhol
exhibition of 1962, 32 Soup Cans.
For Faber and Faber
, Indiana edited Living with the Animals, an anthology in which various writers and artists explore human connections with animals.
, and other European directors. His novel Gone Tomorrow reflects his experiences on the set, particularly his time working on Schidor's 1985 film, Cold in Columbia.
Two films by Indiana have been in post-production for some time: Pariah (about Ulrike Meinhof
) and Soap (based on the Francis Ponge
poem).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
writer, filmmaker, and visual artist. He teaches philosophy and literature at the New School 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...
. He divides his time between New York and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Fiction
Gary Indiana's fiction is directly contemporary. He is perhaps best known for his loose trilogy of books based on notorious criminals in the media spotlight. While Three Month Fever is presented as an account of Andrew CunananAndrew Cunanan
Andrew Phillip Cunanan was an American serial killer who murdered at least five people, including fashion designer Gianni Versace, during a three-month period in 1997, ending with Cunanan's suicide, at age 27...
, the man who murdered Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace
Gianni Versace was an Italian fashion designer and founder of Gianni Versace S.p.A., an international fashion house, which produces accessories, fragrances, makeup and home furnishings as well as clothes. He also designed costumes for the theatre and films, and was a friend of Madonna, Elton John,...
, it uses fictional recreations of undocumented conversations and events to explore contemporary American obsession with celebrity and fame. More obviously a novel, Resentment seems nevertheless to be an account, or perhaps a speculative exploration, of the case of California brothers Lyle and Erik Menendez
Lyle and Erik Menendez
Joseph Lyle Menendez and Erik Galen Menendez are brothers who are known for their conviction in a highly publicized trial for the shotgun murders in 1989 of their wealthy parents, entertainment executive Jose Menendez and his wife Mary "Kitty" Menendez , residents of Beverly Hills, California...
, convicted of the murder of their parents, though names and other details have been changed. Another fictionalization of real events can be found in Depraved Indifference, in which Indiana makes use of the case of Sante
Sante Kimes
Sante Kimes is an American felon who has been convicted of two murders, along with robbery, violation of anti-slavery laws, forgery and numerous other crimes. Many of these crimes were committed with assistance from her children, especially her son Kenneth...
and Kenneth Kimes, mother-and-son con artists convicted of murdering heiress Irene Silverman (though again, names and details are changed). Indiana uses these stories to explore sexuality, violence, money, the media, and the contemporary American scene—with a special focus, perhaps, on those aspects of it associated with postmodernity
Postmodernity
Postmodernity is generally used to describe the economic or cultural state or condition of society which is said to exist after modernity...
. These three novels share aspects of satire with much of the rest of Indiana's oeuvre, and features of postmodern literary practice are also employed to varying degrees.
Indiana has also based multiple novels on fictionalized events from his own life and those of his associates and contemporaries. Gone Tomorrow, for example, mines his history as a film actor, particularly his work with German director Dieter Schidor and others in Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Rainer Werner Maria Fassbinder was a German movie director, screenwriter and actor. He is considered one of the most important representatives of the New German Cinema.He maintained a frenetic pace in film-making...
's circle. Years later, Indiana returned to the raw material of his own life for Do Everything in the Dark, in which characters from earlier novels such as Horse Crazy and Gone Tomorrow return in a later, more melancholic stage of life.
In 2009, New York-based independent publishers Two Dollar Radio
Two Dollar Radio
Two Dollar Radio is an independent publishing house based in Columbus, Ohio, also known as The Two Dollar Radio Movement. The company was founded in 2005 by husband and wife team Eric Obenauf and Eliza Jane Wood, with Brian Obenauf. Emily Pullen joined the publishing house as an editor and outreach...
published Indiana's most recent novel, The Shanghai Gesture. (The Shanghai Gesture
The Shanghai Gesture
The Shanghai Gesture is a 1941 American United Artists film noir motion picture starring Gene Tierney and Walter Huston, with Victor Mature and Ona Munson....
is also the name of a 1941 film by Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...
.)
Plays
Indiana wrote, directed, and acted in a dozen plays before he published his first novel in 1987. His collaborators were pulled from a distinctly avant-garde company of actors, artists, composers, and writers. Performers included Bill RiceWilliam "Bill" Rice
William "Bill" Rice was a prominent and regular fixture of the avant-garde art scene in the East Village in New York City for many years.-Filmography:*The Vineyard directed by James Hong...
, Cookie Mueller
Cookie Mueller
Dorothy Karen "Cookie" Mueller was an underground American actress, writer and Dreamlander, who starred in many of filmmaker John Waters' early films, including Multiple Maniacs,...
, Evan Lurie, Allen Frame, Warhol superstar Viva, and Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead
Taylor Mead is an American writer, actor, and performer. Mead appeared in several of Andy Warhol's underground films including Tarzan and Jane Regained.....
.
Performed in small New York venues like the Mudd Club, Club 57, the Performing Garage, and Bill Rice's East 3rd Street studio, works included "Alligator Girls Go to College" (1979), "The Roman Polanski Story" (1981), and the very well regarded "Roy Cohn/Jack Smith", performed by Ron Vawter
Ron Vawter
Ron Vawter was an American actor and a founding member of the experimental theater company, The Wooster Group....
and filmed by Jill Godmilow.
Semiotext(e)
Semiotext(e)
Semiotext is an American independent publisher. It is widely credited for having introduced so-called "French Theory" to North America through its magazine issues and Foreign Agents series. In 2000, the MIT Press began distributing Semiotext, taking it over from the anarchist publishing collective...
has collected Indiana's scripts in Last Seen Entering the Biltmore: Plays, Short Fiction, Poems, 1975–2010.
Non-fiction
Indiana's journalism has appeared in The Village VoiceThe Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, the Los Angeles Times Book Review, New York Magazine and the London Review of Books, among others.
In the early 1980s, Indiana established his name in art writing, despite having no formal education in art theory or practice. After writing several extended essays on, primarily, mid-century art for Art in America
Art in America
Art in America is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It is designed for collectors, artists, dealers, art professionals and other...
, Indiana joined the New York alternative weekly The Village Voice as art critic in 1985. This was a particularly influential position, given that the Voice was then one of only two New York newspapers that reviewed exhibitions still hanging. It was at the Voice that Indiana's journalistic style—an intelligent blend of dark wit, penetrative observation and uncompromising honesty—came into its own. Clear prose (notwithstanding a notable vocabulary) and a particular interest in the social and commercial context of art set his work apart from much art writing in the period. The excesses and political pressure of the booming 1980s art market led him to become unhappy in the position, however, and he left the paper in 1988.
He was largely to forgo art criticism during much of the following period, concentrating instead on his literary work—his primary interest. But he has subsequently returned to art writing as a contributor to Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
and to catalogues and monographs of, among others, Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger
Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. Much of her work consists of black-and-white photographs overlaid with declarative captions—in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique or Helvetica Ultra Condensed...
, Christopher Wool
Christopher Wool
Christopher Wool is an American artist residing in New York City. Since the 1980s, Wool's studio practice has incorporated issues surrounding post-conceptual ideas - moving beyond theoretical readings...
, Cameron Jamie, Roberto Juarez, and Nancy Chunn
Nancy Chunn
Nancy Chunn is an American artist based in New York, New York. Known for her commitment to geopolitical issues, Chunn’s work includes a diverse range of paintings.- Biography :...
. Samples of his work for Art in America, the Voice and Artforum, among other publications from this period, have been collected in the anthology Let It Bleed: Essays 1985–1995. A later collection, Utopia's Debris, collects further critical pieces.
Today, Indiana writes on a wide variety of cultural phenomena, covering topics from art, literature and film to politics and the media. He has authored a study of Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
's Salò for the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
; The Schwarzenegger Syndrome: Politics and Celebrity in the Age of Contempt, an account of Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
's election to the governorship of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
and its broader cultural implications; and Andy Warhol and the Can That Sold the World, Indiana's account of the iconic Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
exhibition of 1962, 32 Soup Cans.
For Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber
Faber and Faber Limited, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. Faber has a rich tradition of publishing a wide range of fiction, non fiction, drama, film and music...
, Indiana edited Living with the Animals, an anthology in which various writers and artists explore human connections with animals.
Film
Between 1979 and the mid-1980s, Indiana acted in experimental films by Dieter Schidor, Ulrike OttingerUlrike Ottinger
Ulrike Ottinger is a German filmmaker, documentarian photographer and professor at European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland.-Biography:From 1959 she was a visiting student at the Academy of Arts in Munich and worked as a painter...
, and other European directors. His novel Gone Tomorrow reflects his experiences on the set, particularly his time working on Schidor's 1985 film, Cold in Columbia.
Two films by Indiana have been in post-production for some time: Pariah (about Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Meinhof
Ulrike Marie Meinhof was a German left-wing militant. She co-founded the Red Army Faction in 1970 after having previously worked as a journalist for the monthly left-wing magazine Konkret. She was arrested in 1972, and eventually charged with numerous murders and the formation of a criminal...
) and Soap (based on the Francis Ponge
Francis Ponge
Francis Jean Gaston Alfred Ponge was a French essayist and poet. In many ways, he combined the two — essay and poem — into a single art form.-Life:...
poem).