Mel Bochner
Encyclopedia
Mel Bochner is an American conceptual art
ist. Mr. Bochner received his BFA
in 1962 and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts in 2005 from the School of Art
at Carnegie Mellon University
. He lives in New York City
.
in 1996, Bochner was one of the earliest proponents, along with Joseph Kosuth
and Bruce Nauman
, of photo-documentation work in which the artist "created not so much a sculpture as a two-dimensional work about sculpture."
Bochner was born in Pittsburgh in 1940. In high school, he won early recognition for his talent from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and studied with Joseph Fitzpatrick, an art teacher who also taught gifted young artists such as Andy Warhol and Philip Pearlstein. He studied art at Carnegie Mellon University
and graduated in 1962. After leaving Pittsburgh, he studied philosophy at Northwestern University
near Chicago. He moved to New York in 1964, and in 1966 he was recruited by the influential art critic Dore Ashton to teach art history at the School of Visual Arts
in New York.
His 1966 show at the School of Visual Arts
, "Working Drawings And Other Visible Things On Paper Not Necessarily Meant To Be Viewed As Art", is regarded as a seminal show in the conceptual art movement.
Bochner photocopied his friends’ working drawings, including a $3,051.16 fabricator’s bill from Donald Judd
. He collected the copies in four black binders and displayed them on four pedestals. The show was remade at the Drawing Center
, New York, in 1998.
Bochner began making paintings in the late 1970s, and his paintings range from extremely colorful works containing words to works more clearly connected to the conceptual art he pioneered. For a 1998 work titled Event Horizon, for example, he arranged prestretched canvases of various sizes along a wall, each marked with a horizontal line and a number denoting its width in inches. Together, the lines appear to form a horizon, creating what Jeffrey Weiss in his catalog essay for Bochner’s 2007 exhibit Event Horizon called a representation of “the world as a fantasy of quantifiable truth.” Bochner made his first prints at Crown Point Press in the early 1970s, published by Parasol Press.
He taught at Yale University
in 1979 as senior critic in painting/printmaking, and in 2001 as adjunct professor.
organized a retrospective, Mel Bochner: Thought Made Visible 1966–1973. The exhibit traveled to Brussels and Munich and was accompanied by the publication of a catalog. For his solo show at Sonnabend Gallery in New York in 2000, Bochner layered German and English versions of a text from Wittgenstein. In her review of the show for Art in America
, Eleanor Heartney wrote:
In 2004, Bochner’s work was exhibited in the Whitney Biennial
and was part of OpenSystems: Rethinking Art c. 1970 at London’s Tate Modern
in 2005. His pieces are held in several major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art
in New York.
In 2011, a retrospective of his work is being held at the National Gallery of Art
.
Mel Bochner is represented by Peter Freeman, Inc. in New York and Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco.
Conceptual art
Conceptual art is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns. Many of the works, sometimes called installations, of the artist Sol LeWitt may be constructed by anyone simply by following a set of written instructions...
ist. Mr. Bochner received his BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
in 1962 and honorary Doctor of Fine Arts in 2005 from the School of Art
Carnegie Mellon School of Art
The Carnegie Mellon School of Art at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is a degree granting institution and a division of the Carnegie Mellon College of Fine Arts...
at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
. He lives 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...
.
Life
Starting in the 1960s, he evolved several of the exhibition strategies now taken for granted, including using the walls of the gallery as the subject of the work and using photo documentation of ephemeral and performance works. As Richard Kalina wrote in Art in AmericaArt 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...
in 1996, Bochner was one of the earliest proponents, along with Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth
Joseph Kosuth , is an American conceptual artist. Kosuth lives in New York and Rome.-Early life and career:Kosuth was born in Toledo, Ohio. He attended the Toledo Museum School of Design from 1955 to 1962 and studied privately under the Belgian painter Line Bloom Draper. In 1963, Kosuth enrolled at...
and Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
, of photo-documentation work in which the artist "created not so much a sculpture as a two-dimensional work about sculpture."
Bochner was born in Pittsburgh in 1940. In high school, he won early recognition for his talent from The Scholastic Art & Writing Awards and studied with Joseph Fitzpatrick, an art teacher who also taught gifted young artists such as Andy Warhol and Philip Pearlstein. He studied art at Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
and graduated in 1962. After leaving Pittsburgh, he studied philosophy at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
near Chicago. He moved to New York in 1964, and in 1966 he was recruited by the influential art critic Dore Ashton to teach art history at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in New York.
His 1966 show at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
, "Working Drawings And Other Visible Things On Paper Not Necessarily Meant To Be Viewed As Art", is regarded as a seminal show in the conceptual art movement.
Bochner photocopied his friends’ working drawings, including a $3,051.16 fabricator’s bill from Donald Judd
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
. He collected the copies in four black binders and displayed them on four pedestals. The show was remade at the Drawing Center
Drawing Center
The Drawing Center is a SoHo museum and the only nonprofit exhibition space in the United States to focus solely on the exhibition of drawings, both historical and contemporary.- Location and activities :...
, New York, in 1998.
Bochner began making paintings in the late 1970s, and his paintings range from extremely colorful works containing words to works more clearly connected to the conceptual art he pioneered. For a 1998 work titled Event Horizon, for example, he arranged prestretched canvases of various sizes along a wall, each marked with a horizontal line and a number denoting its width in inches. Together, the lines appear to form a horizon, creating what Jeffrey Weiss in his catalog essay for Bochner’s 2007 exhibit Event Horizon called a representation of “the world as a fantasy of quantifiable truth.” Bochner made his first prints at Crown Point Press in the early 1970s, published by Parasol Press.
He taught at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1979 as senior critic in painting/printmaking, and in 2001 as adjunct professor.
Exhibitions
In 1995, Yale University Art GalleryYale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery houses a significant and encyclopedic collection of art in several buildings on the campus of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Although it embraces all cultures and periods, the Gallery possesses especially renowned collections of early Italian painting,...
organized a retrospective, Mel Bochner: Thought Made Visible 1966–1973. The exhibit traveled to Brussels and Munich and was accompanied by the publication of a catalog. For his solo show at Sonnabend Gallery in New York in 2000, Bochner layered German and English versions of a text from Wittgenstein. In her review of the show 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...
, Eleanor Heartney wrote:
In 2004, Bochner’s work was exhibited in the Whitney Biennial
Whitney Biennial
The Whitney Biennial is a biennale exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, USA. The event began as an annual exhibition in 1932, the first biennial was in 1973...
and was part of OpenSystems: Rethinking Art c. 1970 at London’s Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
in 2005. His pieces are held in several major museum collections, including the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
in New York.
In 2011, a retrospective of his work is being held at the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
.
Mel Bochner is represented by Peter Freeman, Inc. in New York and Fraenkel Gallery in San Francisco.
External links
- Mel Bochner at Artcyclopedia
- The Kraus Campo at Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
- Peter Freeman Gallery representing Mel Bochner in 2007
- The Medium and the Tedium Bochner's account of conceptual art and its mediums in Triple Canopy (online magazine)Triple Canopy (online magazine)Triple Canopy is an online magazine, which was first published in 2008. In an effort to "slow down the Internet," the magazine curates and facilitates new media projects, which engage with the formal possibilities of the web. Its content ranges from art and literature to essays and critical theory...