Stuart Pivar
Encyclopedia
Stuart Pivar is a chemist
, art collector and author
from Brooklyn, New York
.
in chemistry at Hofstra University
. An inventor, he made a large fortune in plastics, founding Chem-Tainer industries in 1959. The business specialised in bulk-storage plastic containers. While remaining active in the plastics industry, he became an independently wealthy investor and buyer on the art scene. Pivar soon met Andy Warhol
, becoming one of his closest longtime friends. With Warhol he would go on regular shopping trips to buy "masterpieces", which could be objects bought anywhere, from a high-end auction house to a fleamarket. After the artist's death, Pivar recalled that "Andy Warhol loved to buy art. We used to go shopping together for it for a few hours practically every day in the past couple of years."
Pivar was a collector of 19th century academic art
at a time when it was unfashionable. A scholar of the work of the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye
, he wrote "The Barye Bronzes: A Catalogue Raisonne" in 1974, a collation of critical commentary on all the sculptor's known works.
Pivar wished to reintroduce traditional skills to the teaching of art, including human and animal anatomy. With Warhol, he helped to found the New York Academy of Art
in 1979, becoming one of its board members. The academy opposed abstract art
and promoted traditional skills. According to Eliot Goldfinger, Pivar "strongly supported the acquisition of an anatomical collection of comparative skeletons, related artwork, anatomical models and charts, and the use of dissection as part of the curriculum." He donated over $1.2 million to the Academy during his involvement with it.
He resigned from the Academy in 1994, complaining that he had been "lied to and outmaneuvered" by other senior figures at the institution. A report placed most of the blame on his "disruptive, angry and abusive" behavior for problems at the institution. Pivar attempted to sue the Academy for $50 million, claiming that he had been caused "emotional and mental distress" and that he had been ostracised for pointing out falsification of financial records and employment of illegal immigrants. The academy's spokesman said that the lawsuit was frivolous, and pointed to a previous lawsuit filed by Pivar, which had been thrown out, stating he expected the new one to suffer the same fate.
are encoded not in DNA
but in the patterned structure of a primordial germ plasm
. However, critics have stated that Pivar's proposed developmental sequences bear no resemblance to anything actually observed during embryological development. Massimo Pigliucci
says that Pivar's ideas constitute pseudoscience
. On his blog "Pharyngula"
, developmental biologist PZ Myers
reviewed Lifecode and came to the conclusion that it was about "development and evolution of balloon animals". In 2007 Pivar attempted to sue Seed Media, whose ScienceBlogs
hosted "Pharyngula", for describing him as "classic crackpot", but the case was withdrawn after ten days.
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
, art collector and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
from Brooklyn, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
New York art world
Pivar earned a B.ScBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in chemistry at Hofstra University
Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private, nonsectarian institution of higher learning located in the Village of Hempstead, New York, United States, about east of New York City: less than an hour away by train or car...
. An inventor, he made a large fortune in plastics, founding Chem-Tainer industries in 1959. The business specialised in bulk-storage plastic containers. While remaining active in the plastics industry, he became an independently wealthy investor and buyer on the art scene. Pivar soon met 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...
, becoming one of his closest longtime friends. With Warhol he would go on regular shopping trips to buy "masterpieces", which could be objects bought anywhere, from a high-end auction house to a fleamarket. After the artist's death, Pivar recalled that "Andy Warhol loved to buy art. We used to go shopping together for it for a few hours practically every day in the past couple of years."
Pivar was a collector of 19th century academic art
Academic art
Academic art is a style of painting and sculpture produced under the influence of European academies of art. Specifically, academic art is the art and artists influenced by the standards of the French Académie des Beaux-Arts, which practiced under the movements of Neoclassicism and Romanticism,...
at a time when it was unfashionable. A scholar of the work of the sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye
Antoine-Louis Barye was a French sculptor most famous for his work as an animalier, a sculptor of animals.-Biography:Born in Paris, Barye began his career as a goldsmith, like many sculptors of the Romantic Period...
, he wrote "The Barye Bronzes: A Catalogue Raisonne" in 1974, a collation of critical commentary on all the sculptor's known works.
Pivar wished to reintroduce traditional skills to the teaching of art, including human and animal anatomy. With Warhol, he helped to found the New York Academy of Art
New York Academy of Art
The New York Academy of Art or the Graduate School of Figurative Art is an American private, not-for-profit art university, located at 111 Franklin Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City.-Foundation:...
in 1979, becoming one of its board members. The academy opposed abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
and promoted traditional skills. According to Eliot Goldfinger, Pivar "strongly supported the acquisition of an anatomical collection of comparative skeletons, related artwork, anatomical models and charts, and the use of dissection as part of the curriculum." He donated over $1.2 million to the Academy during his involvement with it.
He resigned from the Academy in 1994, complaining that he had been "lied to and outmaneuvered" by other senior figures at the institution. A report placed most of the blame on his "disruptive, angry and abusive" behavior for problems at the institution. Pivar attempted to sue the Academy for $50 million, claiming that he had been caused "emotional and mental distress" and that he had been ostracised for pointing out falsification of financial records and employment of illegal immigrants. The academy's spokesman said that the lawsuit was frivolous, and pointed to a previous lawsuit filed by Pivar, which had been thrown out, stating he expected the new one to suffer the same fate.
Biological theories
Beginning with his book Lifecode in 2004 Pivar has published novel claims about the evolution of species. He asserts that the body form of speciesSpecies
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
are encoded not in DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
but in the patterned structure of a primordial germ plasm
Germ plasm
Germ plasm or polar plasm is a zone found in the cytoplasm of the egg cells of some model organisms , which contains determinants that will give rise to the germ cell lineage. As the zygote undergoes mitotic divisions the germ plasm is ultimately restricted to a few cells of the embryo...
. However, critics have stated that Pivar's proposed developmental sequences bear no resemblance to anything actually observed during embryological development. Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci
Massimo Pigliucci is the chair of the Department of Philosophy at CUNY-Lehman College. He is also the editor in chief for the journal . He is known as an outspoken critic of creationism and advocate of science education.-Biography:...
says that Pivar's ideas constitute pseudoscience
Pseudoscience
Pseudoscience is a claim, belief, or practice which is presented as scientific, but which does not adhere to a valid scientific method, lacks supporting evidence or plausibility, cannot be reliably tested, or otherwise lacks scientific status...
. On his blog "Pharyngula"
Pharyngula (blog)
Pharyngula is a blog on FreeThoughtBlogs and ScienceBlogs run by PZ Myers. In 2006, the science journal Nature listed it as the top-ranked blog written by a scientist. Pharyngula also won the 2005 Koufax Award for Best Expert Blog. The blog topics are eclectic, delving into the non-scientific as...
, developmental biologist PZ Myers
PZ Myers
Paul Zachary "PZ" Myers is an American biology professor at the University of Minnesota Morris and the author of the Pharyngula science blog. He is currently an associate professor of biology at UMM, works with zebrafish in the field of evolutionary developmental biology , and also cultivates an...
reviewed Lifecode and came to the conclusion that it was about "development and evolution of balloon animals". In 2007 Pivar attempted to sue Seed Media, whose ScienceBlogs
ScienceBlogs
ScienceBlogs is an invitation-only blog network and virtual community. It was created by Seed Media Group in 2006 to enhance the public understanding of science. , ScienceBlogs hosted 75 blogs dedicated to various fields of research. Each blog has its own theme, specialty, and author and is not...
hosted "Pharyngula", for describing him as "classic crackpot", but the case was withdrawn after ten days.
External links
- Synthetic Life Lab, "For the study of the origin and evolution of living form"