Thomas McEvilley
Encyclopedia
Thomas McEvilley is an American art critic, poet, novelist and scholar, who was a distinguisted lecturer in art history
at Rice University
and founder and former chair of the Department of Art Criticism and Writing at the School of Visual Arts
in New York City.
, Latin
, Sanskrit
, and classical philosophy in the classics
programs of the University of Cincinnati
where he received a B.A.
, and the University of Washington
, where he received an M.A.
. He then returned to Cincinnati, where he received a Ph.D.
in classical philology
. He also retained a strong interest in modern art, reinforced by the modern artists of his acquaintance.
In 1969, McEvilley joined the faculty of Rice University
, where he spent the better part of his teaching career. He has been a visiting professor at Yale University
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. He taught numerous courses in Greek and Indian culture, history of religion and philosophy
. In 2008 he retired from teaching after 41 years, and now lives in New York City and in upstate New York in the Catskills.
He has received numerous awards, including the Semple Prize at the University of Cincinnati, a National Endowment for the Arts
Critics grant, a Fulbright fellowship
in 1993, an NEA critic’s grant, and the Frank Jewett Mather
Award (1993) for Distinction in Art Criticism from the College Art Association
.
McEvilley has been a contributing editor of Artforum
and editor in chief of Contemporanea.
and Glenn Brown
demonstrate this new found self-reflexity and critical nature.
, Michael Fried, and Sheldon Nodelman.
He argues that formalist ideas are rooted in Neoplatonism
and as such deal with the problem of content by claiming that content is embedded within the form. However, the formalists desire a transcendentally free critique of art in the same way that Colin Rowe
and Peter Eisenman
explore the interiority of architecture.
Formalism is based on a linguistic model which Claude Lévi-Strauss
argues is given content through the unconscious. In presenting formalism, one cannot ignore the content which accompanies the form.
. He argues that today’s Western world must be considered the product of both Greek and Indian thought, and Western philosophy
and Eastern philosophies. He explores how trade
, imperialism
, and currents of migration
allowed cultural philosophies to intermingle freely throughout India, Egypt, Greece, and the ancient Near East.
This book spans thirty years of McEvilley's research, from 1970 to 2000.
Art:
Greek history and philosophy:
Indian philosophy:
Essays
Monographs
Thomas McEvilley wrote monographs on Yves Klein
(1982), Pat Steir
, Leon Golub
(1993), Jannis Kounellis
(1986), James Croak (1999), Dennis Oppenheim, Anselm Kiefer
, Dove Bradshaw
(2004).
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
at Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
and founder and former chair of the Department of Art Criticism and Writing 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 City.
Biography
Thomas McEvilley studied GreekAncient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, and classical philosophy in the classics
Classics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
programs of the University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
where he received a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
, and the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
, where he received an M.A.
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
. He then returned to Cincinnati, where he received a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in classical philology
Classical philology
Classical philology is the study of ancient Greek and classical Latin. Classical philology has been defined as "the careful study of the literary and philosophical texts of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds." Greek and Latin literature and civilization have traditionally been considered...
. He also retained a strong interest in modern art, reinforced by the modern artists of his acquaintance.
In 1969, McEvilley joined the faculty of Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
, where he spent the better part of his teaching career. He has been a visiting professor 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...
and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, among others. He taught numerous courses in Greek and Indian culture, history of religion and philosophy
History of philosophy
The history of philosophy is the study of philosophical ideas and concepts through time. Issues specifically related to history of philosophy might include : How can changes in philosophy be accounted for historically? What drives the development of thought in its historical context? To what...
. In 2008 he retired from teaching after 41 years, and now lives in New York City and in upstate New York in the Catskills.
He has received numerous awards, including the Semple Prize at the University of Cincinnati, a National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Critics grant, a Fulbright fellowship
Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...
in 1993, an NEA critic’s grant, and the Frank Jewett Mather
Frank Jewett Mather
Frank Jewett Mather was an American art critic and professor.He was born at Deep River, Conn., and graduated from Williams College in 1889 and from Johns Hopkins in 1892: he studied also at Berlin and at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes, Paris...
Award (1993) for Distinction in Art Criticism from the College Art Association
College Art Association
The College Art Association of America is the principal professional association in the United States for practitioners and scholars of art, art history, and art criticism...
.
McEvilley has been a contributing editor of 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 editor in chief of Contemporanea.
Work
McEvilley is an expert in the fields of Greek and Indian culture, history of religion and philosophy, and art. He has published several books and hundreds of scholarly monographs, articles, catalog essays, and reviews on early Greek and Indian poetry, philosophy, and religion as well as on contemporary art and culture.Toward a Redefinition of Painting for the Post-Modern Era
In his 1993 book The Exile’s Return: Toward a Redefinition of Painting for the Post-Modern Era, McEvilley made an important contribution to the late twentieth century "death of painting" debate. He stated that after two decades, painting revived around 1980. In its return from exile, painting has assumed a new theoretical basis in postmodern cultural theory, together with a new kind of self-awareness and interest in its own limitations. A number of contemporary artists such as Gerhard RichterGerhard Richter
Gerhard Richter is a German visual artist. Richter has simultaneously produced abstract and photorealistic painted works, as well as photographs and glass pieces, thus undermining the concept of the artist’s obligation to maintain a single cohesive style.- Biography :Gerhard Richter was born in...
and Glenn Brown
Glenn Brown
Glenn Brown is an English artist. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2000.-Working practice:Brown appropriates images created by living, working artists, such as Frank Auerbach and Howard Hodgkin, as well as images by artists more established in the historical canon, such as Rembrandt or...
demonstrate this new found self-reflexity and critical nature.
Heads it's Form, Tails it's not Content
In the article "Heads its Form, Tails it's not Content" McEvilley describes a theoretical framework for the formal project presented by post-war critics such as Clement GreenbergClement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg was an American essayist known mainly as an influential visual art critic closely associated with American Modern art of the mid-20th century...
, Michael Fried, and Sheldon Nodelman.
He argues that formalist ideas are rooted in Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
and as such deal with the problem of content by claiming that content is embedded within the form. However, the formalists desire a transcendentally free critique of art in the same way that Colin Rowe
Colin Rowe
Colin Rowe , was a British-born, American-naturalised architectural historian, critic, theoretician, and teacher; acknowledged as a major intellectual influence on world architecture and urbanism in the second half of the twentieth century and beyond, particularly in the fields of city planning,...
and Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
explore the interiority of architecture.
Formalism is based on a linguistic model which Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
argues is given content through the unconscious. In presenting formalism, one cannot ignore the content which accompanies the form.
Sculpture in the Age of Doubt
In the book Sculpture in the Age of Doubt (1999) McEvilley described the intellectual issues surrounding the postmodern movement in the course of 20th-century sculpture.The Shape of Ancient Thought
In The Shape of Ancient Thought McEvilley explores the foundations of Western civilizationWestern culture
Western culture, sometimes equated with Western civilization or European civilization, refers to cultures of European origin and is used very broadly to refer to a heritage of social norms, ethical values, traditional customs, religious beliefs, political systems, and specific artifacts and...
. He argues that today’s Western world must be considered the product of both Greek and Indian thought, and Western philosophy
Western philosophy
Western philosophy is the philosophical thought and work of the Western or Occidental world, as distinct from Eastern or Oriental philosophies and the varieties of indigenous philosophies....
and Eastern philosophies. He explores how trade
Trade
Trade is the transfer of ownership of goods and services from one person or entity to another. Trade is sometimes loosely called commerce or financial transaction or barter. A network that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and...
, imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
, and currents of migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
allowed cultural philosophies to intermingle freely throughout India, Egypt, Greece, and the ancient Near East.
This book spans thirty years of McEvilley's research, from 1970 to 2000.
See also
This section gives an overview of topics on which McEvilley has written.Art:
- Art of the Indo-GreeksArt of the Indo-GreeksThe art of the Indo-Greeks is poorly documented, and few works of art are directly attributed to them. The coinage of the Indo-Greeks however is generally considered as some of the most artistically brilliant of Antiquity...
- François MorelletFrançois MorelletFrançois Morellet is a contemporary French painter, engraver, sculptor and light artist. His early work prefigured Minimal art and Conceptual art, and he has played an important role in geometrical abstraction over the past half century.-Career:After a short period of figurative/representational...
- Jean PigozziJean PigozziJean Pigozzi is a businessman, art collector, philanthropist and photographer. He was born in Paris as the son of Henri Pigozzi, founder of the French car maker Simca. Pigozzi studied in Paris and at Harvard University before working for the Gaumont Film Company and 20th Century Fox...
- Marina AbramovićMarina AbramovicMarina Abramović is a Belgrade-born New York-based Serbian performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and...
- Late ModernismLate ModernismLate modernism encompasses the overall production of most recent art made between the aftermath of World War II and the early years of the 21st century. The terminology often points to similarities between late modernism and post-modernism although there are differences. The predominant term for...
- Postmodern artPostmodern artPostmodern art is a term used to describe an art movement which was thought to be in contradiction to some aspect of modernism, or to have emerged or developed in its aftermath...
- Systems artSystems artSystems art is art influenced by cybernetics, and systems theory, which reflects on natural systems, social systems and social signs of the art world itself....
- Yves KleinYves KleinYves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
- Title This
Greek history and philosophy:
- Indo-Greek KingdomIndo-Greek KingdomThe Indo-Greek Kingdom or Graeco-Indian Kingdom covered various parts of the northwest regions of the Indian subcontinent during the last two centuries BC, and was ruled by more than 30 Hellenistic kings, often in conflict with each other...
- Legacy of the Indo-GreeksLegacy of the Indo-GreeksThe Legacy of the Indo-Greeks starts with the formal end of the Indo-Greek Kingdom from the 1st century CE, as the Greek communities of central Asia and northwestern India lived under the control of the Kushan branch of the Yuezhi, apart from a short-lived invasion of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. The...
- Plato of BactriaPlato of BactriaPlato was a Greco-Bactrian king who reigned for a short time in southern Bactria or the Paropamisade during the mid 2nd century BCE. The style of Plato's coins suggests that he was a relative — most likely a brother since Plato is a middle-aged man on his coins — of Eucratides the Great, whose rise...
Indian philosophy:
- AnekantavadaAnekantavada' is one of the most important and fundamental doctrines of Jainism. It refers to the principles of pluralism and multiplicity of viewpoints, the notion that truth and reality are perceived differently from diverse points of view, and that no single point of view is the complete truth.Jains...
- AzilisesAzilisesAzilises was an Indo-Scythian king who ruled in the area of Gandhara.-Coinage:Azilises issued some joint coins with Azes, where Azes is presented as king on the obverse , and Azilises is introduced as king on the obverse in kharoshthi .-See...
- Greco-BuddhismGreco-BuddhismGreco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE in the area covered by the Indian sub-continent, and modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-western...
- Paulisa SiddhantaPaulisa SiddhantaThe Paulisa Siddhanta refers to multiple Indian astronomical treatises, at least one of which is based on a Western source. "Siddhanta" literally means "Doctrine" or "Tradition"....
- PranayamaPranayamaPranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
- Rishabha (Jain tirthankar)Rishabha (Jain tirthankar)In Jainism, R̥ṣabha or Ādinātha , also known as the "Lord of Kesariya") was the first of the 24 Tīrthaṅkaras. According to Jain beliefs, R̥ṣabha founded the Ikshvaku dynasty and was the first Tīrthaṅkara of the present age...
- Romaka SiddhantaRomaka SiddhantaThe Romaka Siddhanta is an Indian astronomical treatise, based on the astronomical learning of Byzantine Rome...
- SpalahoresSpalahoresSpalahores was an Indo-Scythian ruler, brother of king Vonones. They reigned in areas of the North-western South Asia between around 75 to 65 BCE.Spalahores was mentioned on the coins of Vonones, as his brother, together with Spalahores' son Spalagadames....
- SpalirisesSpalirisesSpalirises was an Indo-Scythian "Great king" of the 1st century BCE. He was the brother of Vonones , and probably identical with Spalahores....
- Theodorus (meridarch)Theodorus (meridarch)Theodorus was a "meridarch" in the Swat province of the Indo-Greek kingdom in the northern Indian sub-continent, probably sometime between 100 BCE and the end of Greek rule in Gandhara in 55 BCE....
- ZeionisesZeionisesZeionises was an Indo-Scythian satrap of the area of southern Chach for king Azes II.He then became king, and ruled in parts of the Indian subcontinent around 10 BCE – 10 CE, but apparently lost his territory to the invasion of the Indo-Parthians....
Selected publications
Books- 1964, Party Going (First Novel)
- 1987, North of Yesterday (a Menippean Satire)
- 1991, Art and Discontent
- 1992, Art and Otherness
- 1993, Fusion: West African Artists at the Venice Biennale
- 1993, The Exile’s Return: Toward a Redefinition of Painting for the Post-Modern Era
- 1994, Der Erste Akt
- 1999, Sculpture in the Age of Doubt
- 2002, The Shape of Ancient Thought: Comparative Studies in Greek and Indian Philosophies
- 2007, The Triumph of Anti-Art
- 2008, Sappho
- 2010, Art, Love, Friendship: Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Together & Apart
- 2010, Yves the Provocateur: Yves Klein and Twentieth-Century Art
Essays
- Heads It’s Form, Tails It’s Not Content (TKTK)
- On the Manner of Addressing Clouds (TKTK)
- The Monochrome Icon
- “I Am” Is a Vain Thought
- Art History or Sacred History?
- Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief: ‘Primitivism’ in Twentieth-Century Art at the Museum of Modern Art
- The Selfhood of the Other
- Another Alphabet: The Work of Marcel Broodthaers
- History, Quality, Globalism
- Penelope’s Night Work: Negative Thinking in Greek Philosophy
- Arrivederci, Venice: The Third World Biennials
- The Tomb of the Zombie
- Paul McCarthy: Performance and Video Works: the Layering (2008)
- Here Comes Everybody (1994)
- James Lee Byars and the Atmosphere of Question
Monographs
Thomas McEvilley wrote monographs on Yves Klein
Yves Klein
Yves Klein was a French artist considered an important figure in post-war European art. He is the leading member of the French artistic movement of Nouveau réalisme founded in 1960 by the art critic Pierre Restany...
(1982), Pat Steir
Pat Steir
Pat Steir is an American painter and printmaker.-Education:Steir was born in 1940 in Newark, New Jersey, and currently lives in New York City. She attended the Pratt Institute in New York from 1956 to 1958, and Boston University College of Fine Arts from 1958 to 1960. She then returned to Pratt,...
, Leon Golub
Leon Golub
Leon Golub was an American painter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he also studied, receiving his BA at the University of Chicago in 1942, his BFA and MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1949 and 1950, respectively.He was married to and collaborated with the artist Nancy Spero...
(1993), Jannis Kounellis
Jannis Kounellis
Jannis Kounellis was born on March 23, 1936 in Piraeus, Greece. He studied in art college in Athens until 1956 and at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome....
(1986), James Croak (1999), Dennis Oppenheim, Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer
Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor. He studied with Joseph Beuys and Peter Dreher during the 1970s. His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac...
, Dove Bradshaw
Dove Bradshaw
Dove Bradshaw, born September 24, 1949 in New York City, is an American artist Beginning in 1969, Dove Bradshaw pioneered the use of Indeterminacy by enlisting the unpredictable effects of time, weather, erosion, and indoor and outdoor atmospheric conditions on natural, chemical, and manufactured...
(2004).
External links
- Thomas McEvilley. "Art and Cognition.". Slought Foundation Online Content. 11 December 2004.
- Short biography from Mcpherson&co.
- Martínez Celaya Early Work 2006 Text by Thomas McEvilley
- Thomas McEvilley on 'The Shape of Ancient Thought' Video by Michael Kasino for Thomas McEvilley