Clement Greenberg in Syracuse: The Mirror Eye

by Karen Wilkin

Exploring the complex role between critic and artist, the essays reveal the ways in which Greenberg’s influence shaped the development of each artists' creative output. Clement Greenberg (1909-1994) and his influence in the second half of the twentieth century is he is largely responsible for bringing Jackson Pollock to international prominence and for repositioning New York over Paris as the world capital of modern art. Through his prolific reviews and essays and his work as an associate editor for Commentary magazine Greenberg redefined modernism and its ongoing evolution in terms that engaged not only artists and intellectuals but enticed a new audience of general readers. The essays compiled here complement the exhibit "Greenberg in Syracuse" and recognize the art critic’s legacy in the city and feature the work of five regional artists Greenberg mentored over two decades. The catalog includes the DVD The Mirror Eye, a documentary film that considers Greenberg's place in and the state of contemporary culture and modern art.

48 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2006

About the author

Karen Wilkin (1940 -) is a New York–based independent curator and art critic specializing in 20th-century modernism.