Gordon Matta-Clark: Experience Becomes the Object

by Caroline Goodden (Contributor), Gerry Hovagimyan, Flor Bex

Gordon Matta-Clark (1943–78) died at only 35 of pancreatic cancer and has since become a cult figure of late 20th-century art. Trained in architecture at Cornell, he went on to question the field’s conventions in vivid projects―performance and recycling pieces, space and texture works and word games―some of which excised holes into existing buildings or assembled deeds to New York City alleys and curbs. The artist used a variety of media to document his work, including film, video and photography. His work and words, while sophisticated enough to make him an "artist’s artist," and colossal and outgoing enough to draw public attention and affection, were always also grounded in social or political convictions. In the early 1970s, Matta-Clark developed the idea of "anarchitecture," which encompassed his interest in voids, gaps and left-over spaces. Gordon Experience Becomes the Object collects five essays and ten individual interviews with various friends and family members of Matta-Clark’s. Together, they outline a biographical profile and offer an analysis of the historical period in which the artist developed his short but successful career. New, never-before-published material and photographs as well as an exclusive link to the documentary Matta-Clark’s Friends by Matias Cardone are also included.

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2016

Reviews

[Alvaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apasionante obra sobre la efímera -pero trascendente- obra de Gordon Matta-Clark.
Una delicia para los entendidos y una gran bienvenida para los que desconozcan acerca de su trabajo.
Se compone de 3 partes: la primera reúne artículos de los expertos en su obra; la segunda, entrevistas a una decena de amigos del artista; la tercera, una memoria de la exposición realizada en el Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de Chile en 2013. Además viene con link a un documental, valiosos registros fotográficos (únicos vestigios de su obra) y testimonios. En mi caso, disfruté mucho con la segunda parte, me permitió conocer a la persona detras del personaje. Todo un acierto.