Blind Handshake: Art Writing + Art, 1990-2008

by David Humphrey

The art criticism of
the painter David Humphrey
merits an anthology. But
neither Humphrey nor
Periscope wanted to present
his writing as archival
documents from 1990 to
2008. We decided it would be
more innovative to treat the
texts as the starting point for
a book that acknowledges
and extends the connections
between Humphrey s studio
practice and his criticism.
The outcome is Blind
Handshake. It foregrounds the
social life surrounding contemporary
art the practices
and gestures, the dialogues
and monologues that determine
its place in the world.
Organized thematically, the
book considers Coupling
Dramas, Unknowable
Others, Collective Solitudes,
Prosthetic Selves, and Good
Liars. Artists drawn into
the action include Richard
Prince, Chris Ofili, Lucien
Freud, Mamma Anderson,
Tony Oursler, John Currin,
Mary Heilmann, Catherine
Murphy, and Amy Sillman.
The book s designer
Geoff Kaplan employed
aspects of graphic novels,
magazine layouts, and art
monographs in translating
the writing and illustrations
into a mutant creature.
Introductions by Chris Kraus
and Alexi Worth provide
contexts for understanding
the book s presentation of the
turbulent intersubjectivity that
pervades contemporary art.

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009