29 UNTITLED, JOHN CHAMBERLAIN, 2001, PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPH.
DAVID TOMPKINS It’s All in the Fit A Report on the John Chamberlain Symposium Projected on a screen before the audience in the Goode-Crowley <strong>The</strong>atre, John Chamberlain’s signature seemed to float in mid-air like the Cheshire Cat’s grin. Chamberlain himself wasn’t present at the sym- D AV I D T O M P K I N S Todo está en el acomodo Un informe sobre el Simposio John Chamberlain Proyectada sobre una pantalla delante del público reunido en el Teatro Goode- Crowley, la firma de John Chamberlain parecía flotar en el aire como la sonri- sa del Gato de Cheshire. Chamberlain mismo no asistió al simposio dedicado a su obra presentado por <strong>Chinati</strong> los días 22 y 23 de abril de 2006. Pero su nombre garabateado, que parecía cer- nerse periódicamente sobre el escena- rio, fue un recordatorio de la proteica imprevisibilidad del artista. La diversidad de la obra de Chamber- lain, su resistencia a las interpretacio- nes o catalogaciones fáciles, fue uno de los temas del fin de semana. “Todo está en el acomodo,” que se programó para coincidir con los últimos días de la exhibición en <strong>Chinati</strong> de las escultu- ras de hule espuma y las fotografías del artista, consistió en dos días de conferencias sobre diversos aspectos de la obra de Chamberlain. Seis meses después de que el artista mismo estu- 30 posium dedicated to his work that <strong>Chinati</strong> hosted on April 22-23, 2006. But the brisk scrawl of his name, appearing periodically to hover above the stage, was an apt marker for the artist’s protean unpredictability. <strong>The</strong> diversity of Chamberlain’s work, its resistance to simple interpretation or categorizing, was a theme of the weekend. Organized to fall within the closing days of <strong>Chinati</strong>’s exhibition of the artist’s foam sculptures and photographs, “It’s All in the Fit” featured two days of lectures on different aspects of Chamberlain’s oeuvre. Six months after the artist himself appeared at the Goode-Crowley <strong>The</strong>atre to gruffly answer questions (see “John Chamberlain in Conversation with Klaus Kertess” on page 10), nine critics, scholars, and art historians took the stage to discuss the prodigious range of his work. Interested parties from across Texas, the U.S., and beyond were on hand to listen. At nine o’clock Saturday morning, <strong>Chinati</strong> Director Marianne Stockebrand welcomed everyone with a ringing declaration: “John Chamberlain is one of the perfect artists of this time.” Describing the way Chamberlain’s work encompasses sculpture, painting, film, photography, and other media, Stockebrand hailed the artist’s 40 years of “restless, steady, consistent activities.” She observed that, despite his inventiveness and productivity, Chamberlain’s work remains under-recognized. What Donald Judd wrote decades ago—that Chamberlain’s work is “insufficiently known in its various aspects”—remains true today. <strong>The</strong> weekend’s worth of lectures, Stockebrand said, was designed to go some ways toward rectifying this situation. Stockebrand introduced the event’s moderator, Richard Shiff, Director of vo en el Teatro Goode-Crowley para contestar con displicencia algunas pre- guntas (ver “John Chamberlain conver- sa con Klaus Kertess” en la página 10), nueve críticos, estudiosos e historiado- res del arte presentaron ponencias so- bre la amplia gama de obras de este artista. Acudieron para presenciar es- tas charlas personas interesadas desde Texas, Estados Unidos y más allá. A las 9:00 de la mañana del sábado, la directora de <strong>Chinati</strong>, Marianne Stocke- brand, pronunció el discurso de bien- venida, declarando que “John Cham- berlain es uno de los artistas perfectos de nuestra época”. Señalando cómo la obra de Chamberlain abarca escultu- ra, pintura, cinema, fotografía y otros medios, Stockebrand felicitó al artista por sus “actividades inquietas, cons- tantes y consistentes”. Hizo ver que, a pesar de su inventiva y productividad, la obra de Chamberlain no ha sido de- bidamente reconocida. Lo que escribió Donald Judd hace décadas – que la obra de Chamberlain “no se conoce suficientemente en sus varios aspectos” – sigue siendo cierto hoy en día. Las conferencias del simposio, puntualizó Stockebrand, servirían para rectificar esta falta de reconocimiento. Stockebrand presentó al moderador del simposio, Richard Shiff, Director del Centro para el Estudio del Modernismo de la Universidad de Texas en Austin y miembro de la Mesa Directiva de <strong>Chinati</strong>. Shiff comenzó por confirmar lo anterior, confesando que la obra de Chamberlain no es suficientemente conocida “ni por mí mismo”. Utilizan- do una palabra que predominaría en las discusiones, citó a Judd: “A John Chamberlain le gustan las cosas que se acomodan, que encajan.” Shiff comentó la increíble diversidad de la producción artística de Chamberlain y las múltiples maneras de interpretarla. Luego presentó al primer conferencian-
- Page 2 and 3: 2 4 8 16 18 30 34 Contents Contenid
- Page 4 and 5: gathered for an exhibition at China
- Page 6 and 7: Laurel Gonsalves Elvira González D
- Page 8 and 9: Josef Albers Carl Andre Ingólfur A
- Page 11 and 12: CONVERSATION WITH JOHN CHAMBERLAIN
- Page 13 and 14: K K : As different as that was, at
- Page 15 and 16: K K : And how far did that get you?
- Page 17 and 18: UNTITLED,1991, PANORAMIC PHOTOGRAPH
- Page 19 and 20: RO B E R T C R E E L E Y para john
- Page 21 and 22: REDWING, 1960, PAINTED STEEL. on Do
- Page 23 and 24: MISS LUCY PINK, 1962, PAINTED AND C
- Page 25 and 26: ists who have combined old and new
- Page 27 and 28: UNTITLED, c.1964, CAR PAINT AND CHR
- Page 29: JOHN CHAMBERLAIN BUILDINIG, CHINATI
- Page 33 and 34: fore us. An intuitive response, on
- Page 35 and 36: UNTITLED, 1966, URETHANE FOAM AND C
- Page 37 and 38: RUSSELL FERGUSON Disregarded, Ordin
- Page 39: N.A.L.P. WITH THREE GUYS FROM DELAN
- Page 42 and 43: specting the pre-existing context s
- Page 44 and 45: N.A.L.P. WITH THREE GUYS FROM DELAN
- Page 46 and 47: VIEW ACROSS THE SWANNANOA VALLEY TO
- Page 48 and 49: education, Rice and his co-defector
- Page 50 and 51: LEAFLET SHOWING ALBERS’S LOGO DES
- Page 52 and 53: students identified themselves with
- Page 54 and 55: instead of second hand analysis and
- Page 56 and 57: 14 Josef and Anni Albers, interview
- Page 58 and 59: JOSEF ALBERS, HOMAGE TO THE SQUARE
- Page 60 and 61: that price it is an institutional p
- Page 62 and 63: general view are absent. They were
- Page 64 and 65: WINDOW OF ADOBE HOUSE, UNDATED, 194
- Page 66 and 67: Before the conclusion Larson wrote
- Page 68 and 69: absent, say that what is present is
- Page 70 and 71: intensity of the color varies accor
- Page 72 and 73: sertive and retiring, stolid and pr
- Page 74 and 75: BRIAN KIRK NELMS, UNTITLED, 2006. L
- Page 76 and 77: OLIVER CROY, ALL FANTASIES, GENTLEM
- Page 78 and 79: Open House 2006 The Chinati Foundat
- Page 80 and 81:
THE DANDY WARHOLS AND FRIENDS VISIT
- Page 82 and 83:
CAITLIN MURRAY KATHERINE KORDARIS A
- Page 84 and 85:
MAYOR DAVID LANMAN AND CHINATI ADMI
- Page 86 and 87:
Anna Friebe-Reininghaus Yoko Fukuda
- Page 88 and 89:
Emerson Head Josef Helfenstein Mart
- Page 90 and 91:
David B. Walek Jeanne & John (Ned)
- Page 92 and 93:
John Wesley B’s Stair, 2001 Five