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John Perreault

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John Lucas Perreault (New York, New York, August 26, 1937–September 6, 2015, New York, New York) was a poet, art curator, art critic and artist.

Early life

Perreault was born in Manhattan and raised in Belmar and other towns in New Jersey.[1] He studied briefly at Montclair State Teachers College, after which he enrolled in a poetry workshop at the New School for Social Research.[1] His first book of poetry, Camouflage, was published in 1966, followed by Luck (1969) and Harry (1974).[1]

Professional work

Perreault was an editorial associate for ARTnews in the 1960s, an art critic for The Village Voice (1966-74), and senior art critic for The SoHo Weekly News (1975-82).[2] He also worked briefly as the chief curator at the Everson Museum (1982).[1] From 1985 to 1989, he was the first professional curator at the Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art in Staten Island.[1][3] He was also senior curator at the American Craft Museum (1990-93).[1][3] In later years, Perreault was interested in craft and served as the executive director of UrbanGlass.[2] From 2004 until 2014, he wrote a blog called Artopia: John Perreault's art diary.[4]

Art and art criticism

As an art critic, Perreault's writing was clear and accessible.[5][6][7] He championed the avant garde, including Minimalism, Land Art, and Pattern & Decoration.[2] In 1968, when several names were used to describe the art now known as Minimalism, he predicted that the term minimalism would "stick."[8]

In the 1970s, with the rise of the feminist art movement, he frequently wrote in support of art by women.[1][5][9] In 1974, for example, he praised Sylvia Sleigh's recent nudes, calling them "as daring as ever, perhaps even a little bit more daring" and noting that she was "always willing to challenge herself and her viewers."[10] The following year, he responded positively to Shirley Gorelick's paintings of African-American sitters.[11] In his review of a group show at SOHO20 called Showing Off (1975), Perreault characterized Sharon Wybrants's Self-Portrait as Superwoman (Woman as Culture Hero) (1975) as "more than slightly tongue-in-cheek. But it demonstrates that women artists have egos too, sometimes just as big as any man's. And why shouldn’t they?"[12] Perreault also praised Alice Neel's portrait of the art historian Linda Nochlin (now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston),[13] calling it "a knock-out" and remarking that "Nochlin looks as if she has just had about enough of Courbet, whereas her daughter is the perfect imp."[14]

At times, Perreault served as a subject for artists,[15] including Alice Neel, whose John Perreault (1972) is now owned by the Whitney Museum of American Art.[16] The two met when Perreault was working for ARTnews, but the portrait was painted for The Male Nude (1973), an exhibition that Perreault curated at the School of Visual Arts.[17] As he later recalled, Neel thought he resembled a faun.[17] Perreault also appears with other art critics—all unclothed—in Sylvia Sleigh's The Turkish Bath (1973).[18] Perreault was later portrayed in Sleigh's 14-panel Invitation to a Voyage: The Hudson River at Fishkill (1979-99), now owned by the Hudson River Museum.[15] In 1975, a bust-length portrait of Perreault was painted by Philip Pearlstein.[2] Perreault later wrote a monograph on Pearlstein's drawings and watercolors, published in 1988.[19]

Like other art critics, including John Ruskin and Clement Greenberg, John Perreault was also an artist.[9] He created drawings, paintings, and found object constructions.[20] Perreault's first exhibition of paintings and sculptures was in 1965.[21] Later, he aimed "to attack what he calls the art supplies racket" by using "alternate media," such as Colgate toothpaste and oil-soaked beach sand.[21] Another preferred medium was instant coffee grounds,[9] which he used "in honor of" George Washington, "the 'inventor' of instant coffee," who once maintained a residence near Bellport, New York, where Perreault lived.[21]

Personal life

In 2008, Perreault married Jeff Weinstein, his partner of 32 years, in Provincetown, Massachusetts, after same-sex marriage was legalized there.[22] Weinstein, who began as a restaurant critic, has held positions as an arts editor at The SoHo Weekly News (1977-79), editor of visual arts and architecture criticism at The Village Voice (1981-95), fine arts editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer (1997-2006), and editor of arts and culture at Bloomberg News (2006-07).[23]

Death

Perreault died in 2015, aged 78, from complications following gastrointestinal surgery.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Grimes, William (8 September 2015). "John Perreault, Art Critic (and Artist) Who Championed the New, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Greenberger, Alex. "John Perreault, Noted Art Critic for The Village Voice and ARTnews, Dies at 78". ARTnews. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b Fressola, Michael J. (8 September 2015). "John Perreault, first curator at Snug Harbor's Newhouse, dies at 78". The Staten Island Advance. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  4. ^ Perreault, John. "Artopia: John Perreault's art diary". Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  5. ^ a b Village Voice Staff (9 September 2015). "John Perreault, Artist, Critic, and Author, 1937-2015". The Village Voice. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  6. ^ Littman, Brett (1 November 2016). "John Perreault". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  7. ^ Miranda, Carolina A. (20 December 2015). "Deadpan humor with a point of view: Why critic John Perreault will be missed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  8. ^ Perreault, John (7 March 1968). "Plastic Ambiguities". The Village Voice.
  9. ^ a b c Goldstein, Andrew (7 July 2017). "'It's Only Art' Proves the Late Village Voice Critic John Perreault Was Witty With the Brush as Well as the Pen". Artnet News. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  10. ^ Perreault, John (26 September 1974). "Acute linoleum heartburn". The Village Voice: 40.
  11. ^ Perreault, John (1 May 1975). "Outrageous Black Pop". The SoHo Weekly News: 19.
  12. ^ Perreault, John (25 September 1975). "Superwoman!". The SoHo Weekly News.
  13. ^ Neel, Alice (1973). "Linda Nochlin and Daisy". Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  14. ^ Perreault, John (19 February 1976). "Talking Heads: Portraiture Revived". The SoHo Weekly News.
  15. ^ a b Russeth, Andrew (14 September 2015). "Invitation to a Voyage: On Sylvia Sleigh's Other Portrait of the Late Art Critic John Perreault". ARTnews. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  16. ^ Neel, Alice (1972). "John Perreault".
  17. ^ a b Newhall, Edith. "Neel Life Stories". New York Magazine. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  18. ^ Stamberg, Susan (29 May 2014). "As Portraits Became Passé, These Artists Redefined 'Face Value'". NPR. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  19. ^ Perreault, John (1988). Philip Pearlstein: Drawings and Watercolors. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
  20. ^ Baker, R.C. (11 July 2017). "An Element of Chance: A Celebration of John Perreault". The Village Voice. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  21. ^ a b c Perreault, John. "Portfolio". Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  22. ^ Sipher, Devan (20 December 2008). "Vows: Jeff Weinstein and John Perreault". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  23. ^ Weinstein, Jeff. "Out There: Jeff Weinstein's Cultural Mixology". Retrieved 3 October 2017.
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