John Perreault

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. 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. Greenberger, Alex. "John Perreault, Noted Art Critic for The Village Voice and ARTnews, Dies at 78". ARTnews. Retrieved 2 October 2017.
  3. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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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