Michael Asher (artist)
| Michael Asher | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 15, 1943 Los Angeles, California |
| Died | October 15, 2012 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Conceptual artist |
Michael Max Asher (July 15, 1943 – October 15, 2012) was a conceptual artist, described by The New York Times as "among the patron saints of the Conceptual Art phylum known as Institutional Critique, an often esoteric dissection of the assumptions that govern how we perceive art." Rather than designing new art objects, Asher typically altered the existing environment, by repositioning or removing artworks, walls, facades, etc.
Asher was also a highly regarded professor of art, who spent decades on the faculty at California Institute of the Arts. Cited by numerous successful artists as an important influence in their development, Asher's teaching has been described by British journalist Sarah Thornton as his "most influential" work.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Asher is the son of gallerist Betty Asher and Dr. Leonard Asher. He studied at the University of California, Irvine, where he received his bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1966.
He began teaching at the California Institute of the Arts in 1973, along with other influential artist-professors like John Baldessari, Judy Chicago and Allan Kaprow. His "post-studio art" course consisted of intensive group critiques that can focus on a single work for eight hours or more. His Writings, 1973–1983, on Works 1969-1979, co-authored by the art historian Benjamin H. D. Buchloh, was published by The Press of the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design.
Chapter 2 of Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton is set in Asher's Post-Studio Crit class. Thornton describes the Crit as a "rite of passage" for the students and as the artist's "most influential" work - "an institutional critique that reveals the limits of the rest of the curriculum."
Having been on medical leave from CalArts since 2008, Asher died Sunday, October 14, 2012 after a long illness. He was 69.
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