Joe Brainard: A Retrospective

Over a period of four decades--from the early 1960s until his death in 1994--artist, writer, and designer Joe Brainard contributed greatly to the arts in a number of media. From his early paintings and assemblages, which built upon the work of Jasper Johns and Joseph Cornell, to his set designs for LeRoi Jone's The Dutchman and Frank O'Hara's The General Returns from One Place to Another; from his comic book collaborations with various poets, C Comics and C Comics 2, to his later drawing, collage, painting, and assemblage work, Brainard exemplified the link between avant-garde art, writing, and theater that defined the New York School. In addition to a checklist and bibliographies of work by and about Brainard, this exhibition catalogue includes the artist's published and unpublished writings, as well as interviews and letters. Also included are essays by John Ashbery, Carter Ratcliff, and Constance Lewallen, who chronicles Joe Brainard's formative years in Oklahoma and move to New York City, his involvement with Pop Art, assemblage and painting, and his literary and artistic associations.