Page 4 - Conversation: Natalie Edgar .... / November

NE: �69 to �73 for Art News.  I was also a guest curator every now and again for some very important shows. I did some freelance writing after that, but Art News was my big stint.

JW: Did you focus primarily on abstract art?

NE: Yes that was my specialty. I did the one and only article on Motherwell which was considered to be a kind of political problem (laughs).

JW: That was very political period though, wasn�t it?

NE: Yes, everything was� watched very closely. But I curated some big museum shows and I did the first review of Lichtenstein and wrote that he was doing satire or something.  And I still think it was an absolutely accurate review (laughs). He was the latest thing at Leo Castelli and I did those kinds of shows.

JW: Oh sure, well that time period was the real initialization of the Leo Castelli Gallery.

NE: But going back to the role of women for a minute, Marisol [Escobar] was one of the most important artists of Pop Art but she was left out of the Pop Art show at the Whitney in the �90s show  because, one of the explanations given, was that she worked �handmade�; that she didn�t use commercial processes. Okay, that�s how you get rid of a woman (laughs).

JW: Right! (laughs)

NE: And that wasn�t done in 1950 it was in 1990!  And it was done by guys that love women, you know? So they got rid of her. But here she was one of the most shocking artists I�d come across when I saw a show of hers at the Stable Gallery.

JW: And probably a lot more authentic and direct without pretensions.

NE: Yes, there was a directness to her work.  It wasn�t photosensitized canvas or something, this was wood, painted wood, and it was reality.  Maybe

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that�s why they can�t stand her. They wouldn�t say   that directly but they just happen to leave her out of the Whitney Pop Art show.  That�s a very good example of succeeding generations of men leaving women out. With the first generation she was immediately recognized by The Club; she was loved, she was a gorgeous woman, a lot of fun. But four decades later it�s okay to drop her out of a major show.

JW: Right and these were probably the very same people who would be offended if you criticized them as being sexists. But I guess the actions speak for themselves.

NE: Well they also had their favorites; but I won�t mention names� (laughs).

JW: Now� I tend to look at the �40s and �50s very idealistically and regard this as an incredible time to be an artist. But I�ve learned more about the struggle the artist�s had to live and make art plus there being almost no galleries showing their work. Given that, I look back at that period and still long for it because artists then seemed more committed to what they were doing and were a lot more energized. How true would you say such an outlook is when compared with today? In other words how do you recall the realities of the period and does it square with my impressions?

Natalie Edgar, oil on canvas

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