{"product_id":"before-pictures-9780226423456","title":"Before Pictures","description":"\u003cp\u003eDouglas Crimp is the rare art critic whose work profoundly influenced a generation of artists. He is best known for his work with the Pictures Generationthe very name of which Crimp coined to define the work of artists like Robert Longo and Cindy Sherman who appropriated images from mass culture to carry out a subversive critique. But while his influence is widely recognized  we know little about Crimps own formative experiences before Pictures.  Before Pictures tells the story of Crimps life as a young gay man and art critic in New York City during the late 1960s through the turbulent 1970s. Crimp participated in all of what made the city so stimulating in that vibrant decade. The details of his professional and personal life are interwoven with this the particularly rich history of New York City at that time  producing a vivid portrait of both the critic and his adopted city. The book begins with his escape from his hometown in Idaho  and we quickly find Crimp writing criticism for ArtNews while working at the Guggenheimwhere  as a young curatorial assistant  he was one of the few to see Daniel Burens Peinture-Sculpture before it was removed amid cries of institutional censorship. We also travel to the Chelsea Hotel (where Crimp helped the down-on-his-luck couturier Charles James organize his papers) through to his days as a cinephile and balletomane to the founding of the art journal October  where he remained a central figure for many years. As he was developing his reputation as a critic  he was also partaking of the New York night life  from drugs and late nights alongside the Warhol crowd at the Maxs Kansas City to discos  roller-skating  and casual sex with famous (and not-so-famous) men. As AIDS began to ravage the closely linked art and gay communities  Crimp eventually turned his attention to activism dedicated to rethinking AIDS.  Part biography and part cultural history  Before Pictures is a courageous account of an exceptional period in both Crimps life and the life of New York City. At the same time  it offers a deeply personal and engaging point of entry into important issues in contemporary art.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45665836204085,"sku":"ByrdShop_022642345X","price":58.08,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780226423456.jpg?v=1782409419","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/before-pictures-9780226423456","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}