Eleanor Antin is another artist I discovered reading Art Talk. In truth much of her work is too conceptual for my taste, however I love her “break out” work – 100 Boots.

In 1971 Antin created 100 Boots, a multi-part project in which she arranged and Philip Steinmetz photographed 100 rubber boots around southern California. The result was a 51 picture postcard narrative with the boots acting as the main character.

While the concept itself is interesting, what drew me to the work is that she produced it as postcards. Cindy Nemser’s interview she asked Antin why she invented the boots. Antin’s response speaks to how art was, and probably still is consumed.

“I was tired of coming into New York to put on shows that were always going into a vacuum once they were over. I wanted to do something that lasted longer… So I thought of the mails which are an obvious method of distribution that reach everyone with an address. Besides, people like getting mail.”

Antin mailed these 50 postcards over two and a half years to 1,000 people at random intervals based on the boot narrative.

“At one point, 100 Boots trespasses, and since this was their first crime I couldn’t wait for another month to pass for the m to make their getaway. They would have been caught. So a week later, I sent out the next card: 100 Boots on the Road, which was 100 boots on the lam – fast.”

The receivers never paid for the cards and at the time no one was able to purchase the cards or images from Antin (she has published a book). Ultimately in 1973 MoMA asked her to put together a full show for the boots, with the museum serving as the boots “crash pad” after their long journey.  Not only where the boots themselves on display, the 51 postcards were gathered together in full and 27 new images of the boots were displayed specifically for MoMA.

from artnet galleries

I wish I had been one of the lucky individuals on the mailing list, to be surprised when one arrived  and never knowing when the next would come.  In someways Antin’s work with 100 Boots feels like the start to so many series of photographs today. People take toys with them to places around the world for photographs or I even saw two friends who had their photograph taken in front of a post office of every town they visited. I tried to capture my shoes for one year – I actually started twice and made it about four months at one time, maybe it is time to try again or search for a new goal with Antin as my inspiration.

I finished reading Art Talk by Cindy Nemser, a book that I was given as a high school graduation gift. Since then the book has moved with me several times and never been read. This fall when I finished up most of my class reading I finally picked it up as my “gym” book. The teacher who had given this book to me, clearly knew me better when I was 17 then I knew myself at 30. If I had read the book before now I am not sure that I would have found it so inspiring, however when I was only a few pages in it connected perfectly with me.  It has been a stars aligning sort of experience and has been yet another marker on my journey letting me know that going back to school is what I was meant to do.

Art Talk by Cindy Nemser via Goodreads

The book itself is a little dated, originally published in 1975 the artists have evolved since its publication but their attitudes toward art as a female artist does not change with time. The whole book is a collection of  interviews between Cindy Nemsert and 15 female artists. Her focus is on the struggle to become an artist as a female and discussing the culture of the art world in the 50′s through the 70′s. Many of the artists she sits down with share with her how they have managed to do what was seen as impossible, be a wife, a mother and an artist. It is their attitudes that are inspiring. They talk about sacrifices and adapting while still remaining themselves and not compromising there artistic goals. Those that married show how important a supportive husband is in reaching goals and in the case of Lee Krasner, how important a supportive wife can be in helping her husband reach his goals as well.

Each artist opened up a new avenue of thinking about art to me and has inspired me to learn even more about their work. The book also provides a wonderful look at the crossing paths or artists, gallery owners,  art critics and surprisingly how influential de Kooning was. Never really a fan of his work, these artists insights into his work has perused me to take a deeper look at his art. Definitely a interesting idea, a book on female artists inspiring the study of a male artist, who many critics and art viewers have felt present women as violent and or being violated.