Art critic Dave Hickey, known for book 'Air Guitar', dies

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This May 2008 photograph provided by Libby Lumpkin shows Dave Hickey, near with Peter Schjeldahl. Hickey, a salient American professional whose essays covered topics ranging from Liberace to Norman Rockwell, has died. The brash benignant and mixing of high- and low-brow civilization that characterized his enactment earned him legions of fans and leaves permission a lasting power connected a procreation of artists and critics. He died Nov. 12, 2021, astatine location successful Santa Fe, New M.M., aft years of bosom disease, his creation historiographer woman Libby Lumpkin said. (Libby Lumpkin via AP) (Uncredited)

Dave Hickey, a salient American creation professional whose essays covered topics ranging from Siegfried & Roy to Norman Rockwell, has died.

His books, including “The Invisible Dragon: Essays connected Beauty” (1993) and “Air Guitar: Essays connected Art & Democracy” (1997), won him legions of fans beyond the creation satellite cognoscenti.

His stylish prose, brash disapproval of taste-making institutions similar museums and universities and adjacent clasp of works considered some high- and low-brow near a lasting power connected a procreation of artists and critics.

“There is nary 1 similar him. He belongs successful the canon of American nonfiction prose,” his biographer Daniel Oppenheimer wrote successful “Far From Respectable: Dave Hickey and His Art," published past June.

He died Nov. 12 astatine location successful Santa Fe, New Mexico, aft years of bosom disease, said Libby Lumpkin, an creation historiographer who was joined to him. He was 82.

David Hickey was calved successful 1938 successful Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up moving astir Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and California. After hopscotching done postgraduate schoolhouse programs, helium dropped retired and opened a modern creation assemblage successful Austin, Texas. He moved to New York successful 1971, wherever helium ran much galleries, edited the work Art successful America and wrote for the Village Voice and Rolling Stone magazine. His enactment and interests immersed him successful an creator assemblage that included Andy Warhol, Dennis Hopper and David Bowie.

Hickey aboriginal moved to Las Vegas to thatch astatine the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. In the essays published successful “Air Guitar" astir however creation should acceptable into broader culture, helium championed Las Vegas arsenic the astir American of American cities for its detachment from accepted societal hierarchies.

America “is a precise mediocre lens done which to presumption Las Vegas, portion Las Vegas is simply a fantastic lens done which to presumption America. What is hidden elsewhere exists present successful quotidian visibility," helium wrote.

Hickey challenged the thought that the Strip's neon lights were someway inauthentic, pushed backmost against notions that Las Vegas amusement was culturally irrelevant and "especially enjoyed a bully fume and gambling spree astatine Eureka Casino connected East Sahara Avenue, wherever helium was often spotted with a cigaret portion jabbing astatine slot instrumentality buttons,” according to a Las Vegas Review-Journal obituary.

In “The Invisible Dragon" and aboriginal works, Hickey's endorsement of “beauty” arsenic the eventual arbiter of creator worth ignited a clash with his contemporaries focused connected 20th period conceptual art's mentation and meaning, who preferred to deconstruct the reasons wherefore radical find things to beryllium beautiful.

“He chooses to place the presumption that quality whitethorn beryllium simply what the ruling economical and societal elites accidental it is. In the process, his adversaries argue, helium substitutes his ain bad-boy outsider judgments for those of narrow-minded creation professionals,” The New York Times wrote successful a 1999 profile of Hickey.

Lumpkin said her hubby ne'er intended to champion traditionalism arsenic his critics claimed.

“A batch of Dave’s enactment was misinterpreted. The presumption was made that the quality helium was talking astir was thing precise aged fashioned, but helium was a protagonist of precise conceptual artists from the beginning,” she said.

His tastes were so eclectic. He sang the praises of artists and figures successful fashionable civilization ranging from Norman Rockwell to Robert Mapplethorpe to Ellsworth Kelly. His essays covered hoops subordinate Julius Erving, reruns of the tv bid “Perry Mason," and outlaw state music.

In 2001, the MacArthur Foundation awarded him a “genius” assistance for his assemblage of work. He was inducted into the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame successful 2003 and won a Peabody Award for a 2006 documentary astir Andy Warhol.

Hickey and Lumpkin decamped to Santa Fe successful 2010 and accepted positions astatine the University of New Mexico successful Albuquerque. Lumpkin said Hickey considered teaching among his astir important enactment and legacy.

“He was a existent intelligence without being a snob and helium trusted his students to beryllium capable to deliberation theoretically. When you enactment your spot successful students similar that, they get it and they marque bully art,” Lumpkin said.

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Metz is simply a corps subordinate for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is simply a nonprofit nationalist work programme that places journalists successful section newsrooms to study connected undercovered issues.

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