The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (246 page)
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Authors: Ian Chilvers
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Kane , John
(1860–1934).
American
naïve
painter, born in Scotland. He emigrated to the USA in 1879 and moved around a good deal working at various labouring jobs. However, he considered Pittsburgh his home. In 1891 he lost a leg when he was struck by a train, but he became so agile with his artificial limb that few realized he was disabled. He took to drink after his son died soon after birth in 1904 and his wife consequently left him, taking their two daughters with her. Kane then led a wandering life, scraping a living by housepainting and carpentry. His first oil paintings were done
c.
1910; he did portraits—an intense
Self-Portrait
(MOMA, New York, 1929) is his best-known work—landscapes, interiors, and cityscapes of industrial Pittsburgh, combining meticulous observation with naïve stylization and imaginative reconstruction. He achieved sudden fame at the age of 67 when one of his paintings was accepted for the Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh in 1927. Kane was the first American naïve painter to achieve such recognition; some people thought his picture was a hoax, but in the remaining seven years of his life he achieved considerable acclaim and became something of a celebrity (in consequence of which he was reunited with his wife). His autobiography
Sky Hooks
(named after the supports of a housepainter's scaffold) was posthumously published in 1938.
American
naïve
painter, born in Scotland. He emigrated to the USA in 1879 and moved around a good deal working at various labouring jobs. However, he considered Pittsburgh his home. In 1891 he lost a leg when he was struck by a train, but he became so agile with his artificial limb that few realized he was disabled. He took to drink after his son died soon after birth in 1904 and his wife consequently left him, taking their two daughters with her. Kane then led a wandering life, scraping a living by housepainting and carpentry. His first oil paintings were done
c.
1910; he did portraits—an intense
Self-Portrait
(MOMA, New York, 1929) is his best-known work—landscapes, interiors, and cityscapes of industrial Pittsburgh, combining meticulous observation with naïve stylization and imaginative reconstruction. He achieved sudden fame at the age of 67 when one of his paintings was accepted for the Carnegie International Exhibition in Pittsburgh in 1927. Kane was the first American naïve painter to achieve such recognition; some people thought his picture was a hoax, but in the remaining seven years of his life he achieved considerable acclaim and became something of a celebrity (in consequence of which he was reunited with his wife). His autobiography
Sky Hooks
(named after the supports of a housepainter's scaffold) was posthumously published in 1938.
Kanoldt , Alexander
.
.
Kapoor , Anish
.
.
Kaprow , Allan
(1927– ).
American artist and art theorist, best known as the main creator of
happenings
. His studies included a period with the musician John Cage , from whom he took over the idea of chance and indeterminacy in aesthetic organization. In an article published in 1958 in
Art News
he argued for the abandonment of craftsmanship and permanence in the fine arts and advocated the incorporation of perishable materials. His first happening, entitled
18 Happenings in 6 Parts
, was staged at the Reuben Gallery, New York, in October 1959. He has been an evangelical promoter of his ideas through teaching at various universities and a voluminous output of writings.
American artist and art theorist, best known as the main creator of
happenings
. His studies included a period with the musician John Cage , from whom he took over the idea of chance and indeterminacy in aesthetic organization. In an article published in 1958 in
Art News
he argued for the abandonment of craftsmanship and permanence in the fine arts and advocated the incorporation of perishable materials. His first happening, entitled
18 Happenings in 6 Parts
, was staged at the Reuben Gallery, New York, in October 1959. He has been an evangelical promoter of his ideas through teaching at various universities and a voluminous output of writings.
Karlowska , Stanislava de
.
.
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