- Laura Cottingham
Laura Cottingham (born 1963) is an art critic who lives in
New York . She taught contemporary art issues in the College of Art at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art.Works
Laura Cottingham is a critic, artist and curator active on the international fine art scene.
She is a graduate of Notre Dame Academy, Park Hills, Kentucky and of The College of the University of Chicago. In 1981-82 she was a Helena Rubenstein Fellow in the Whitney Museum of American Art's Independent Study Program---one of the most popular training grounds for artists and arts professionals in the field of contemporary art since its founding in 1968.
Although American by birth, her activities have been primarily concentrated in Europe---including Austria, Germany, France, Spain, England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden---where she has published, exhibited and lectured widely. Her work is concerned with reconsidering the meaning of art in light of the countercultural values of circa 1968. Her influences include Fluxus, Rock and Roll, Punk (
Dee Dee Ramone kissed her), Ballet, Radical Feminism, Gay Rights, Black Power, Zen, Gestalt.She is author, most recently, of a book on Rainer Werner Fassbinder, "Fear Eats the Soul" (London, 2005). Her other books include "Seeing Through the Seventies: Essays on Feminism and Art" (Amsterdam, 2000); "Lesbians Are So Chic..." (London, 1996) and "How many 'bad' feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?" (New York, 1994), which is also in French (Lyon, 1999). She is best known for her work recuperating Seventies Feminist Art and has published extensively on many of the artists of that period, as well as on artists of her own generation.
Her first feature-length video, "Not For Sale: Feminism and Art in the USA during the 1970s," 1998, premiered at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Her next film, "The Anita Pallenberg Story," 2000, is a satire on the international art scene that features Cottingham playing Mick Jagger; other art world personalities likewise appear in this Warhol-like drama, including collector Peter Norton ("Norton Utilities") who plays as a Pizza Delivery Boy. "Pallenberg" is the subject of a website: "LOVE, SEX, FAME and the LIFE OF THE
[http://www.haussite.net/haus.0/PROGRAM/INFO_1999/laura_E.HTML www.haussite.net with redirect to the project website] (Künstlerhaus Stuttgart)] .
In 2000 Cottingham performed as a dancer with the Stanley Love Performance Group in New York.
Her name is featured in the Le Tigre song, "Hot Topic".
Her guest curatorial projects include "NowHere,"1996, for The Louisiana Museum of Art, Denmark; "Vraiment Feminisme et art," 1997, for Le Magasin, Grenoble, France; and "Work Out: Varsalogen 2006" at the Lilejvaks Konsthall, Stockholm.
She has been a guest professor at various art schools and universities, including, The Danish Royal Academy, The Pratt Institute,
Rutgers University , The School of Visual Arts, andThe Cooper Union .References
Bibliography
*"How many "bad" feminists does it take to change a lightbulb?" (New York: Sixty Percent Solution, 1994) [French edition, 2002, ISBN 2-912631-01-7]
*"Lesbians are so chic…That We Are Not Really Lesbians at All" (New York: Cassell, 1996) ISBN 0-304-33721-8
*"Seeing Through the Seventies: Essays on Feminism and Art" (New York: G+B Arts International, 1999) ISBN 90-5701-212-X
*"Fear Eats the Soul" (London: British Film Institute, 2005) ISBN 1-84457-071-1Fine Art Videography
* NOT FOR SALE: Feminism and Art in the USA during the 1970s, 1998, 90 minutes. Premiered at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1998; subsequently exhibited in Los Angeles, Vienna, London, Paris, Munich, Berlin, San Antonio, San Sebastian (S), Utrecht (NL), Dublin, Ft. Worth (TX),Cambridge (UK), etc.
* The Anita Pallenberg Story, 2000, 77 minutes. Featuring Laura Cottingham as Mick Jagger (and Brian Jones) along with a star studded cast of international fine art flunkies including art dealers Colin de Land and Gavin Brown; collector and soft ware genius Peter Norton ("Norton Utilites"); gallery artists from Europe and the USA including, in the title role, Cosima von Bonin.
* Various Shorts, since 1992, including special features on Manhattan Cable and additional gallery and museum works.
External links
* [http://andrejkoymasky.com/liv/fam/bioc4/cott2.html biography] at andreykoymasky.com
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
