Wednesday, August 15, 2007

ELIZABETH MURRAY

I just want to acknowledge the passing of a great artist.

Elizabeth Murray was an acquaintance, and the wife of an old friend, the poet and poetry entrepreneur, Bob Holman, owner of The Bowery Poetry Club.

From the first time I encountered Murray and her art, back when we were neighbors in “Tribeca” in the 1970s, I dug both.

Like her art, she was one of a kind. The term “strong woman” could have been coined for her, and talk about commitment to the work. She never seemed to waver, even when diagnosed with cancer.

You can read about her on the web—all the accolades and awards, the “MacArthur Genuis grant,” one of the only women artists to have a solo restrospective at The Museum of Modern Art, etc.—I just want to acknowledge her strength, and her example, which was inspiring to me, as was her work.

My condolences go out to her husband and children and extended family and friends.

And my gratitude goes out to Elizabeth Murray, for the work she created and left behind for those of us who didn’t know her well, or at all, to experience and share.

1 comment:

douglang said...

I am very saddened by Elizabeth Murray's death. I love her work, which I saw for the first time at the Corcoran, long ago. I rarely read newspapers, so I had not heard that she had died. I'm glad you did this, Michael. Thanks.