John McCracken (1934–2011) was a prominent American minimalist artist renowned for his unique approach to sculpture, blurring the lines between painting and three-dimensional art. His work, characterized by sleek, monochromatic forms and highly reflective surfaces, offers a compelling study for students interested in 20th-century art movements, particularly minimalism and the Light and Space movement. This article will delve into McCracken's artistic journey, his signature styles, and his lasting impact on the art world.
John McCracken: Early Life and Artistic Development
Born John Harvey McCracken in Berkeley, California, on December 9, 1934, McCracken's artistic journey began after serving four years in the United States Navy. He then enrolled at the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland, earning his B.F.A. in 1962 and completing much of his M.F.A. coursework. During his studies in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he developed his early sculptural work while officially studying painting.
McCracken worked alongside artists like John Slorp and Peter Schnore during this formative period. He started experimenting with increasingly three-dimensional canvases, which led him to create art objects using industrial techniques and materials. His early pieces were crafted from plywood, surfaced with fiberglass, and then covered in multiple layers of hand-mixed, reflective, and colorful resin, much like surfboard construction.
The Evolution of John McCracken's Minimalist Sculpture
In the late 1960s, McCracken moved to Los Angeles, working there until relocating to Santa Fe in the early 1990s. His West Coast work provided a distinct interpretation of the minimalist art being produced in New York. Along with his contemporaries, McCracken often incorporated colors and reflective surfaces that evoked the California sun, vibrant cars, and surfboards.
McCracken later became associated with the Light and Space movement, alongside artists such as James Turrell and Larry Bell. However, he often cited hard-edge abstract expressionists like Barnett Newman and minimalists like Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, and Carl Andre as his greatest influences. He aimed to create objects that were both "physical and real" and possessed a "puzzling reality" or "illusionistic reality," making them appear strongly yet also capable of disappearing.
The Signature Plank Series: An Icon of John McCracken's Art
In 1966, John McCracken introduced his most recognized sculptural form: the plank. These narrow, monochromatic, rectangular boards are designed to lean at an angle against a wall, bridging the gap between painting (the wall's domain) and sculpture (the three-dimensional realm of the viewer's physical space).
McCracken viewed the plank as existing "between two worlds: the floor representing the physical world... and the wall representing the world of the imagination, illusionist painting space, [and] human mental space." These sculptures are constructed from plywood forms, coated with fiberglass, and finished with layers of polyester resin. The polished resin surface references 1960s Southern California surfboard and Kustom Kar cultures, while titles often came from advertising slogans.
Beyond the Planks: Other Geometric Forms and Materials
In addition to the planks, McCracken also created:
- Wall pieces and free-standing sculptures in diverse geometrical shapes.
- Smaller forms on pedestals.
- Large-scale outdoor structures such as pyramids, ziggurats, and tetrahedrons, and occasionally crystals.
- Works in highly polished stainless steel and bronze.
- Pieces that effectively sliced planks into thin, repeating elements leaning against the wall in rows.
McCracken considered color as a "material" in his work. His bold, solid colors, often applied as monochromes (like bubble-gum pink, lemon yellow, deep sapphire, or ebony), and their highly polished finishes were designed to reflect the unique California light or mirror the observer, adding another dimension to the artwork. Sometimes, multiple colors were applied to create marbleized or molten lava-like effects. He meticulously hand-crafted each resin or lacquer work, sanding and polishing the monochrome surfaces many times to achieve a translucent reflectiveness.
He also utilized softly stained wood and, in later years, highly polished bronze and reflective stainless steel. His 2010 sculptures, for instance, were polished to such a high degree of reflectivity that they simultaneously activated their surroundings and appeared entirely camouflaged. A rarely seen series of paintings based on Hindu and Buddhist mandalas, created in 1971–1972, was exhibited posthumously in 2011.
John McCracken's Philosophy: Reality and Transcendence
McCracken's artistic philosophy deeply explored the interrelationships between the material world and design. He aimed for his pieces to be "physical and real" with a "primary reality," yet also possess a "puzzling reality" or "illusionistic reality." He liked objects that appeared strongly but also seemed to disappear, giving viewers a dual sense of seeing a tangible object and a hallucination or illusion. He emphasized that his works should be real but also allude to what is often called unreal.
He even related his pieces to ideas such as "life after death," viewing them as visitors from another world, hinting at dimensions of life beyond our visible reality. The polished, sensuous surfaces and reflections served to evoke this sense of being from "another world." McCracken's works, while non-referential in their minimalist essence (a concept influenced by artists like Pollock and Rothko), could still connect with and symbolize a wide array of human experiences. He believed a work could be primarily itself and, simultaneously, refer to or symbolize many things.
He conceptualized his pieces as individuals, almost like "consciousnesses" or "visitors from another world." One idea he often used was to make works that could appear to have been made by an "alien culture" from another galaxy or dimension, brought to Earth by a UFO. These would be "highly crafted" and "precise things that look unusual," differentiating themselves from everything else. This unusual quality was key to their "being real themselves," ensuring viewers encountered them without preconceived notions from similar objects.
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Exhibitions and Legacy of John McCracken
After a period of teaching at the University of Nevada and the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 1970s and early 1980s, McCracken received relatively little critical attention. However, a move to Los Angeles in 1985 with his wife, artist Gail Barringer, revitalized his career, leading to new bodies of work, gallery and museum exhibitions, and recognition from a younger generation.
McCracken had his first exhibition at the Nicholas Wilder Gallery in Los Angeles in 1965 and his first New York show at the Robert Elkon Gallery in 1966. His art has been featured in significant Minimalist sculpture exhibitions in the US and Europe, including "Primary Structures" at the Jewish Museum in 1966. A retrospective of his work was hosted by the Castello di Rivoli in Turin in 2011, the year of his death on April 8, 2011, in New York City.
Notable Works and Collections
McCracken's artworks are held in numerous permanent collections worldwide. Some examples include:
- No. 25, 1964, University Art Museum, University of California, Berkeley
- Blue Column, 1967, Los Angeles County Museum of Art
- The Absolutely Naked Fragrance, 1967, Museum of Modern Art, New York
- Naxos, 1965, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
- Green Plank, 1968, held in Glenstone's collection
- Red Plank, 1969, The Art Institute of Chicago
- Black Box #2, 1971, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada
His impact on contemporary art is undeniable, with his works achieving high auction prices, reflecting their enduring value. For instance, an eight-foot-tall Black Plank from 1972 sold for over $358,000 in 2007.
John McCracken: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is John McCracken known for?
John McCracken is best known for his minimalist sculptures, particularly his "plank" series, which consists of monochromatic, rectangular boards typically leaning against a wall. These works explore the boundary between painting and sculpture, using industrial materials and highly reflective surfaces.
What art movement was John McCracken associated with?
John McCracken was primarily associated with Minimalism. He was also part of the Light and Space movement in Southern California, and his work offered a unique West Coast interpretation of minimalist principles.
What materials did John McCracken use in his sculptures?
McCracken frequently used industrial materials such as plywood, fiberglass, and layers of hand-mixed polyester resin or lacquer. He also worked with highly polished stainless steel, bronze, and sometimes softly stained wood. These materials contributed to the sleek, reflective surfaces characteristic of his art.
Where did John McCracken teach?
John McCracken dedicated time to teaching at several institutions. These included the University of Nevada in Reno and Las Vegas, the University of California, Irvine, the University of California, Los Angeles, Hunter College in New York, and the College of Creative Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
What was John McCracken's artistic philosophy?
McCracken aimed to create works that were both physically real and possessed an "illusionistic reality," often describing them as being "between two worlds." He sought to differentiate his art from everyday objects, making them appear almost as if they were from "another world" or "alien culture," while also allowing them to connect with universal human experiences.