Cynthia Carr is an American writer who has contributed to a number of periodicals, including ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' and ''

Artforum ''Artforum'' is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art. The magazine is distinguished from other magazines by its unique 10½ x 10½ inch square format, with each cover often devoted to the work of an artist. Notabl ...

''. She often publishes under the byline C. Carr.

Biography

Carr graduated from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

in 1972 with an honors degree in English. She went on to work as a freelance writer for several years, and then as a staff writer for ''

'' from 1987 to 2003, where she specialized in arts coverage. "On Edge," her column for ''The Village Voice'', chronicled New York's downtown performance scene, including such then-emerging artists as

Linda Montano Linda Mary Montano (born January 18, 1942, Saugerties (town), New York, Saugerties, New York (state), New York) is an American performance artist. Early life Montano was raised in a devoutly Roman Catholic household, partly Irish and partly Itali ...

Tehching Hsieh Tehching (Sam) Hsieh (謝德慶; born 31 December 1950; Nan-Chou, Pingtung County, Taiwan) is a US performance artist of Taiwanese background. He has been called a "master" by fellow performance artist Marina Abramović. Early life Hsieh was one ...

Marina Abramović Marina Abramović ( sr-Cyrl, Марина Абрамовић, ; born November 30, 1946) is a Serbian conceptual and performance artist. Her work explores body art, endurance art, feminist art, the relationship between the performer and audienc ...

, and

Ulay Frank Uwe Laysiepen (; 30 November 1943 – 2 March 2020), known professionally as Ulay, was a German artist based in Amsterdam and Ljubljana, who received international recognition for his Polaroid art and collaborative performance art with long ...

. She also wrote about performance art and culture for ''

'', ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'', ''

Interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...

'' and ''

Mirabella ''Mirabella'' was a women's magazine published from June 1989 to April 2000. It was created by and named for Grace Mirabella, a former ''Vogue'' editor in chief, in partnership with Rupert Murdoch. It was originally published by News Corporati ...

''. Her 2012 biography of artist and AIDS activist

David Wojnarowicz David Michael Wojnarowicz ( (September 14, 1954 – July 22, 1992) was an American painter, photographer, writer, filmmaker, performance artist, songwriter/recording artist, and AIDS activist prominent in the East Village art scene. He incorp ...

, ''Fire in the Belly'', has been called one of the most important books of the year for its meticulous analysis of Wojnarowicz's prominent role at the intersection of gay history and art history in late 20th century America. The book won a

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

in 2013 in the category of Gay Memoir or Biography. In 2024, Carr will release ''

Candy Darling Candy Darling (November 24, 1944 – March 21, 1974) was an American actress, best known as a Warhol superstar and transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not ...

: Dreamer, Icon, Superstar,'' a biographical portrait of the

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the lat ...

icon and

Warhol superstar Warhol superstars were a clique of New York City personalities promoted by the pop artist Andy Warhol during the 1960s and early 1970s. These personalities appeared in Warhol's artworks and accompanied him in his social life, epitomizing his fam ...

Awards

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

(2007)

Books

*''Our Town: A Heartland Lynching, a Haunted Town, and the Hidden History of White America'' (2007) *''On Edge: Performance at the End of the Twentieth Century'' (2012) *''Fire in the Belly: The Life and Times of David Wojnarowicz'' (2012)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Cynthia Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Lambda Literary Award winners American art critics American biographers American women biographers American women journalists American women critics The Village Voice people 21st-century American women University of Iowa alumni