John G. Hanhardt is an American author, art historian, and

curator A curator (from la, cura, meaning "to take care") is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the parti ...

of film and

media arts New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...

. Hanhardt was the Consulting Senior Curator for Media Arts at the

Smithsonian Museum of American Art The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

, where he developed exhibitions, collections, and archives in film and the media arts. He is considered to be one of the leading scholars on video artist

Nam June Paik Nam June Paik (; July 20, 1932 – January 29, 2006) was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the founder of video art. He is credited with the first use (1974) of the term "electronic super hi ...

Personal life

Hanhardt grew up in

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, New York. He received his bachelor's degree from the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

in 1967, and his master's degree and additional graduate work (ABD) in cinema studies from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1970. Hanhardt has written many books and in 2019 came out with a new book,''We Are in Open Circuits- Writings by Nam June Paik''

Career

Hanhardt’s expansive curatorial practice spans three decades. Hanhardt began his career in the department of Film and Video at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

. He then went on to establish the first Film and Media Arts collection at the Walker Art Museum. Following his success at the Walker, Hanhardt was appointed Curator and Head of the Film and Video department at the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

in 1974. At the Whitney, Hanhardt was the director of the New American Film and Video Series which surveyed independent film and the emergence of video as an art form. He is also responsible for developing the museum's

video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting ...

installation collection. In 1996, Hanhardt was appointed Senior Curator of Film and Media Arts at the

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

where he developed “its international exhibition program, as well as its video installation art collection." In 2006, he was appointed as the Consulting Senior Curator for Film and Media Arts and the

Nam June Paik Art Center Nam June Paik Art Center is an art gallery in Giheung-gu, Yongin, in the Seoul Capital Area, South Korea. It opened in 2008 and hosts both permanent and temporary exhibitions. It is named after the Korean American artist Nam June Paik, whose work ...

at the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

. In addition to his museum experience, Hanhardt has published, lectured, and taught extensively on film and media art. He has held adjunct teaching positions at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

, the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

, and

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...

.Miguel Angel Corzo ''Mortality Immortality?: The Legacy of 20th-Century Art,'' Getty Conservation Institute. 1999

Exhibitions curated

*Re-Visions: Projects and Proposals in Film and Video (1969) *Nam June Paik (1982) *Blam! The Explosion of Pop,

Minimalism In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

, and Performance 1958–1964 (1984) *The Films of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

(1988) *Video Art: Expanded Forms (1988) *

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

: Films (1989) *Co-curator, Image World: Art and Media Culture (1989–90) *Beat Culture and the New America: 1950–1965 (1995) *

Robert Frank Robert Frank (November 9, 1924 – September 9, 2019) was a Swiss photographer and documentary filmmaker, who became an American binational. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled ''The Americans'', earned Frank comparisons to a modern-da ...

: Moving Out (1995) *Project Director of the Andy Warhol Film Project (1988–present) *Nam June Paik: Global Visionary (2012) * Friendly Witnesses: The Worlds of Warren Sonbert (1999) with Jon Gartenberg

Publications

As a writer, critic, and editor, Hanhardt has been a contributor to numerous exhibition catalogues, journals, and other arts publications. He has written and co-written several books on

Korean American Korean Americans are Americans of Korean ancestry (mostly from South Korea). In 2015, the Korean-American community constituted about 0.56% of the United States population, or about 1.82 million people, and was the fifth-largest Asian Americans ...

video artist

, some of which include '' The Worlds of Nam June Paik'' (2003), '' Nam June Paik: Global Groove'' (2004), and '' Nam June Paik: Global Visionary'' (2012). He is the editor of Video Culture: A Critical Investigation (1986).

Awards

In 1993, Hanhardt was the recipient of the

Peter Norton Peter Norton (born November 14, 1943) is an American programmer, software publisher, author, and philanthropist. He is best known for the computer programs and books that bear his name and portrait. Norton sold his software business to Symantec ...

Family Foundation Curator's Grant for outstanding curatorial work.

References

External links

Interview with John G. HanhardtVimeo: John G. Hanhardt Talks About Video Art
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanhardt, John G American art curators Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Rochester alumni New York University alumni