Mira Schor (born June 1, 1950) is an American artist, writer, editor, and educator, known for her contributions to critical discourse on the status of

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

and culture as well as to

feminist art Feminist art is a category of art associated with the late 1960s and 1970s feminist movement. Feminist art highlights the societal and political differences women experience within their lives. The hopeful gain from this form of art is to bri ...

history and criticism.

Early life and education

Mira Schor's parents

Ilya Ilya, Iliya, Ilia, Ilja, or Ilija (russian: Илья́, Il'ja, , or russian: Илия́, Ilija, ; uk, Ілля́, Illia, ; be, Ілья́, Iĺja ) is the East Slavic form of the male Hebrew name Eliyahu (Eliahu), meaning "My God is Yahu/ Jah. ...

and

Resia Schor Resia Schor (December 5, 1910 in Lublin, Poland – November 26, 2006 in New York City) was a Polish-born artist who lived and worked in New York City from 1941 until her death in 2006. Early life Resia Schor (née Ainstein) was born near Lu ...

were Polish-born artists who came to the US in 1941. Mira Schor and her older sister

Naomi Schor Naomi Schor (October 10, 1943 in New York City – December 2, 2001 in New Haven, Connecticut ) was an American literary critic and theorist. A pioneer of feminist theory for her generation, she is regarded as one of the foremost scholars of ...

(1943–2001), a noted scholar of

French Literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than Fr ...

and

Feminist theory Feminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, fictional, or philosophical discourse. It aims to understand the nature of gender inequality. It examines women's and men's social roles, experiences, interests, chores, and feminist ...

, were both educated at the

Lycée Français de New York The Lycée Français de New York (LFNY), commonly called the Lycée (in English, "The French High School of New York"), is an independent bilingual French school serving an international community of students from Nursery-3 to twelfth grade based ...

. After receiving her

Baccalauréat The ''baccalauréat'' (; ), often known in France colloquially as the ''bac'', is a French national academic qualification that students can obtain at the completion of their secondary education (at the end of the ''lycée'') by meeting certain ...

in 1967, Mira Schor studied

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

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 ...

(WSC

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

1970). During this time she worked as an assistant to

Red Grooms Red Grooms (born Charles Rogers Grooms on June 7, 1937) is an American multimedia artist best known for his colorful pop-art constructions depicting frenetic scenes of modern urban life. Grooms was given the nickname "Red" by Dominic Falcone ...

and

Mimi Gross Mimi Gross (born 1940) is a New York City born American artist. Biography Early life Gross was born in New York City in 1940. She is the daughter of the sculptor Chaim Gross. She grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan among the artist commu ...

. She attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) from 1972-1973, receiving a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting from in 1973. There she was a participant in the CalArts Feminist Art Program’s renowned project

Womanhouse ''Womanhouse'' (January 30 – February 28, 1972) was a feminist art installation and performance space organized by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro, co-founders of the California Institute of the Arts ( CalArts) Feminist Art Program and was ...

(1972). In the Feminist Art Program she studied with Miriam Shapiro and

Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...

. Later at CalArts she studied with

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-born sculptor Stephan Von Huene.

Career

Painting

Schor’s visual work balances political and theoretical concerns with formalist and material passions. Her work has included major periods in which gendered narrative and representation of the body has been featured, but the predominant focus of her work has been representation of language in

drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

and

. Her paintings have been foregrounded by these various disciplines: by painting, with shows such as "Slow Art: Painting in New York Now," at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center; by

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

, with exhibitions such as "Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago's 'Dinner Party' in Feminist Art History," at the Armand Hammer Museum; and by language, with shows such as "Poetry Plastique," a
Marianne Boesky Gallery
in New York. In 1969,

Yvonne Jacquette Yvonne Jacquette (born 1934) is an American painter and printmaker known in particular for her depictions of aerial landscapes, especially her low-altitude and oblique aerial views of cities or towns, often painted using a distinctive, pointill ...

lent her a book of Rajput painting and poetry, which she claimed had a "huge, huge influence" on her. In the 1980s and 90s, Schor's work was also exhibited in New York at the Edward Thorp Gallery, Horodner Romley Gallery, and in group exhibitions including at the Santa Monica Museum, the Armand Hammer Museum, The Neuberger Museum, and the Aldrich Museum. Her visual work and her writings are included in ''Art and Feminism'' (2001) and ''Sexual Politics: Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party in Feminist Art History'' (1996). In 2009 Schor exhibited her work a
Momenta Art
in

Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...

, in a

solo exhibition A solo show or solo exhibition is an exhibition of the work of only one artist. The artwork may be paintings, drawings, etchings, collage, sculpture, or photography. The creator of any artistic technique may be the subject of a solo show. Other s ...

entitled "Suddenly," marking a departure in Schor's work, from the depiction of language as image to the suggestion of its lack in a space where we expect to see it. A solo exhibition
"Mira Schor: Paintings From the Nineties To Now,"
was held a
CB1 Gallery
in Los Angeles, CA (November 20, 2010 – January 9, 2011) with
catalogue essay
by art historian

Amelia Jones Amelia Jones (born July 14, 1961) originally from Durham, North Carolina is an American art historian, art theorist, art critic, author, professor and curator. Her research specialisms include feminist art, body art, performance art, video art, i ...

. Schor exhibited her work at Marvelli Galler

in 2012. In 2009 painter and critic Robert Berlind wrote, "An intimist whose candor is akin to Emily Dickinson’s.". In a 2012 ''New York Times'' review, critic Roberta Smith wrote "Mira Schor’s small, sharp, quirky paintings have been thorns in the side of the medium for more than three decades now" and "Ms. Schor hardly tells the whole story of creative labor, but she lays out its essential elements: the isolation, reading, thinking and percolation that enable a Voice to emerge. At once poetic, lyrical and oddly real, her paintings give rare and sardonic visual form to the life, and the work, of the mind". Reviews of Schor's recent exhibitions have been published in

Art in America ''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...

and on Artforum.com.

Editor

Schor is the co-founder and co-editor, with

Susan Bee Susan Bee (born January 14, 1952) is an American painter, editor, and book artist, who lives in New York City. In 2015, "Photograms and Altered Photos from the 1970s" were exhibited at Southfirst Gallery in Brooklyn. She had one solo show at Acco ...

, of the art journal, M/E/A/N/I/N/G. ''M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists' Writings, Theory, and Criticism'', was published by Duke University Press in 2000. The archive of the journal was acquired by the Beinecke Library at Yale University in 2007. This respected artist-run editorial project continues a
M/E/A/N/I/NG Online

Writing and scholarship

Schor has written frequently on issues of gender representation, including "Backlash and Appropriation," a chapter of ''The Power of Feminist Art'', 1994, an historical overview of the

Feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for Radical politics, radical and Liberalism, liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality b ...

published by

Abrams Abrams may refer to: * Abrams (surname), a list of notable people with the surname * '' Abrams v. United States'', 250 U.S. 616 (1919), U.S. Supreme Court decision regarding free speech during times of war * M1 Abrams, main battle tank * Abrams, W ...

, "Patrilineage", 2002, republished in ''The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader'' edited by

, and on artists such as

Ida Applebroog Ida Applebroog (born November 11, 1929) is an American multi-media artist who is best-known for her paintings and sculptures that explore the themes of gender, sexual identity, violence and politics. Applebroog has been the recipient of multiple ...

, Mary Kelly, and

Ana Mendieta Ana Mendieta (November 18, 1948 – September 8, 1985) was a Cuban-American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist who is best known for her "earth-body" artwork. Born in Havana, Mendieta left for the United States in 1961. Earl ...

. Schor is the author of ''Wet: On Painting, Feminism, and Art Culture'', 1997, and co-founder and co-editor, with

, of '' M/E/A/N/I/N/G'' publishing 20 issues from 1986-1996. An online version of the journal
M/E/A/N/I/NG Online
was launched in 2000 (the final issue, no. 7 was published in 2016). ''M/E/A/N/I/N/G'' ''An Anthology of Artists’ Writings, Theory, and Criticism'', was published by Duke University Press in 2000. Schor has sometimes been criticized for taking an essentialist position in terms of feminism and many of her writings take on this debate. In her writings on paintings in essays such as "Figure/Ground," 2001, Schor is seen as making a case for the relevance of painting in a post-medium

visual culture Visual culture is the aspect of culture expressed in visual images. Many academic fields study this subject, including cultural studies, art history, critical theory, philosophy, media studies, Deaf Studies, and anthropology. The field of ...

and for arguing for the compatibility and mutuality of painterly and theoretical practices. In 2003, Schor produced a video documentary on her parents’ work, ''The Tale of the Goldsmith’s Floor'', originally created for the 2003 Brown University and ''differences'' conference, "The Lure of the Detail" Schor was awarded th
Creative Capital / Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant
to develo
A Year of Positive Thinking
a blog on contemporary art in 2009. In 2010, she delivered a lecture called "On Failure and Anonymity" for a collaborative project called '' #class'' at Winkleman Gallery in New York.

Teaching

She taught at

NSCAD NSCAD University, also known as the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design or NSCAD, is a public art university in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university is a co-educational institution that offers bachelor's and master's degrees. The un ...

in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

(1974–1978),

SUNY Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges ...

(1983–1985),

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...

(1991–1994), RISD (1999–2000), and was a resident artist at Skowhegan School in 1995. She has also taught in the Vermont College and MECA low-residency MFA programs as an artist/teacher, and at

School of Visual Arts The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design. History This school was started by ...

in the MFA in

Art Criticism Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art. Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. A goal of art criticism is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation but it is quest ...

and Writing Program in 2006. For over a decade she has taught in the Fine Arts Department at

Parsons The New School for Design Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...

Selected works

Books

*''A Decade of Negative Thinking: Essays on Art, Politics, and Daily Life'', 2010 *''The Extreme of the Middle: Writings of Jack Tworkov'', Yale University Press, 2009. *''M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists' Writings, Theory, and Criticism'', co-edited with Susan Bee, Duke University Press, 2000. *''Wet: On Painting, Feminism, and Art Culture'', Duke University Press, 1997.

Essays

*"I am not now nor have I ever been …"
Brooklyn Rail, February 2008
*"She Demon Spawn from Hell,
M/E/A/N/I/NG Online
2006 *"Backlash and Appropriation" in ''The Power of Feminist Art'',

Norma Broude Norma Broude (born 1 May 1941) is an American art historian and scholar of feminism and 19th-century French and Italian painting. She is also a Professor Emerita of art history from American University. Broude, with Mary Garrard, is an early lead ...

Mary Garrard Mary DuBose Garrard (born 1937) is an American art historian and emerita professor at American University. She is recognized as "one of the founders of feminist art theory" and is particularly known for her work on the Baroque painter Artemisia ...

, eds, Abrams, 1994 *"Patrilineage," Feminist Art Criticism issue, ''Art Journal'' 50, No. 2 Summer 1991. Anthologized in ''New Feminist Criticism: Art/Identity/Action'', HarperCollins, 1994 and ''The Feminism and Visual Culture Reader'', Routledge, 2003; Translated into Czech, Neviditelná zena, ''Antologie soucasneho americkeko mysleni o feminismu, dejinach a vizualite,'' Martina Pachmanova, ed., ''One Woman Press'', Prague, 2002. *"Figure/Ground," M/E/A/N/I/N/G #6, reprinted in ''Wet & M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology'', excerpted in Helen Reckitt & Peggy Phelan, ''Art and Feminism'', London & New York: Phaidon Press Ltd., 2001. *"Medusa Redux: Ida Applebroog and the Spaces of Postmodernity," ''Artforum'', March. Updated and published as catalogue essay for ''Ida Applebroog'', Orchard Gallery,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, 1993; excerpts included in ''Ida Applebroog, Are You Bleeding Yet?'', New York: La Maison Red, 2002. *"On Failure and Anonymity," ''Heresies'' 25, 1990. *"Appropriated Sexuality," M/E/A/N/I/N/G #1, 1986. Anthologized in ''Theories of Contemporary Art'', Richard Hertz, ed. (Prentice Hall, 1985), and republished in ''Wet'' and ''M/E/A/N/I/N/G: An Anthology of Artists' Writings, Theory, and Criticism''.

Grants and awards

*Creative Capital/Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant, 2009. *Residency at The Rockefeller Foundation’s Study and Center in Bellagio, Italy, 2001. *

College Art Association The College Art Association of America (CAA) is the principal organization in the United States for professionals in the visual arts, from students to art historians to emeritus faculty. Founded in 1911, it "promotes these arts and their understa ...

’s

Frank Jewett Mather Frank Jewett Mather Jr. (6 July 1868 – 11 November 1953) was an American art critic and professor. He was the first "modernist" (i.e., post-classicist) professor at the Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University. He was a direct desc ...

Award in Art Criticism, 1999. *

Pollock-Krasner Foundation The Pollock-Krasner Foundation was established in 1985 for the purpose of providing financial assistance to individual working artists of established ability. It was established at the bequest of Lee Krasner, who was an American abstract expression ...

Grant, 1997. *Guggenheim Fellowship in Creative Arts, 1992. *The Space Program of The Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, 1992. *

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, Visual Arts Fellowship in Painting, 1985. *Inducted as Academician,

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

, 2017. * Women’s Caucus for Art Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019

Gallery

File:Mira Schor1.jpg, Mira Schor, 2007 File:Mira Schor Postcard 1976.jpg, Mira Schor, Postcard: August 29, 1976. Front side, ink and media on rice paper, 6" × 5", 1976 File:Mira Schor Blue Suddenly.jpg, Mira Schor, Blue Suddenly, oil on linen, 18"x25", 2005 File:Mira Schor Sign.jpg, Mira Schor, Sign, oil on linen, 12"x16", 2005 File:Mira Schor Portrait of my Brain.jpg, Mira Schor, Portrait of my Brain, oil on linen, 16"x12", 2007 File:Mira Schor Past Present And.jpg, Mira Schor, Past, Present, And, oil and gesso on linen, 12"x16", 2009

References

Bibliography

*Knechtel, Tom. "Mira Schor: WarCrawl," 2008, i
Critical Models vol.1
*Drucker, Johanna. ''Sweet Dreams: Contemporary Art and Complicity'', UChicago Press, 2006. 124-8, color plate 6. *Jones, Amelia. ''Sexual Politics''. UCLA at the Armand Hammer of Art and Cultural Center, UC Press, 2003. *Drucker, Johanna. ''The Century of Artists' Books'', Granary Books, 1995. *Duncan, Michael. "Reviews," ''Art in America'', April 1994. *Canning, Sue. "Reviews," ''Art Papers'', Volume 18, no. 1, January & February 1994. *Humphrey, David. "New York FAX," ''Art Issues'', no. 31, January/February 1994. *Phelan, Peggy. "Developing the Negative: Mapplethorpe, Schor, and Sherman" chapter of ''Unmarked'', Routledge, 1993. *Larson, Kay. "The Painting Pyramid," ''New York Magazine'', May 25, 1992. *Morgan, Robert C. "After The Deluge: The Return of the Inner Directed Artist," ''Arts Magazine'', March, 1992. Reprinted with reproduction in ''After the Deluge: Essays for Art in the Nineties''. New York: Red Bass, 1993.

External links

* http://www.miraschor.com/ * https://www.dukeupress.edu/a-decade-of-negative-thinking (Reviews)
M/E/A/N/I/N/G Online
Susan Bee and Mira Schor, Editors. * AIR, Art International Radio, now http://clocktower.org/about * (Ed.) ''The Extreme of the Middle: Writings of Jack Tworkov''.
Mira Schor and Jason Andrew in Conversation with Phong Bui, Brooklyn Rail, October 2009Mira Schor in Conversation with Will Fenstermaker, Brooklyn Rail, April 2019

Mira Schor’s Critical Annotations of the New York Times
PHOTO ESSAY by Valentina Di Liscia September 28, 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Schor, Mira 1950 births American people of Polish-Jewish descent American women painters American contemporary painters Jewish American artists American art critics Feminist theorists Jewish feminists Living people Frank Jewett Mather Award winners NSCAD University faculty Lycée Français de New York alumni American women journalists American women critics 21st-century American women artists