Susan Subtle (December 30, 1941 – May 11, 2020) was an American curator, columnist, and product developer; known for her curatorial work focusing on

recycled Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

and

outsider art Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

. Subtle lived and worked in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland and Emer ...

until her death in May, 2020.

Early life and education

Raised in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, Subtle studied at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

before receiving a degree in economics in 1963 from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. After college, Subtle moved to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

for graduate studies where she studied the labor politics of Yugoslavia. She did not complete her thesis and moved to

, in 1967.

Work and life

Subtle's work spanned many subjects from

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the p ...

, entertainment, west coast art, outsider art, innovative products, to general oddities. Subtle wrote columns and articles for numerous publications including "Best Bets" in ''New West Magazine'', "The Subtle Shopper" and "Please Mr. Postman" in the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', as well as other publications including the ''

LA Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'', ''

Elle Decor ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the wo ...

'', ''

NY Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily newspaper, daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip ...

'', ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', ''Ms.'' (magazine), and '' Oui Magazine''. In 1970, horse breeder Edwin Janss Jr named a foal after Subtle. The daughter of Hot Curl and Hillary, Susan Subtle had 48 Starts, 9 Wins, 6 Places, 7 Shows, and career earnings of $77,913. Susan Subtle, the horse, retired in 1977. In 1993,

Tony Warren Anthony McVay Simpson (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016) publishing under pen name Tony Warren, was an English television screenwriter and actor, best known for creating the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. He created other television dramas a ...

authored a book, ''Foot of the Rainbow'', and dedicated it to Susan Subtle, the human.

Curation

Hello Again!

Subtle made her curatorial debut in 1997 with Hello Again!, a recycled art focused show, opening at the

Oakland Museum The Oakland Museum of California or OMCA (formerly the Oakland Museum) is an interdisciplinary museum dedicated to the art, history, and natural science of California, located adjacent to Oak Street, 10th Street, and 11th Street in Oakland, Cali ...

. The show would travel, going on to show at Los Angeles Municipal Gallery, Texas International Museum of Art & Science,

Vancouver Museum The Museum of Vancouver (MOV) (formerly the Vancouver Museum and prior to that the Centennial Museum) is a civic history museum located in Vanier Park, Vancouver, British Columbia. The MOV is the largest civic museum in Canada and the oldest museum ...

, and the

McColl Center for Art + Innovation McColl Center (formerly McColl Center for Art + Innovation) is an artist residency and contemporary art space located at 721 North Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. The show's core elements remained the same as it traveled with Subtle curating in additional art made by local artists. Chocolatier Joseph Schmidt Confections donated broken bits of chocolates which were served at the opening in Oakland in dialogue with the recycled nature of the show.

Mildred Howard Mildred Howard (born 1945) is an African-American artist known primarily for her sculptural installation and mixed-media assemblages.Baker, Kenneth"Artist Intrigued by Interaction of Materials, Ability to Revise at Will", ''San Francisco Chronicl ...

Mark Bulwinkle Mark Bulwinkle (born 1946, Waltham, Massachusetts) is an American graphic artist and sculptor who works in cut steel. He received a BFA from the University of Pittsburgh in 1968 and an MFA in printmaking from the San Francisco Art Institute in 19 ...

Clayton Bailey Clayton George Bailey (March 9, 1939 – June 6, 2020), was an American artist who worked primarily in the mediums of ceramic and metal sculpture. Early life and education Clayton George Bailey was born on March 9, 1939 in Antigo, Wisconsin. In ...

, Claire Graham,

Jan Yager Jan Yager (born 1951) is an American artist who makes mixed media jewelry. She draws inspiration from both the natural world and the lived-in human environment of her neighborhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, emphasizing that art is a reflect ...

Leo Sewell Leo Sewell (born ) is an American " found object" artist. His assemblages of recycled material are in over 40 museums and in private collections worldwide. Biography Sewell was born in Annapolis, Maryland, United States and moved to Philadelphia ...

, Remi Rubel,

Pippa Garner Pippa Garner (born 1942 outside of Chicago, Illinois), formerly known as Philip Garner, is an artist and author known for making parody forms of consumer products as well as custom bicycles and automobiles. Notable publications written by Garner i ...

, and Valerie Hardy Raven were some of the featured artists of the show. The show was reviewed in

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 ...

as a "Real Life Rock Greil Marcus’" Top Ten.

We Are Not Alone: Angels and Other Aliens

Working as a guest curator with the

American Visionary Art Museum The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is an art museum located in Baltimore, Maryland's Federal Hill neighborhood at 800 Key Highway Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs fro ...

and founder Rebecca Hoffberger, Subtle organized a show focused on artists who experienced the extraterrestrial in some shape and form. "We Are Not Alone" presented over 90

outsider artist Outsider art is art made by self-taught or supposedly naïve artists with typically little or no contact with the conventions of the art worlds. In many cases, their work is discovered only after their deaths. Often, outsider art illustrates e ...

s—some who claimed to be abducted by aliens and some claiming to be visited by them and some who were outsider artists with extraterrestrial art or personality. The show ran at the museum in Baltimore, MD from Oct 2nd 1999 to Sept 3. 2000. The artists included

Adolf Wölfli Adolf Wölfli (February 29, 1864 – November 6, 1930) (occasionally spelled Adolf Woelfli or Adolf Wolfli) was a Swiss artist who was one of the first artists to be associated with the Art Brut or outsider art label. Early life Wölfli was born ...

, Albert Louden, Anselme Boix-Vives, Chris Hipkiss, August Walla, Raymond Materson, Ionel Talpazan, Edmund Monseil, Eugene Gabritschevsky, Francois Burland, Friedrich Schröder Sonnenstern, Johann Garber,

Madge Gill Madge Gill (1882–1961), born Maude Ethel Eades, was an English outsider and visionary artist. Early years Born 19 January 1882, an illegitimate child in East Ham, Essex, (now Greater London), she spent much of her early years in seclusion ...

Oswald Tschirtner Oswald Tschirtner (1920 in Perchtoldsdorf, Lower Austria – 20 May 2007) was an artist from Austria who had schizophrenia. He was known by the "pseudonym" of O.T. Life Oswald Tschirtner was raised by an aunt and uncle in Vienna, and being ...

, Perifimou, Raphaël Lonné, Salvatore Bonura, Sava Sekulic. Scottie Wilson,

Louis Soutter Louis Adolphe Soutter (4 June 1871 – 20 February 1942) was a Swiss painter and graphic artist in the Outsider art, Art Brut style, who produced most of his work while under care in a hospice. He also worked as a musician, playing the violin. B ...

Albert Hoffman (artist) Albert Hoffman (1915–1993) was an American painter and wood carver. Never progressing beyond a sixth-grade education, Hoffman earned his living operating a junkyard in Galloway Township, New Jersey, near Atlantic City.Kent, Bill"Obscure No More" ...

, Albert Zahn house, Alyne Harris, Andrea Badami, Annie Hooper, Bruno Sowa, Charley Kinney, Earnest Patton,

Elijah Pierce Elijah Pierce (1892-1984) was a 20th-century wood carver. Pierce was the youngest in his family born from a former slave on a farm in Baldwyn, Mississippi on March 5, 1892. He began carving at a young age using a pocket knife. He first started ...

, Frank Jones, Homer Green,

Howard Finster Howard Finster (December 2, 1916 – October 22, 2001) was an American artist and Baptist minister from Georgia. He claimed to be inspired by God to spread the gospel through the design of his swampy land into Paradise Garden, a folk art scul ...

, Jake McCord, Lorenzo Scott,

Minnie Evans Minnie Eva Evans (December 12, 1892 – December 16, 1987) was an African American artist who worked in the United States from the 1940s to the 1980s. Evans used different types of media in her work such as oils and graphite, but started with us ...

, Myrtice West, R. A. Miller, Raymond Coins,

Sam Doyle Thomas "Sam" Doyle (1906–1985) was an African-American artist from Saint Helena Island (South Carolina), Saint Helena Island, South Carolina. His colorful paintings on sheet metal and wood recorded the history and people of St. Helena’s Gull ...

Shane Campbell Shane Darryl Campbell is a Canadian Welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and a former W.K.A. Muay Thai World Champion. Campbell is also the current WMA World Pro Muay Thai Champion, Aggression MMA World Champion, and Unified ...

Sister Gertrude Morgan Sister Gertrude Morgan (April 7, 1900 – July 8, 1980) was a self-taught African American, African-American artist, musician, poet and preacher. Born in LaFayette, Alabama, she relocated to New Orleans in 1939, where she lived and worked until h ...

, Stanislaw Mika, Sulton Rogers, Victor Joseph Gatto, Albert "Kid" Mertz, Darwin Bill,

James Castle James Castle may refer to: * James Castle (politician) (1836–1903), U.S. Representative from Minnesota * James Bicknell Castle (1855–1918), businessman in Hawaii * James Charles Castle (1899–1977), American artist-bookmaker from Idaho * Jam ...

, Laure Pigeon, Lucy Estrin,

, Margarete Held, Miss Lucy, Raphael Lonne, St. Eom, William Shaw,

Devon Smith Devon Sheldon Smith (born 21 October 1981 in Hermitage, Grenada) is a cricketer who features as a opening or top order left-handed batsman. Smith has played for the West Indies and the Windward Islands in regional tournaments. Smith also hold ...

, Charles W. Hutson, David Butler, Derek Webster, Dwight Mckintosh,

Eggert Magnusson Eggert (or Egert) is a Germanic given name and surname, deriving from the root '' *agi'' meaning "edge". As a given name, Eggert/Egert is masculine and is primarily used in Iceland. This surname is common among Ashkenazi Jewish families. Notable p ...

, Ernest "Popeye" Reed, Eugene Von Bruenchienhein, Florence Saville Berryman,

Grant Wallace Grant Wallace (1868–1954) was an American journalist, artist, screenwriter, Esperantist and occultist. He wrote short stories and screen plays, including two black and white silent movies. Early life Grant Wallace was born on February 10, 18 ...

, Helen Kossoff,

Henry Darger Henry Joseph Darger Jr. (; April 12, 1892 – April 13, 1973) was an American writer, novelist and artist who worked as a hospital custodian in Chicago, Illinois. He has become famous for his posthumously discovered 15,145-page fantasy novel ma ...

, Jack Zwirz, Jake McCord, Jon Serl, Justin McCarthy, Louis Monza, Alexander A. Maldonado,

, Ned Cartledge, Nellie Mae Roe, Joao Cosme Felix,

Norbert Kox Norbert Kox (August 6, 1945 – December 29. 2018) was an American outsider artist whose paintings display an unusual approach to religious iconography. Life Norbert Kox was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1945. While a member of the Outlaw ...

, Pauline Simon, Raymond Materson, Simon Sparrow,

Ulysses Davis Ulysses Davis (November 5, 1872 – October 1, 1924), was an American film director. He directed 86 films between 1911 in film, 1911 and 1916 in film, 1916, some at Champion Film Company. He is probably best remembered today for having direc ...

, Victor Joseph Gatto, William Hawkins, Bessie Harvey, Andrew J. Epstein, Betty Andreasson Luca, Clarence and Grace Woolsey, Charles A.A. Dellschau,

Gene Watson Gary Gene Watson (born October 11, 1943) is an American country music singer. He is most famous for his 1975 hit "Love in the Hot Afternoon," his 1981 No. 1 hit " Fourteen Carat Mind," and his signature 1979 song "Farewell Party." Watson's lo ...

, Juanita Rodgers, Ken Grimes,

Paul Laffoley Paul Laffoley (August 14, 1935 – November 16, 2015) was an American visionary artist and architect from Boston, Massachusetts. Biography Paul Laffoley was born on August 14, 1935, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to an Irish Catholic family ...

, Peter Charlie Besharo, Lyle Still, and

Uri Geller Uri Geller ( ; he, אורי גלר; born 20 December 1946) is an Israeli-British illusionist, magician, television personality, and self-proclaimed psychic. He is known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other ill ...

Return Engagement

In 2002, Subtle curated a show at Copia: The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts titled "Return Engagement". This show referenced the content of Subtle's previous shows, presenting outsider and extraterrestrial art.

Writing

Subtle began her journalism career in 1974 with an article in ''

Esquire Magazine ''Esquire'' is an American men's magazine. Currently published in the United States by Hearst Communications, it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under t ...

'' titled "Their Arts Belong to Dada" featuring

west coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

fashion and art. The article featured artists

Lowell Darling Lowell Darling is an American conceptual artist most notable for a series of performances in the 1970s that included nailing cities to the earth, conducting "urban acupuncture" by placing oversize needles in the ground, and stitching up the San A ...

Anna Banana Anna Banana (born February 24, 1940 as Anne Lee Long in Victoria, British Columbia) is a Canadian artist known for her performance art, writing, and work as a small press publisher. She has been described as an "entrepreneur and critic", and p ...

Ant Farm (group) Ant Farm was an avant-garde architecture, graphic arts, and environmental design practice, founded in San Francisco in 1968 by Chip Lord and Doug Michels (1943-2003). Ant Farm's work often made use of popular icons in the United States, as a stra ...

, Futzie Nutzle, Dr. Brute & Lady Brute
Mr. Peanut
Irene Dogmatic,

AA Bronson AA Bronson (born Michael Tims in Vancouver in 1946) is an artist. He was a founding member of the artists' group General Idea, was president and director of Printed Matter, Inc., and started the NY Art Book Fair and the LA Art Book Fair. Earl ...

, Captain Video, Flakey Rrose Hip, Henry Humble, The Gluers and Dickens Bascom, Don and Rae Davis, and T.R. Uthco. In 1975, Subtle wrote an article titled: "

The Rockettes The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Rad ...

: 50 Years Old And Still Kicking" published by ''

Ms. Magazine ''Ms.'' is an American feminist magazine co-founded in 1971 by journalist and social/political activist Gloria Steinem. It was the first national American feminist magazine. The original editors were Letty Cottin Pogrebin, Mary Thom, Patricia Ca ...

'', photographed by

Bud Lee Bud Lee (born as Cameron Lyndon Bennett in September 1955 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American adult film director who is an AVN Hall of Fame member and also works as an agent fo101 Modeling, Inc Lee was married to adult film actresses Hya ...

and designed by

Bea Feitler Beatriz Feitler (February 5, 1938 – April 8, 1982) was a Brazilian designer and art director best known for her work in ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Ms.'', ''Rolling Stone'' and the premiere issue of the modern '' Vanity Fair''. Early life, educa ...

. From 1975 to 1982, Subtle wrote articles and columns for '' New West Magazine''. From 1982 to 1985, Subtle wrote columns for the ''

''. In 1990, Subtle featured

Creative Growth Art Center Creative Growth Art Center is a nonprofit arts organization, based in Oakland, California, that provides studios, supplies, and gallery space to artists with developmental, mental, and physical disabilities. It is one of the oldest and largest art ...

in the October issue of ''

'' in an article tilted "Aimed Straight From The Heart". She reviewed the organization highly, comparing the style of art made at creative growth to outsider, primitive,

naive Naivety (also spelled naïvety), naiveness, or naïveté is the state of being naive. It refers to an apparent or actual lack of experience and sophistication, often describing a neglect of pragmatism in favor of moral idealism. A ''naïve'' may b ...

, brut, and early-American folk art. Publications contributed to: *''California Living'' *''California Magazine'' *'' Des Moines Skywalker'' *''

'' *''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' *''

Metropolitan Home ''Metropolitan Home'' is an interior design magazine published by Hearst Magazines. The magazine focuses on "high-end modern design and interiors, blended with intelligent reporting, to connect with a progressive reader mindset." History and prof ...

'' *''

'' *''New Dawn'' *''New West Magazine'' *''

NY Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in Ta ...

Sunday Magazine'' *''

'' *'' Oui Magazine'' *''

'' *''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst, and flagship of the Hearst Corporat ...

'' * San Francisco Garbage Company Newsletter *''

San Jose Mercury ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidiar ...

'' *''

WomenSports ''womenSports'' magazine was the first magazine dedicated to women in sports. It was launched in close conjunction with Billie Jean King's Women's Sports Foundation and each issue of the magazine contained a two-page article written by the executi ...

'' *''

Working Woman Since the industrial revolution, participation of women in the workforce outside the home has increased in industrialized nations, with particularly large growth seen in the 20th century. Largely seen as a boon for industrial society, women in ...

'' Subtle contributed to three books. She originated, with Rod Kennedy, the concept for the book ''Atlantic City, 125 years of ocean madness: starring Miss America, Mr. Peanut, Lucy the Elephant, the High Diving Horse, and four generations of Americans cutting loose'' published in 1979. She co-wrote, with

Ruth Reichl Ruth Reichl (; born 1948), is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The New York Times'', Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and ...

and Ken Dollar, ''The Contest Book: 299 Unusual Contests You Can Enter!!!!!'' published in New York by Harmony in 1979. She co-wrote, with Michael Lester, ''How to have fun with your body'' with Illustrations by

Kim Deitch Kim Deitch (born May 21, 1944 in Los Angeles, California)Donahue, Don and Susan Goodrick, editors. Deitch bio, ''The Apex Treasuet of Underground Comics'' (Apex Novelties, 1974), p. 127. is an American cartoonist who was an important figure in t ...

, published by

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

in 1986.

Products

Subtle co-founded an art group and design company called Subtle Bananas with Valerie Hardy. They participated in exhibitions and designed business cards and stationery for clients. In 1974,

Susan Berman Susan Jane Berman (May 18, 1945 – December 23, 2000) was an American journalist and author. The daughter of mobster David Berman, she wrote about her late-in-life realization of her father's role in organized crime. In 2000, Berman was f ...

wrote an article in the ''SF Examiner'' featuring the company. After the Subtle Bananas company, Subtle founded the Subtle Corporation. The Subtle Corp developed many products with the most successful product being the Subtles eyeglass cords, which employ a variety of creatures to help you hang onto your glasses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subtle, Susan Product designers American art curators American women curators 1941 births American women columnists American columnists Writers from Atlantic City, New Jersey American women non-fiction writers Writers from Berkeley, California People from Berkeley, California 2020 deaths 21st-century American women