Katz, Vincent 1960-

views updated

KATZ, Vincent 1960-

PERSONAL: Born June 4, 1960, in NY; son of Alex (a painter) and Ada (a biologist and theatrical producer) Katz; married Vivien Bittencourt (a photographer and video maker), November 16, 1987. Education: University of Chicago, B.A., 1982; St. John's College, Oxford, B.A. and M.A., 1985.

ADDRESSES: Home—211 W. 19th St., 5th Fl., New York, NY 10011. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer. Print Collector's Newsletter, New York, NY, associate editor, 1990–92; writer, 1992–. Libellum (book publisher), editor. Exhibitions: Curator of exhibits of the work of Rudy Burckhardt in Valencia, Spain, 1998, and New York, NY, 2000; curator of "Black Mountain College: Una Aventura Americana," Madrid, Spain, 2002.

AWARDS, HONORS: Rome Prize fellow, American Academy in Rome, 2001–02.

WRITINGS:

POETRY COLLECTIONS

Rooms, Open Window Books (New York, NY), 1978.

A Tremor in the Morning, illustrated with linocuts by Alex Katz, Peter Blum (New York, NY), 1986.

Cabal of Zealots, edited by Francesco Clemente and Raymond Foye, Hanuman Books (New York, NY), 1988.

New York Hello!, photographs by Rudy Burckhardt, Ommation Press (Chicago, IL), 1990.

Acid, Soncino Press (New York, NY), 1993.

Boulevard Transportation, photographs by Rudy Burckhardt, Tibor de Nagy Editions (New York, NY), 1997.

Pearl, illustrated by Tabboo!, PowerHouse Books (New York, NY), 1998.

Understanding Objects, Hard Press (West Stockbridge, MA), 1999.

Work represented in anthologies, including Hunt Slonem: Exotica, Edizioni d'Arte Fratelli Pozzo (Moncalieri, Turin, Italy), 1997.

OTHER

(Translator from Latin) Sextus Propertius, Charm, Sun and Moon (Los Angeles, CA), 1995.

Rudy Burckhardt (monograph), Institut Valencia d'Art Modern (Valencia, Spain), 1998.

Life Is Paradise: The Portraits of Francesco Clemente (monograph), PowerHouse Books (New York, NY), 1999.

(Editor) Black Mountain College: Experiment in Art, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 2002.

Janet Fish: Paintings, Abrams (New York, NY), 2002.

(Translator) Sextus Propertius, The Complete Elegies of Sextus Propertius, Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ), 2004.

Author (with Vivien Bittencourt) of a short film, "Rudy Burckhardt: Man in the Woods," Checkerboard Film Federation (New York, NY), 2004. Contributor to books, including Red Grooms: The Graphic Work, by Walter Knestrick, Abrams (New York, NY), 2001; Aerial Muse: The Art of Yvonne Jacquette, edited by Hilarie Faberman, Hudson Hills Press (New York, NY), 2002; and Rudy Burckhardt, by Phillip Lopate, Abrams (New York, NY), 2004. Contributor of poetry, interviews, and reviews to periodicals, including Broadway, New Censorship, New American Writing, World of Interiors, Exquisite Corpse, House and Garden, Aperture, ARTnews, and Art in America. Editor, Vanitas.

SIDELIGHTS: Vincent Katz once told CA: "I have different motivations for different types of writing. For art criticism, I have a starting point, which is my reaction to a work of art. Translation is similar, in that I'm reacting to a work of literature. There is an immense pleasure in getting inside another poet's mechanism for making a poem work. It's a little like puzzle-solving: there often seems to be one correct solution. I write poetry to amuse myself, or to attempt a kind of poetic construction. Writing a poem, or part of a poem, can add meaning to a day, can preserve some aspect of it, much as I imagine a painter may feel having painted a certain day's light on a specific sight.

"On the other hand, I write for myself—for fun, or in serious moments—to make sense of situations. I make a conscious effort, when I write poetry, to have my current poetry stand in a certain relation to other poetry. Sometimes it is referential, but more often I am attempting to achieve a new style.

"My daily life can influence my work—when I'm lucky, that is composed of people I enjoy, my family, my dog, familiar sights and sounds. Travel opens my senses, and the relief from daily routines provides an additional impetus to write.

"I have written poetry on the move, in a little notebook that I sometimes carry with me—in the subway, the library, or at a movie. Pearl was written entirely in one notebook, at home, usually very early in the morning, in varying states of consciousness, with one rule: I didn't allow myself to read anything I'd written until I reached the end of the notebook. In this way I achieved a much more varied texture that I would have been able to do with continuous conscious control.

"What has inspired me? Life, love, the city and its people, who are ultimately humane and forgiving."

Katz later added: "Now, I tend to write poetry that is less predicated on daily events and more involved with interior monologue. I have written several plays recently as well. One, Hippolyta, is a short play based on the Hippolytus story, with the young hunter being female instead of male. I have done several collaborations with artists, including a large woodcut with my father, and a book of poems I wrote in Rome, with watercolors by Francisco Clemente.

"I have begun editing a journal Vanitas, and a series of small books under the imprint Libellum. Part of the impetus behind both is to counter the mean-spirited, destructive policies of our current government and the ideas that give its members their support.

"Now, I tend to write poetry that is less predicated on daily events and more involved with interior monologue. I have written several plays recently. One, Hippolyta, is a short play based on the Hippolytus story, with the young hunter being female instead of male. I have done several collaborations with artists, including a large woodcut with my father, and a book of poems I wrote in Rome with watercolors by Francesco Clemente."