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In Remembrance: Milton Rogovin and John McCracken

May 3, 2011

Milton Rogovin (American, 1909–2011). Untitled [Buffalo, Drummer] from the series “Storefront Churches, 1958–1961,” 1960. Gelatin silver print, 9 7/8 x 7 15/16 inches (25.1 x 20.2 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Gift of the artist, 1978.

The Albright-Knox has organized two new installations in our 1962 Knox building in honor of two artists with works in our Collection who have recently passed away.

Milton Rogovin (American, 1909–2011), who lived in Buffalo for much of his life, traveled throughout the United States and the world, taking portraits of workers and their families and environments. One of his most acclaimed projects, The Forgotten Ones, features a series of sequential portraits taken over three decades documenting more than one hundred families residing on Buffalo’s impoverished Lower West Side.

John McCracken (American, 1934–2011) is best known for his sculptures of single planks covered in bold, high-gloss paint, which he felt challenged viewers’ sense of depth. McCracken began creating work during the 1960s movement known as the L.A. Look, creating works with sleek, polished surfaces and bold, monochromatic colors. He believed that art, which he referred to as “real magic,” had the power to change a person’s reality.

A selection of Rogovin’s photographs from the Albright-Knox’s Collection are on view in the AK café corridor. Works by McCracken, and several of the artists he inspired, are on view in the shop AK corridor.

You can view both installations for free this Friday, May 6, as part of M&T FIRST FRIDAYS @ THE GALLERY.

John McCracken (American, born 1934). Arrow, 1991. Polyester resin and fiberglass on wood, 21 1/2 x 230 x 14 inches (54.6 x 584.2 x 35.6 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery. Purchased in Memory of Bernard D. Welt, Barbara D. Bernheim and Ida Z. Welt, 2004.