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| Group Material | |
|---|---|
| Name | Group Material |
| Formation | 1979 |
| Founders | Jenny Holzer, Julie Ault, Douglas Crimp |
| Location | New York City |
| Fields | Contemporary art, Collaborative art |
| Notable works | The People's Series, 1985–1988 |
Group Material Group Material was an artist collective active primarily in New York City from 1979 through the early 1990s that produced exhibitions, publications, and public projects combining visual art, political activism, and curatorial practice. The collective included artists, critics, and curators who organized collaborative shows and interventions addressing issues such as mass media, public policy, human rights, and urban life. Their work intersected with institutions, community groups, and grassroots organizations, influencing subsequent practices in socially engaged and institutional critique art.
Group Material functioned as a fluid collective composed of practitioners from diverse backgrounds including artists, writers, and curators such as Jenny Holzer, Julie Ault, Douglas Crimp, Kevin Hamilton, Ursula Meyer, and Kent Monkman (note: membership shifted over time). The collective produced exhibitions, printed matter, and public programs that linked art to contemporary political events like the Iran–Contra affair, the AIDS crisis, and debates following the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Their model combined gallery exhibitions with community collaborations involving organizations such as ACT UP, Lesbian Avengers, and neighborhood groups in Lower Manhattan.
Formed in 1979, the collective emerged amid a New York art scene shaped by venues like Artists Space, P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, and the Dia Art Foundation. Early projects responded to cultural shifts associated with the administrations of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and to global events including the Soviet–Afghan War and the Nicaraguan Revolution. Through the 1980s Group Material staged exhibitions at commercial galleries and alternative spaces, collaborated with media outlets such as The Village Voice and Artforum, and participated in larger exhibitions linked to institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and Whitney Museum of American Art. The collective’s later activities intersected with international biennials and projects that engaged with debates sparked by the Gulf War and the rise of neoliberal policy.
The collective employed a hybrid of printed matter, photographic works, posters, textiles, and found objects sourced from locations including SoHo lofts, community centers in Harlem, and flea markets in Brooklyn. Materials often included mass-produced ephemera such as newspapers and commercial posters from publishers like The New York Times and Time (magazine), along with archival documents from institutions such as the Library of Congress and private collections related to social movements. Collaboration with printers and fabricators in areas like Chinatown, Manhattan and DUMBO supported production of large-scale banners and multimedia installations.
Group Material’s works combined the visual language of advertising and journalism with strategies of montage and juxtaposition drawn from predecessors like Dada and Pop Art. Characteristics included text-heavy displays, modular exhibition formats, and participatory components resembling tactics used by groups such as Guerrilla Art Action Group and The Art Workers Coalition. Their displays emphasized legibility, didactic sequencing, and the integration of community-sourced artifacts, producing works that functioned simultaneously as exhibitions, archives, and public forums.
Projects addressed pressing social and political topics, functioning as platforms for advocacy, education, and archival recovery. Exhibitions explored subjects including immigration debates exemplified by policy shifts after the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (contextualized through local cases), public health crises like the AIDS epidemic, and human rights concerns linked to conflicts such as the El Salvador Civil War. Group Material’s formats were adopted by subsequent curatorial practices in museums and community arts programs associated with institutions like The New School and Cooper Union, influencing pedagogy and community engagement models.
Production methods combined in-house fabrication with collaborations with commercial printers, sign-makers, and textile shops. Works were assembled using processes typical of graphic production of the era: offset printing at shops in Lower East Side print houses, vinyl lettering by sign shops in Chinatown, Manhattan, and hand-stitched textile work produced with seamstresses from local cooperatives. Logistics for touring exhibitions linked to partners such as Walker Art Center and Institute of Contemporary Arts required crates, conservation assessments, and liaison with transportation firms servicing major museums.
Materials used—inks, adhesives, varnishes, and photographic chemicals—posed occupational and environmental concerns consistent with art production practices of the late 20th century. Conservation and handling protocols later addressed exposure risks documented by agencies like the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and municipal environmental programs in New York City Health Department. Contemporary retrospectives have engaged conservation specialists from institutions such as the Getty Conservation Institute to mitigate degradation of paper and textile components and to ensure safe stabilization of volatile compounds in archival materials.
Category:Art collectives