James Lee Byars

James Lee Byars
Born(1932-04-10)April 10, 1932
Detroit, Michigan, United States
DiedMay 23, 1997(1997-05-23) (aged 65)
Cairo, Egypt
Known forSculpture, performance
Notable workThe Death of James Lee Byars (1982/1994)
MovementConceptual art, performance art

James Lee Byars (April 10, 1932 – May 23, 1997)[1][2] was an American conceptual artist and performance artist specializing in installations and sculptures,[3] as well as a self-considered mystic.[4] He was best known for his use of personal esoteric motifs, and his creative persona that has been described as 'half dandified trickster and half minimalist seer'.[5] Byars was born Detroit, Michigan, and died in Cairo, Egypt.

Byars' notable performance works include The Death of James Lee Byars and The Perfect Smile, and in terms of multiple sculptures, the many letters he wrote that were composed as decorated sculptures.[6]

  1. ^ Roberta Smith (30 May 1997). "James Lee Byars, 65, Creator Of Art That Lived in a Moment". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Ken Johnson (June 19, 2014), The Man in the Gold Lamé Suit New York Times.
  3. ^ Francis Morrone (20 September 2007). "Notes From a Young Artist". The New York Sun. Review of James Lee Byars: The Art of Writing at the Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition principally comprises numerous letters or missives that the artist Byars sent to the MoMA curator Dorothy C. Miller beginning in 1959…
  4. ^ "James Lee Byars. The Table of Perfect. 1989". MoMA. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  5. ^ "Exhibition preview: James Lee Byars, Milton Keynes | Art and design". The Guardian. April 4, 2009. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  6. ^ Eleey, Peter (4 March 2005). "James Lee Byars". Frieze (89). Retrieved December 7, 2018.