Kim Beck
{{Short description|American artist (born 1970)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kim Beck
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1970}}
| birth_place = {{nowrap| U.S.}}
| nationality = American
| occupation = Artist, Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon School of Art
| notable_works = A Field Guide to Weeds, Space Available, A Flock of Signs
| education = Rhode Island School of Design, Brandeis University
| awards = Sharpe Foundation, MacDowell Colony; Yaddo; Ars Electronica; Heinz Endowments; International Studio & Curatorial Program
| website = {{URL|idealcities.com}}
}}
Kim Beck (born 1970, Colorado) is an American artist living and working in New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.{{cite web |url=http://art.thehighline.org/project/kimbeckspaceavailable/ |title=Space Available – High Line Art |publisher=Art.thehighline.org |date=March 4, 2011 |accessdate=2016-09-21 |archive-date=2016-09-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160923013429/http://art.thehighline.org/project/kimbeckspaceavailable/ |url-status=dead }} Beck works in drawing, sculpture, installation, photography, printmaking and multimedia, focusing her attention on subjects that might otherwise be overlooked. She is especially known for her artist's books and public artworks dealing with the subject of environment and landscape.
Beck's work has been reviewed by media such as Artforum,{{cite web|url=https://artforum.com/video/id=27680&mode=large&page_id=12 |title=High Line Art: Kim Beck, Space Available – artforum.com / video |publisher=Artforum.com |date= |accessdate=2016-09-21}} Art in America,{{cite web|last=Larkins |first=Zoe |url=http://www.artinamericamagazine.com/news-features/news/kim-beck-high-line/ |title=Kim Beck Riffs on Meatpacking Ads With Empty Signs – News – Art in America |publisher=Artinamericamagazine.com |date=March 1, 2011 |accessdate=2016-09-21}} Hyperallergic,{{cite web|url=http://hyperallergic.com/258018/at-pulse-miami-beach-plants-plants-everywhere/ |title=At Pulse Miami Beach, Plants, Plants Everywhere |publisher=Hyperallergic.com |date=December 2, 2015 |accessdate=2016-09-21}} KQED,{{cite web|author=...'s MenuOpen |url=https://www.pbs.org/video/2365686506/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160704044748/http://www.pbs.org/video/2365686506/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 4, 2016 |title=Watch Full Episodes Online of The Art Assignment on PBS | Surface Test – Kim Beck |publisher=Pbs.org |date=May 29, 2016 |accessdate=2016-09-21}} The New York Times,{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/19/arts/design/outdoor-sculpture-on-new-york-streets.html|title = Sculptural Surprises Grace the Streets|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 18 August 2011|last1 = Johnson|first1 = Ken}} and The Village Voice.{{cite web|last=Doll |first=Jen |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/news/skywriting-freaking-people-out-yesterday-was-just-art-6723458 |title=Skywriting Freaking People Out Yesterday Was Just Art |work=Village Voice |date=October 10, 2011 |accessdate=2016-09-21}}
Artist's books
- A Field Guide to Weeds, 2007{{Cite web|url=https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/37075|title = Kim Beck - A Field Guide to Weeds}}
- A Flock of Signs, 2014{{Cite web|url=https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/37108/|title = Kim Beck - A Flock of Signs}}
- Pavements, Potholes & Repairs, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.printedmatter.org/catalog/60088/|title = Kim Beck - Pavements, Potholes & Repairs}}
Public art commissions
=''Adjutant'', 2015=
Adjutant — a mural installed on the concrete wall beneath the 10th Street Bypass ramp for the Fort Duquesne Bridge in Pittsburgh, PA. The mural is composed of images of oversized common weeds using silhouettes in shades of black, gray and white.{{cite web |url=http://www.riverlifepgh.org/blog/mayor_peduto_riverlife_announce_public_art_project_for_downtown_riverfront/ |title=Riverlife News |publisher=Riverlifepgh.org |date=June 4, 2015 |accessdate=2016-09-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927110821/http://www.riverlifepgh.org/blog/mayor_peduto_riverlife_announce_public_art_project_for_downtown_riverfront/ |archive-date=September 27, 2016 |url-status=dead }} A team of some 150 volunteers organized by Riverlife Pittsburgh executed the work June 6–14, 2015, during the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. The mural is part of #TBD, a concept for public art projects to bring dramatic changes and attention to the downtown Allegheny riverfront underneath the Fort Duquesne Bridge.
In June 2020, this artwork was updated with a BLM mural and subsequent additions.{{Cite news |last=O'Driscoll |first=Bill |date=2020-06-10 |title=Downtown Pittsburgh's New 'Black Lives Matter' Mural Became A Work-In-Progress |url=https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2020-06-10/downtown-pittsburghs-new-black-lives-matter-mural-became-a-work-in-progress |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415153015/https://www.wesa.fm/arts-sports-culture/2020-06-10/downtown-pittsburghs-new-black-lives-matter-mural-became-a-work-in-progress |archive-date=2021-04-15 |access-date=2024-05-28 |work=WESA News}}
= Wildish, 2014=
Wildish was commissioned by the Mural Arts Program of Philadelphia.{{Cite web|url=https://www.muralarts.org/artworks/room-for-growth/wildish/|title = Wildish}}
= The Sky Is the Limit/NYC, 2011 =
The Sky Is the Limit/NYC was a temporary skywriting installation in New York City on October 10, 2011.{{cite web |url=http://art.thehighline.org/project/kimbeckskyisthelimit/ |title=The Sky Is the Limit – High Line Art |publisher=Art.thehighline.org |date=October 9, 2011 |accessdate=2016-09-21 |archive-date=2016-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160927090236/http://art.thehighline.org/project/kimbeckskyisthelimit/ |url-status=dead }}
= Space Available, 2011–2012 =
Space Available, was installed March 4, 2011 – January 2012 on rooftops along Washington Street, between West 13th Street and Gansevoort Street in [New York City]. Intended to be viewed from the High Line, the exhibition was commissioned by Friends of the High Line.
Selected awards
Beck has received awards from the Sharpe Foundation, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, MacDowell Colony,
International Studio & Curatorial Program,
Art Omi International Artists Residency,
Pollock-Krasner Foundation, and the
Exhibition and public collections
Beck has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in the US and abroad, and her work is displayed in numerous public collections.{{Cite web |title=Kim Beck |url=https://www.cmu.edu/steinbrenner/people/affiliates/kim-beck.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240528174938/https://www.cmu.edu/steinbrenner/people/affiliates/kim-beck.html |archive-date=2024-05-28 |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=Carnegie Mellon University}}
Professional affiliations
Beck is an associate professor in the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University.
References
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Category:Rhode Island School of Design alumni
Category:Rhode Island School of Design faculty
Category:Carnegie Mellon University faculty
Category:Brandeis University alumni