Gordon Matta-Clark

Gordon Matta-Clark – Studies at the Cornell University; participation in the Earth-Art exhibition

Gordon Matta-Clark was born Gordon Robert Echaurren Matta in New York on 22 June 1943. He grew up in a particularly creative environment; his father was the surrealist painter Roberto Matta, his mother the artist Anne Clark, whilst his godmother was Alexina Duchamo, the second wife of the painter and object artist Marcel Duchamp. His twin brother John Sebastian Matta also chose a career as artist, but took his own life in 1976 by jumping out of the window of his brother’s studio. Gordon Matta-Clark spent his childhood in New York, Paris and Chile, his father’s homeland, whilst his parents had separated shortly before the twins were born. From 1963 to 1968 he studied architecture at Cornell University and after graduating sought the acquaintance of the painter and land artist Robert Smithson as part of the Earth Art exhibition, and assisted the installation artist Dennis Oppenheim with the construction of two objects – one of which was the famous Beebe Lake Ice Cut. Matta-Clark himself contributed to the exhibition with a wall made of rubbish, the Garbage Wall. 

Deliberate deviation from the norm; experiments in many directions

Gordon Matta-Clark was repeatedly drawn to Paris where he studied literature for a short time at the Sorbonne. During the May riots in 1968, he met the leftist revolutionary and artist Guy Debord and was inspired in his work by his theories, whilst Jacques Derrida and Deconstructivism also exerted an influence on Matta-Clark. In 1971, he decided to add the name Clark to his own to distinguish himself from his father, and in other respects, too, the artist greatly valued independence and was not content to stroll along well-trodden paths. Instead, he relied on a wide-ranging balancing act between photography, film, painting, sculpture, collage, and performance art; a deliberate versatility that was largely thanks to his encounter with Robert Smithson. In 1974, Matta-Clark climbed a clock tower in New York where water was pouring out of its clock hand, and took an extended shower before the eyes of an aghast public. 

Foundation of the Food event restaurant; fight over the Cuttings

Gordon Matta-Clark founded the restaurant Food with Tina Girouard and Carl Goodden, which the artist ran and managed alone. It was planned as a celebration of the open kitchen, experiential dining with new recipes and exotic ingredients. The restaurant quickly gained a good reputation and became a popular meeting point for local artists, including the Philip Glass Ensemble, members of the experimental theatre Mabou Mones, and dancers of the Grand Union. Gordon Matta-Clark ran the restaurant until 1973. Among his most controversial actions were the Cuttings, in which he used a chainsaw to make cuts in buildings to expose their structures and provide a view into the inside. Because he sometimes forgot to obtain the permission of the owners, there were also legal disputes. In most cases, however, the buildings were already due for demolition, and Gordon Matta-Clark’s art actions were preserved for prosperity only through photographic and film documentation. 

Gordon Matta-Clark died of pancreatic cancer in New York on 27 August 1978. A few months earlier, knowing his death was imminent, he married his partner, Joan Crawford.