James Crump is an American film director, writer, producer, art historian and curator. His films include Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe; Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art; and Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco.Eric Gibson, Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art Review, Wall Street Journal October 5, 2015Stranger, Antonio Lopez 1970 win at DOC NYC by Daniele Alcinii in Realscreen, November 17 2017IMDb James Crump Awards
An art historian and curator, Crump is also the author, co-author and editor of books and has published in the fields of modern and contemporary art.Artforum, (December 2014), Michael Fried, Books: Nine Scholars, Curators, Writers, and Artists Choose the Year's Outstanding BooksJames Crump, Museum Exhibition Catalogues, Monographs, Artist's Projects, Curatorial Writings and Essays, artbook@ He has contributed to a host of art publications including ArtReview,James Crump, "To the Ends of the Earth," ArtReview, Vol. LIV, October 2004, pp. 79-85. Art in America,James Crump, "Photography: Visions the Eye Can't See," Art in America, Vol. 83, No. 3, March 1995, p. 61. ArtforumLaura Hoffmann, James Crump Discusses Troublemakers The Story of Land Art, Artforum, September 2, 2015 and Archives of American Art Journal for the Smithsonian Museum,James Crump, "Art of Acquisition: The Eye of Sam Wagstaff," Archives of American Art Journal, Vol. 46, No. 3/4 (2007), pp. 4-13 among others.
Career
Crump earned a Master of Arts and PhD in history of art respectively at Indiana University (1993) and University of New Mexico (1996). From 1997 to 2002, he was publisher of Arena Editions, an illustrated book publisher of photography and modern and contemporary art.Riza Cruz, "South by Southwest: Arena Draws a Crowd," Vanity Fair, October 2000, p. 332." From 2008 to 2013, Crump was chief curator and curator of photography at the Cincinnati Art Museum.Steve Rosen, James Crump Resigns as Cincinnati Art Museum Curator, City Beat, February 12, 2013 He has collaborated with a host of museums and galleries, including Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin,Walker Evans. Ein Lebenswerk, 25. Juli bis 9. November 2014 im Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin Hammer Museum, Los Angeles,James Welling: Monograph, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, September 29, 2013-January 12, 2014 the Grey Art Gallery of NYU,Review/Photographer; Another Side of a Life's Work, Elegantly Revealed, Charles Hagen, New York Times, September 24, 1993 Princeton University Art MuseumStarburst: Color Photography in America 1970-1980 @Princeton and Huis Marseille, Amsterdam.Walker Evans / Decade by Decade, Huis Marseille Museum voor Fotografie, 22 June 2013-1 September 2013 He has organized exhibitions or published books with James Welling,James Crump, James Welling: Monograph (New York: Aperture, 2013) Doug and Mike Starn,James Crump (ed.) Doug + Mike Starn: Gravity of Light (New York, Rizzoli, 2012 Nan Goldin,James Crump, Variety: Photographs by Nan Goldin (New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2009) Ross Bleckner, Lynn Davis, and the estates of Berenice Abbott, Robert Mapplethorpe,Miss Rosen, "Remembering Robert Mapplethorpe Through Stories From Those Who Knew Him," AnotherMan, January 24, 2019. Carlo Mollino,Carlo Mollino: Polaroids, Artsy, October 17, 2014 Willem de Kooning, Garry Winogrand,Eyemazing, Artists Issue No. 3 (Autumn 2009) Garry Winogrand: Women Are Beautiful: Interview with James Crump and Walker Evans.
Filmography
Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe Crump directed the feature-length documentary film Black White + Gray: A Portrait of Sam Wagstaff and Robert Mapplethorpe, which premiered in North America at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and in Europe at Art Basel.Earnest Hardy, Art Doc of the Week | Black White + Gray, CRAVEN, August 25, 2015Stephen Holden, A Collector and His Polaroid Passions, The New York Times, October 19, 2007Philip Gefter, The Man Who Made Mapplethorpe, The New York Times, April 24, 2007Jay Weisberg, Review of Black White + Gray, Variety Magazine, May 7, 2007 It explores the influence curator Sam Wagstaff, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and musician/poet Patti Smith had on art in New York City in the 1970s. It began airing on the Sundance Channel in March 2008.
Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art Crump wrote, produced and directed Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art.Su Wu, A New Documentary Sheds Light on the 'Troublemakers' of Land Art, T Magazine, May 4, 2015Christopher Bollen, "LandArt", Interview Magazine, August 2015IMDb, Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art, 2015Andy Battaglia, Land Art Gets Its Close-Up In New Film, Wall Street Journal September 27, 2015 Set in the desolate desert spaces of the American southwest, this feature documentary film unearths the history of land art during the tumultuous late 1960s and early 1970s. Troublemakers was one of twelve documentary films selected by the 53rd New York Film Festival, September 25–October 11, 2015.Spotlight on Documentary at the 53rd New York Film FestivalGregg Kilday, Laura Poitras, Frederick Wiseman to Screen New Work at New York Film Festival, Hollywood Reporter, August 24, 2015 The film released theatrically at IFC Center, New York, January 8, 2016.First Run Features, Troublemakers Opens January 8 in NY
Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco Written, produced and directed by Crump, this documentary film concerns Antonio Lopez (1943–1987), the Puerto Rican-born, Harlem- and Bronx-raised, bisexual fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris, and his colorful and sometimes outrageous milieu.Katie Walsh,"Review: Documentary 'Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco' Captures Wild Times of Influential Illustrator, Los Angeles Times, September 20, 2018Vincent Boucher, "'Sex Fashion & Disco': Looking Back at Fashion Illustrator Antonio Lopez's Life and Career," Hollywood Reporter, November 17, 2017Official site for Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & DiscoAntonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco, Dogwoof Global, LondonAntonio by Staff in Interview, March 2017The Man Who Seduced Jessica Lange, Jerry Hall and Karl Lagerfeld by Horacio Silva in W, March 2017The Art of Seduction by Jasmin Hernandez in Cultured, June 2017 Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco premiered at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival and subsequently was awarded the 2017 DOC NYC Metropolis Grand Jury Prize and the 2018 Cinéfashion Film Award for Best Fashion Feature Film. The film released theatrically in the United States at IFC Center, New York, September 14, 2018, Laemmle Theatres Royal Theatre, Los Angeles, September 21, 2018, and over twenty other major US marketsFilm Movement, Theatrical Playdates, Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco It became available on iTunes Store, Amazon Prime Video and Vudu January 2019 and subsequently began airing on the premium cable and satellite television network Starz May 2019.Denise Petski, "Starz Acquires Four New Documentaries for Premiere in the Spring," Deadline, January 10, 2019 The film qualified for consideration for the 2018 Academy Awards Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.Erik Pedersen, "Oscars: 166 Films Vying In Feature Documentary Race," Deadline, November 8, 2018
Spit Earth: Who Is Jordan Wolfson? Spit Earth: Who Is Jordan Wolfson? is a feature documentary which Artnet News called a "searing psychological portrait" of the artist.Artnet News The film was an official selection of the 2020 Festival International du Livre d'Art et du Film, Perpignan, France and the 2020 Lo schermo dell'arte Film Festival, Florence, Italy.10th Edition — 2020 Festival International du Livre d'Art et du Film Due to the Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cinema, the film was released worldwide on May 1, 2020, on the leading streaming platforms.Spit Earth: Who is Jordan Wolfson?, IMDbSpit Earth: Who is Jordan Wolfson? Official film website
Breuer's Bohemia Breuer's Bohemia is a documentary film that examines the Jewish-born Hungarian architect Marcel Breuer's experimental house designs in New England following the Second World War. The film features rare interviews and footage of Breuer, artist Alexander Calder, playwright and essayist Arthur Miller and others from their storied milieu. Breuer's Bohemia is accompanied by a companion book published by The Monacelli Press."Breuer's Bohemia is the Architecture Documentary We've Been Waiting For" by Mayer Rus, Architectural Digest, September 2021Breuer's Bohemia (2021) directed by James Crump on IMDbBreuer's Bohemia by James Crump (New York: The Monacelli Press, 2021)
Film Awards Year Group Award Result Film2017DOC NYCMetropolis Grand Jury Prize Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco
Publications Books (as author) (2021) Breuer's Bohemia, The Monacelli Press/Phaidon Press. . (2013) James Welling: Monograph. Aperture. (2012) Doug and Mike Starn: Gravity of Light. Skira Rizzoli. . (2010) Walker Evans: Decade by Decade. Hatje Cantz. .Douglas F. Smith, book review , Library Journal.Jörg M. Colberg, book review, Conscientious.Lenora Jane Estes, book review , Vanity Fair. (2009) Variety: Photographs by Nan Goldin. Skira Rizzoli. .Photo District News Notable Books of 2009Douglas Stockdale, book review, photo-eye Magazine.Planet°, Sarah Coleman on Variety (2007) Albert Watson. Phaidon Press Limited. . (1995) F. Holland Day: Suffering the Ideal. Twin Palms Publishers. . Times Literary Supplement (London), March 1, 1996, "Uranian, Ukrainian," Will Eames reviews F. Holland Day: Suffering the IdealInterview Magazine (April 1996) "A New Day for an Old Tale," Brad Goldfarb on F. Holland Day: Suffering the Ideal (1993) George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute. Bulfinch Press/Little Brown & Co. .
Books (as co-author)
(2025) Gerald Incandela, 12 Candles Press. . (2014) Carlo Mollino: Polaroids, second edition. Damiani. . (2013) It's Modern: The Eye and Visual Influence of Alexander Liberman. Rizzoli. . (2012) Herb Ritts: L.A. Style. J. Paul Getty Museum. . (2011) High Heels: Fashion, Femininity and Seduction. Thames & Hudson. . (2010) Starburst: Color Photography in America 1970–1980. Hatje Cantz. .Daily Beast, The Kings of Kodachrome by Philip GefterNPR, The Crusade for Color by Claire O'Neill (2004) Meridel Rubenstein: Belonging: Los Alamos to Vietnam. St. Ann's Press. . (1998) When We Were Three: The Travel Albums of George Platt Lynes, Monroe Wheeler and Glenway Wescott. Arena Editions. .The New York Times Book Review, Christopher Benfey reviews When We Were Three: The Travel Albums of George Platt Lynes, Monroe Wheeler and Glenway Wescott Voice, January 19, 1999, "Photo Finish" by Vince Aletti (1994) Harm's Way: Lust & Madness, Murder & Mayhem. Twin Palms Publishers. .The New York Times Book Review, Andy Grundberg reviews Harm's Way
Select books (as editor/publisher) (2002) Peter Lindbergh: Stories. Arena Editions. . (2002) Garry Winogrand: 1964. Arena Editions. .Washington Post, Garry Winogrand: Huge Influence, Early Exit by Frank Van Riper. (2002) Berenice Abbott/Eugène Atget. Arena Editions. . (2002) Carlo Mollino: Polaroids. Arena Editions. . (2001) Robert Mapplethorpe: Autoportrait. Arena Editions. . (2001) Richard Misrach: Golden Gate. Arena Editions. . (2000) Steve McQueen: Photographs by William Claxton. Arena Editions. . (2000) Steve Shapiro: American Edge. Arena Editions. . (2000) Melvin Sokolsky: Seeing Fashion. Arena Editions. . (2000) Richard Misrach: Sky Book. Arena Editions. . (2000) Walker Evans: The Lost Work. Arena Editions. .Art Journal, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Autumn 2004) The Evans File by Benjamin Lima (1999) Bruce Weber: Chop Suey Club. Arena Editions. . (1999) Peter Beard: Fifty Years of Portraits. Arena Editions. . (1999) Robert Mapplethorpe: Pictures. Arena Editions. . (1998) Gerard Malanga: Resistance to Memory. Arena Editions. . (1998) When We Were Three: The Travel Albums of George Platt Lynes, Monroe Wheeler and Glenway Wescott. Arena Editions. .