HUDSON, N.Y. — Something to talk about New work by Linda Mussmann And Insert spaces at Time & Space Limited (TSL) is to tell TSL’s story, and to do that we must start at the heart of the matter: love. Linda Mussmann, a leading multidisciplinary artist of her generation, is a kind of ‘worker of love’. She is also a true lover of art, theater, community and especially her muse: Claudia Bruce. Fifty years ago, Mussmann and Bruce first crossed paths. “I met Claudia in 1976 during my production of Gertrude Stein Making Americans. She was a reporter for a women’s newspaper called MAJORITY REPORT. Later I borrowed her van to move some stuff to the storefront, [and] the rest is history,” she told me by email the day after we spent an hour walking through the show together.
Mussmann’s comments about Bruce stirred sentimental emotions as I tried to unfold the timeline of their co-creative partnership that emerged half a century ago. Mussmann founded the ever-evolving TSL in New York City in 1973 as an experimental avant-garde theater company in a storefront on 22nd Street in the Chelsea neighborhood, and Bruce joined as co-director in 1976. After years of city living, they moved to Hudson in 1991, where TSL has been a thriving force in arts and culture ever since. Today, the eclectic, politically engaged nonprofit “arthouse” outpost features a gallery, movie theater, vintage bookstore, and community activities center.
Although TSL will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2023, these joint exhibitions are the First time that Mussmann has exhibited her artwork there in this capacity – a bit of a stunning fact that reflects her dedication to the general public. From the beginning, her focus as an artist was on creating provocative work based on movement, light and sound. With this show we get to see more of her politically oriented concerns through her painting practice.
The exhibition alternates with color photos of theater sets that she made (Insert spaces) and black and white paintings that reveal her seriousness as an artist-activist with an appreciation for the urgency of the socio-political climate (New work by Linda Mussmann). A powerful example of this is her text-laden painting ‘Yes I Know This’ (2024), packed with sharp statements that refer to feelings of crisis, such as ‘here is the edge’, ‘the missing is missed’ and ‘the time is missed ‘. run.” The title of another work: “Is God Sleeping?” (2024), aptly captures the overall message of these large-scale pieces; in other words, who is really in charge these days? “I felt like doing something big,” the artist said matter-of-factly about these unstretched canvases, which are not only large in size, but also speak to the enormous existential intensity of our times.
In 1980s New York, during a creative renaissance that included Keith Haring’s rogue graffiti and critical conversations about emerging artistic strategies, led by theorists like Rene Ricard, Mussmann – already a radical creator – was right in the middle of it. A series of photographs on the partition walls of TSL document the theatrical sets she designed between 1981 and 2014. These images highlight the different professional and non-traditional spaces that allowed her to realize projects in various locations, such as La Mama and the Whitney Museum of American Art, among others. The black-and-white photograph ‘Silent When Loaded’ (1985), taken in Merce Cunningham’s studio, shows teacups neatly stacked in a pyramid shape and backlit for a melodramatic atmosphere. “They loved us,” she said of Cunningham and his partner, John Cage, who were fans of Mussmann and Bruce’s experimental artwork.
As I wandered through the shows with Mussmann as my hospitable guide, I furiously took notes to capture the funny stories that animated the visions in the room. The photograph “Lenz” (1982) documents Bruce as she turns her body downward, surrounded by a sober, authentic interior in the TSL storefront. Mussmann explained that she created this silver setting using tin she reclaimed from her parents’ farm in Indiana. She drove back to New York with the tin tied to the roof of her car and then fabricated the setting for Bruce to explore as a dancer. “Most of my work was promoting Claudia,” she said sweetly.
We paused at images documenting her performance and installation “Harbors Wait” (1985) in the sculpture garden of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) as part of the museum’s short-lived summer program. “They let the crazy people in once,” she chuckled about the various underground artists in the series, adding that this was the only time MoMA had ever hosted something like this. “They weren’t ready yet,” she noted as we marveled at the impossibility of this kind of event at MoMA today. As we talked about that special coincidence – that MoMA ever allowed spontaneous work in the coveted space – she recalled how the performance included a mix of various activities. The MoMA event allowed Mussmann to bring out the operatic nature of her work in all its glory: “I did it all. I showed a video of a cow,” she told me cheerfully.
In the coming weekends, TSL will present two screenings of Mussmann’s work in collaboration with Bruce (followed by Q & As with Mussmann), including the collage film “Omaha to Ogden (Southwesterly)” (1986/2021) on Sunday, January 19. , And Mao Wow (1999) on Sunday, January 26, offering fans the chance to see her old-school images in conjunction with the exhibition. As we said goodbye, Mussmann’s handsome smile and sturdy presence enlivened the entire room around her. Her care for TSL was palpable as she set off down the hall, heading to her next adventure of the day. As TSL continues its mission to educate and expand the artistic quality of life in the community it serves, Mussmann remains steadfast at the helm of this mighty mothership.
New work by Linda Mussmann And Insert spaces continue at Time & Space Limited (434 Columbia Street, Hudson, New York) through February 23. The exhibitions were organized by the gallery. Details of associated events are available on the TSL website.
