Notes from the Playground

This new collection of Richard Flood's written work from over the past 40 years reveals an original and rigorous connection to the world of ideas and beauty and the critical and aesthetic experience of our present times. Drawing from his broad knowledge of history, cinema, literature, poetry, design and architecture, Flood's writings combine the autobiographical with the theoretical, presenting an intimate understanding of renowned contemporary artists.

Throughout many of the essays, Flood draws on personal correspondence between himself and the artist, including an annotated conversation with Paul Thek discussing his fabricated works of wax 'raw meat' facsimiles embedded in luxurious Plexiglas cases; four interviews with Robert Gober during the 1990s, offering vivid accounts of his sculptural and creative process; and a detailed description of a portrait sitting at Michael Landy's studio. Flood's significant essay on Arte Povera, co-authored with Frances Morris, is also reproduced, providing evidence of his ability to write in multiple ways.

About the Author

Curator, academic and writer, Richard Flood first began at the New Museum, New York, in 2005 as chief curator. In 2010, he transitioned into being director of special projects and curator at large, a role through which he helped oversee Ideas City, an initiative focused on design and development in urban areas, and the Visionary Series, which invites high-profile writers, filmmakers, architects, and more to speak at the museum. Prior to working at the New Museum, Flood was chief curator and deputy director of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, where he was Chief Curator for 11 years. He has also served as director of Gladstone Gallery in New York. Notes from the Playground, was his first collected anthology of his writings.