EYE CANDY

A Look Back at All of Marilyn Minter’s Pretty, Pathological Glamour


Marilyn Minter may have since carved out a glittery niche for herself in prints and photos as sensual as they are shocking, but the artist started off her career of turning heads back in the 60’s with a series of pared down, black-and-white photographs, capturing her mother, who struggled with drug addiction, in raw, up-close scenes at home at Florida’s Coral Ridge Towers. Over the next few decades, Minter’s continued to delve into what she’s called the “pathology of glamour,” and while her explicitly pro-sex, pornographic work drew some fire in the 90’s, today, the art world — and even Miley Cyrus — seems to have warmed up to Minter’s colorful, in-your-face style. Opening on Friday at the Brooklyn Museum, “Pretty/Dirty,” features all of the above alongside over four decades of Minter’s work, marking her first-ever retrospective. Take a look back, here.

1
Collection of Danielle and David Ganek, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum
2
Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York, Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Wangechi Gold 4,” 2009.

3
Hort Family Collection, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“100 Food Porn #9,” 1989-90.

4
Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; courtesy of Brooklyn Museum

“Coral Ridge Towers (Mom Smoking),” 1969.

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Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Soiled,” 2000.

6
Private collection, Switzerland; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Blue Poles,” 2007.

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Private collection, Palm Beach, Florida; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Torrent,” 2013.

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Collection of Gregory R. Miller and Michael Wiener, New York; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Clip,” 2005.

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Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York, Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Black Orchid,” 2012.

10
Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Coral Ridge Towers (Mom Making Up),” 1969.

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Collection of Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn and Nicolas Rohatyn, New York; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Glazed,” 2006.

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Collection of Bill Contente, New York, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Big Girls,” 1986.

13
Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York, Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

Still from “Green Pink Caviar,” 2009.

14
Collection of Jean-Olivier Després, Paris; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Little Girls #1,” 1986.

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Collection of Beth Rudin DeWoody; courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Coral Ridge Towers (Mom Smoking Extra Long),” 1969.

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Private collection, courtesy of the Brooklyn Museum

“Orange Crush,” 2009.

17
Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York, Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Armpit,” 2006.

18
Courtesy of the artist, Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Not in These Shoes,” 2013.

19
Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94, and the Brooklyn Museum

“Rouge Baiser,” 1994.

20
Courtesy of the artist, Salon 94 New York Regen Projects Los Angeles, and the Brooklyn Museum

Still from “Smash,” 2014.