{"data":{"id":"3913","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":3913,"topgoose_id":641,"tms_id":3913,"display_name":"Gary Simmons","sort_name":"Simmons Gary","display_date":"1964–","begin_date":"1964","end_date":"0","biography":"\u003cp\u003eGhoster is one of Gary Simmons’s signature\n“erasure drawings,” made by applying chalk\nto a surface that resembles an outsized\nblackboard. Its smudges and blurs evoke\nthe traces left on a blackboard after it\nhas been wiped clean. Yet the invocation of\nerasure is not simply literal; Simmons ties\nthis series of works to the way that memory\nfunctions—combining, modifying, and\nindeed erasing various elements from the\npast. His title is a blend of the words \u003cem\u003eghost\u003c/em\u003e\nand \u003cem\u003eroller coaster\u003c/em\u003e, and the massive image\nof lattices and curves was inspired by\nvarious wooden roller coasters of the artist’s\nyouth, including the Cyclone at Coney\nIsland. Simmons’s support, occasioned in\npart by abandoned blackboards he found\nin an old schoolhouse where he kept a\nstudio in the late 1980s, adds an additional\nlayer of historical weight. Although typically\ndrawn directly on the surface of a wall,\nthe installation pictured here was made by\nSimmons on four wood panels to\nfacilitate future display.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSimmons’s art, which encompasses\npainting, drawing, sculpture, photography,\nvideo, and site-specific installation,\noften takes the idea of disappearance and\nloss as a central concern. His subjects\nhave included bygone themes, including\nthe historic roller coasters of \u003ca href=\"/collection/works/11512\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eGhoster\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\nand images of ancient ships or moonshine\ndistilleries, as well as cultural and racial\nstereotypes, as embodied in references to\nKu Klux Klan gowns, rap songs, and\nblaxploitation films. “I wanted to show\nhow we can attempt to erase a stereotype,\nbut the image won’t easily go away,”\nSimmons has explained. “It persists.” The\nerasure drawings manifest this persistence\nin an affecting visual form.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":true,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500333324","wikidata_id":"Q5525940","created_at":"2017-08-30T15:45:54.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-04-10T07:00:56.846-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/3913/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/3913/exhibitions"}}}}