Douglas Davis (artist)


Douglas Matthew Davis, Jr. was an American artist, critic, teacher, and writer for among other publications Newsweek.

Artistic career

In 1977, at the opening of documenta 6, alongside Nam June Paik and Joseph Beuys, Douglas Davis took part in one of the first international satellite telecasts with his live performance The Last Nine Minutes. Davis received grants for his work by the Rockefeller Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts & the Trust for Mutual Understanding, among other institutions.

Early internet works

His exploration of interactivity involving various media continued throughout the 1980s and 1990s. He is the author of one of the earliest art pieces on the world wide web, The World's First Collaborative Sentence. His early work is featured on his website, The World's First Collaborative Sentence, with elements from his exhibition InterActions 1967-1981. They include critical essays by Susan Hoeltzel, Michael Govan, David Ross, and Nam June Paik. Commissioned by the Lehman College Art Gallery, the Sentence was given by its collectors, Barbara and Eugene M. Schwartz, to the Whitney Museum of American Art. In 1997, P.S.1/The Institute of Contemporary Art joined with several other museums to host MetaBody , commissioned by George Waterman III. In 1997, Davis launched Terrible Beauty, an evolving global multi-media theater piece. Its "chapters" have been performed before audiences in New York, Dublin, San Francisco, and Berlin.

Teaching and writing

Davis taught advanced media at more than 25 universities and art colleges and served as consultant in this field for several corporations & foundations. Davis published the book Art and the Future in several countries in 1973. ArtCulture: Essays on the Post-Modern, is a book of theoretical essays. The Five Myths of TV Power , 1993, focuses on the crucial importance of the viewer, the "human" element in media theory.

Personal life

Davis lived and worked in New York City until his death on January 16, 2014. He was survived by three daughters, and two granddaughters. His wife of over 30 years, Jane Bell Davis, died in 2005.

Exhibitions