The Letters of Rosemary & Bernadette Mayer, 1976–1980 is a collection of the correspondence between artist Rosemary Mayer (1943–2014) and poet Bernadette Mayer (born 1945). The two sisters wax poetics of daily life during the development of well known bodies of work by the two women. While extremely intimate, the letters often preclude exclusivity in terms of readers. Rosemary, early on in the letters, indicates that not only does her correspondence with her sister aid her in working through her art practice, but that the letters figure in very literally. The writings, therefore, to some extent anticipate witnesses privy to such intimate minutiae other than Rosemary or Bernadette. This framing for the other brings up larger questions of witness to development and production of artwork and writing: we read along with Rosemary and Bernadette their day to day thoughts, hesitations and fears, what they’re reading or watching at the cinema, their apologies for writing late or trouble with money, conversations with friends and neighbors, concoctions for dreams and descriptions of images and packages they send to one another. From smaller to grander gestures, The Letters of Rosemary & Bernadette Mayer, 1976–1980 offers insight into the very workings of Rosemary and Bernadette Mayer’s practices in such a way that invites readers to work through similar conceptions of life and art—and, ultimately, to write to another. You can read more about the publication here.
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Rosemary Mayer, Marie Warsh, and Bernadette Mayer in Lenox, MA, September 1976.
1976 • Image courtesy the Estate of Rosemary Mayer.
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Balloon for a Birthday
Rosemary Mayer installing Balloon for a Birthday, November 7, 1978.
1978 • Image courtesy the Estate of Rosemary Mayer.
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Rosemary Mayer in her loft in Tribeca, New York, ca. 1976. Bernadette Mayer in her apartment in Lenox, Massachusetts, 1978.
1976 & 1978 • Image courtesy the Estate of Rosemary Mayer.
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Chroma (detail)
by Rosemary Mayer
from postcard announcing Mayer’s show at Monique Knowlton Gallery
1976 • Image courtesy the Estate of Rosemary Mayer.