Richard Brintzenhofe: The Book of Heroes, An Illuminated Manuscript and Other Works

The artist’s installation consisted of a book of monoprints in oil of the heroes, 29 sculptures (pencil on paper cut-outs), and several small paintings on terra cotta plaques done from the book. The heroes depicted were from all ages and epochs including artists, writers, madmen, failures, and geniuses, among them St. John of the Cross, Rudolf Bresdin, Leonardo Da Vinci, Paul Cezanne, Jean Vigo, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Anton Chekov, and Sergei Eisenstien.
On Friday and Saturday evenings of this exhibition, Richard Brintzenhofe and his brother David presented “Illustrated Stories: Personsformdance.” Richard related a number of intimate personal anecdotes and engaged in comic routines. The stage was set with four large painted backdrops; for one section, the artist used tiny dolls to illustrate his story. For some of the vignettes, David Brintzenhofe performed elaborately costumed and mannered characters. For another story, one about his near murder, Richard brought out a drawing board and from a viewpoint that was upside down to him but right- side up to the audience, he drew a self-portrait and a portrait of a friend, both of which he later cut out and used as hand puppets. A film, “Thru Window” by Robyn Brentano, showing Brintzenhofe in a variety of roles, was screened. The artist also delivered a blindfolded revivalist lecture on painting.

Excerpted from Brentano, R., & Savitt, M. (1981). 112 Workshop, 112 Greene Street: History, artists & artworks. New York: New York University Press.