The Brooklyn Rail

James Harithas was a multidimensional figure in the world of art. This statement is just one of the many facets of his important and fascinating life. I met James in 1966 when I was twenty years old and he was the Director at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. He was my mentor and taught me everything about art that I still use to this day. At the museum in 1967, he had me help him open a crate with a Nam June Paik ancient TV set inside, which had a huge magnet that fit on the top…. James said “Hey Clark, this guy lives in a van in a parking lot in Berkeley, California and does art with video!” James was one of the first curators to show video art and he was instrumental in the popularity of Nam June Paik’s work. That was the advent of video art becoming a major thing in the development of that venue's movement. He took me to many Fluxus shows and performances. He introduced me to Yoko Ono. Later, he said “Yoko is a really great artist. I don’t understand why nobody will show her work.” At the time I thought these people were “nuts.” The rest is history.

I had a show at his museum in Syracuse in the mid-1970s and met Mark Lombardi who was working as a guard there during my exhibition, thanks to James. I think his greatest love was for painting? He loved paintings and painters. I never was a fan of Willem de Kooning paintings until James took me to an exhibition of his work and explained to me his greatness! James had an encyclopedic knowledge of art films, video, and music. And he always put his money where his mouth was. As is true for many Americans, he comes out of a military-industrial background. His father was an officer in the military and he spent time in Europe in his youth. For some reason he started out as a painter in the Abstract Expressionist mode. I've seen some of his paintings, they were really good, but for some reason he moved on. His critical eye was unbelievable. He could visit a studio and give a critique like no one else. He helped so many artists, musicians, and videographers. He did so much for women artists. Women artists were often ignored in the twentieth century. James championed Joan Mitchell and many others. He organized a biennial in Washington, DC in the late sixties with many women artists that are now considered the greatest of today. He loved the abstract expressionist, which were swept aside with the advent of Pop art, which was the beginning of the commodification of the art world. He seems to specialize in helping to advance humanistic artists that were very underrated. He was not interested in the Park Avenue decor art, which can be traded like baseball cards that have become the order of the day. James, Greek by birth, came with the tradition of Socrates, where he pushed critical thinking in regards to the making of art. His knowledge of everything was mind blowing. And he was incredibly modest. One of the most amazing people to talk about any topic. During the drug wars of the mid-eighties he spent a lot of time in Central America, trying to help the people. He never was an armchair person. He was always on the front lines of any humanistic endeavor. He was a one in a billion museum person! And in our pseudo-culture of today, James Harithas was the real deal, as he really could walk the walk and talk the talk. He was one of my best friends. We had a beautiful relationship and he will always be with me.