View source for Tom Otterness

{{short description|American sculptor (born 1952)}}
{{Infobox artist
| bgcolour      =
| name          = Tom Otterness
| image         = Tom-otterness.JPG
| imagesize     =
| caption       =
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| birth_date     = {{birth-date|1952}}
| birth_place    = [[Wichita, Kansas]]
| death_date     =
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| nationality   = American
| field         = [[Sculpture]], [[Printmaking|Prints]] and [[Drawing]]
| training      =
| movement      = [[Colab]]
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| patrons       =
| influenced by =
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| awards        =
| website       = {{URL|tomotterness.net}}
}}

'''Tom Otterness''' (born 1952) is an American [[sculpture|sculptor]] who is one of America's most prolific [[public art]]ists.<ref name="Carducci 2005" /> Otterness's works adorn parks, plazas, subway stations, libraries, courthouses and museums around the world, notably in [[New York City]]'s Rockefeller Park in [[Battery Park City]]<ref>"[http://www.tomostudio.com/exhibitions_bpc.html "The Real World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727031024/http://www.tomostudio.com/exhibitions_bpc.html |date=2013-07-27 }}" The Battery Park City Authority</ref> and ''[[Life Underground]]'' in the [[14th Street – Eighth Avenue (New York City Subway)|14th Street – Eighth Avenue]] [[New York City Subway|New York Subway]] station. He contributed a balloon (a giant upside-down Humpty Dumpty) to the [[Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade]].<ref>Vogel, Carol. [https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/23/arts/design/23voge.html?pagewanted=print&_r=0 "Two Major Collections Land at Christie's"] ''The New York Times'', Friday, September 23, 2005</ref><ref name="shm"/> In 1994 he was elected as a member of the [[National Academy Museum]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalacademy.org/academicians/otterness-tom-s-ana-1993-na-1994/|title= National Academicians. Otterness, Tom, NA 1994|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140320232730/http://www.nationalacademy.org/academicians/otterness-tom-s-ana-1993-na-1994/|archive-date= 2014-03-20}}</ref>

His style is often described as cartoonish and cheerful, but also political.<ref>[http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/21213/tom-otterness/ "The AI Interview: Tom Otterness," ArtInfo, October 2, 2006]</ref> His sculptures allude to sex, class, money and race.<ref name="shm">Sheets, Hilarie M., "Creeping Cats & Fish in Hats", [http://www.artnews.com/issue/april-2006/ ''Art News'' 105 (April 2006): 127-29]</ref> These sculptures depict, among other things, huge pennies, pudgy characters in business suits with moneybag heads, helmeted workers holding giant tools, and an [[sewer alligator|alligator]] crawling out from under a sewer cover. His aesthetic can be seen as a riff on [[capitalist realism]].<ref name="Carducci 2005">{{Cite magazine |last=Carducci |first=Vince |date=April 2005 |title=Tom Otterness: Public Art and the Civic Ideal in the Postmodern Age |url=http://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag05/april_05/otterness/otterness.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200623042036/https://www.sculpture.org/documents/scmag05/april_05/otterness/otterness.shtml |archive-date=2020-06-23 |magazine=Sculpture |pages=28-33 |volume=24}}</ref>

Known primarily as a public artist, Otterness has exhibited across the United States and internationally, including New York City, [[Indianapolis, Indiana|Indianapolis]], [[Beverly Hills, California|Beverly Hills]], The Hague, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Venice. His studio is located on [[Ludlow Street]] in New York City.

==Career==
Otterness studied at the [[Art Students League of New York]] in 1970 and at the Independent Study Program of the [[Whitney Museum of American Art]] in 1973. He was an active member of the artists' group [[Colab]] (Collaborative Projects) from its inception in 1977, and was involved in [[punk visual art]], notably exhibiting in the ''Punk Art Exhibition'' in Washington DC, 1978.<ref name="punkcatalogue">{{cite web |url=http://98bowery.com/punk-years/punk-art-catalogue-section-three.php#tomotterness |title=Punk Art Catalogue - Section III: X Magazine, Colab, Downtown Filmmakers |author=Miller, Marc H. |website=98Bowery |date=25 May 2018 }}</ref>

=== Public artworks ===
[[File:Curious Figure part2 Tom Otterness Beelden aan Zee Den Haag.JPG|thumb|A sculpture in the [[Beelden aan Zee|Beelden aan Zee Museum]], [[The Hague]]]] 
[[File:Curious figures Tom Otterness Beelden aan Zee Den Haag.JPG|thumb|Another view of the same sculpture]]
[[File:Tom Otterness "Creation Myth" at the MAG.jpg|thumb|''[[Creation Myth (sculpture)|Creation Myth]]'' at the [[Memorial Art Gallery]], [[Rochester, NY]]]]
[[File:Tom Otterness Herring Eater.jpg|thumb|right|''Herring Eater'', The Netherlands]]
Otterness began his career as a [[public art]] sculptor during his period with [[Colab]] and [[The Real Estate Show]]. He sold small, plaster figures for $4.99 at [[Artists Space]] in New York for the 1979 holiday season. His inspiration was the plaster replicas of Jesus and Elvis and [[Santería]] sculptures in botanica shops in [[the Bronx]]. "I thought "Oh, this is public art… This is something that everyone can afford and take home." The next year he made a series of small plaster ''proto monuments'' for [[Colab]]'s famous 1980 ''[[The Times Square Show]]'', which he helped organize.<ref name="shm" /> This show featured inexpensive works by some 150 artists, including [[Kiki Smith]], [[David Hammons]] and [[Jenny Holzer]]. He began showing with New York's [[Brooke Alexander Gallery]] soon after.<ref name="Carducci 2005" />

=== Early installations in New York City and around the U.S. ===
Many of Otterness's public works are found in New York City. ''The Real World'', located in [[Battery Park City]], was commissioned in 1986 and installed in 1992. The sculpture ensemble is meant to represent the world outside the playground, "a broad social allegory on art and life, where the games of power and control are played out in miniature … an imaginative park with things to touch and stories to invent."<ref name="shm" /><ref name="NYT-1990">{{cite news|author=Brenson, Michael|date=November 23, 1990|title=Tom Otterness's ''Wicked World of Human and Beastly Folly''|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/23/arts/tom-otterness-s-wicked-world-of-human-and-beastly-folly.html}}</ref> A familiar installation to New Yorkers is 2000's ''[[Life Underground]]'', located in the [[14th Street – Eighth Avenue (New York City Subway)|14th Street – Eighth Avenue]] [[New York City Subway|NYC Subway]] station on the {{NYCS trains|type=service|14th Eighth}}.<ref>"Adler, Margot: "[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4111768 Subway Art: New York's Underground Treasures]", ''[[Morning Edition]]''. October 18, 2004.</ref> The sculptural group consists of over 100 cast-bronze sculptures placed throughout platforms and stairways, and is one of the most popular public artworks in the subway system.<ref>Chan, Sewell [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04EED91431F933A05755C0A9639C8B63 "Access to Art with a Metrocard Swipe"], ''The New York Times'', June 30, 2005</ref> It took over 10 years to complete, and includes figures of a woman toting a nearly life-size subway token under her arm; a well-dressed fare jumper crawling under a metal gate; a homeless woman being rousted by the police; and two figures holding a cross-cut saw to cut into an I-beam that holds up a stairway.<ref name="Carducci 2005" /> ''The New York Times'' noted, "Mr. Otterness worked hard to find creative ways to place his sculpture, navigating around the rules of stations design."<ref>David W. Dunlap, [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980DE1D71030F932A15752C0A9619C8B63 "Train to the Museum? You're Already There"], ''New York Times'',  January 21, 2007</ref> There is also a smaller installation, titled ''The Marriage of Money and Real Estate'' (1996), in the East River off the west shore of [[Roosevelt Island]].

One of Otterness's earliest public art works, ''[[The New World (sculpture)|The New World]]'', was installed in 1991 for the [[Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and United States Courthouse|Edward R. Roybal Federal Building]] in Los Angeles, California.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.publicartinla.com/CivicCenter/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050514194201/http://www.publicartinla.com/CivicCenter/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=May 14, 2005|title=Public Art in the Los Angeles Civic Center and Los Angeles Mall|website=www.publicartinla.com}}</ref> Otterness subsequently received Federal Courthouse commissions in Portland, Oregon (''Law of Nature'', 1997), Sacramento, California (''Gold Rush'', 1999) and Minneapolis, Minnesota (''Rock Man'', 1999).

=== Exhibitions ===
In 1987, Otterness exhibited his work ''The Tables'' at the Museum of Modern Art ''Projects'' show. White-collar workers, blue-collar workers, cops, radicals, captains of industry were displayed on four bronze picnic tables in the MoMA sculpture garden. The show traveled to the [[Institut Valencià d'Art Modern|IVAM Centre Julio Gonzalez]] in [[Valencia]], Spain; Portikus/[[Naturmuseum Senckenberg|Senckenbergmuseum]] in [[Frankfurt am Main]]; and [[Kunstmuseum Den Haag|Haags Gemeentemuseum]] in The Hague.

From September 20, 2004, to March 18, 2005, ''[http://www.nycgovparks.org/art-and-antiquities/art/tom-otterness Tom Otterness on Broadway]'', his largest exhibition to date featured 25 different works installed between Columbus Circle and 168th Street in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan|Washington Heights]], Manhattan. The project was sponsored by the City of New York Parks and Recreation Department, the Broadway Mall Association, and Marlborough Gallery, and traveled to three other cities—Indianapolis, Beverly Hills, and [[Grand Rapids, Michigan]]. The Grand Rapids exhibition featured more than 40 works across two miles of the city's downtown area and at [[Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park]].<ref>Goldberg, Ira. "Speaking with Tom Otterness", Linea: ''Journal of the Art Students League of New York'' 10 (spring 2007): 4-7</ref>

==== 21st Century installations ====
Otterness's later installations increasingly responded to and interacted with their physical and natural sites and environments. His 1999 ''Feats of Strength'' is a collection of his iconic whimsical bronze figures representing faculty and students interacting with pieces of the natural sandstone at [[Western Washington University]].<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Paoli|first1=Lauryn|last2=Ford|first2=Sarah|date=November 10, 2016|title=Feats of Strength - Tom Otterness|url=https://wp.wwu.edu/wwuart109/2016/11/10/feats-of-strength-tom-otterness/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CFeats%20of%20Strength%E2%80%9D%20is%20a,the%20surrounding%20scenery%20on%20campus.|access-date=June 22, 2020|website=Western Washington University - Public Art Collection}}</ref> In a more urban setting ([[Claremont, California|Claremont]], California), Otterness's 2007 ''Matriculated Nature'' is embedded in the tiers of a fountain. Notably, it is one of his most intentionally thematic public artworks; Otterness's bronze figures are a series of vignettes to illustrate "the progression and evolution of knowledge and education, from early literacy to higher education,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|last=Williamson|first=K. M.|date=June 22, 2020|title="Matriculated Nature" (2007) by Tom Otterness|url=https://www.publicartinpublicplaces.info/public-art-matriculated-nature-otterness|access-date=June 22, 2020|website=Public Art in Public Places}}</ref> as they advance up the tiers of a fountain specially designed for the installation by architect [[Peter Tolkin Architecture|Peter Tolkin]].<ref name=":0" />

== Films and controversy ==
{{main|Shot Dog Film}}
Otterness's work with Colab in [[Punk visual art|independent punk art]] comprised a number of short films; on Colab's ''All Color News'', these included ''Rats in Chinatown'', filming rats at a Chinese deli,<ref>[[iarchive:XFR 2013 10 15 1A 23|Colab 78-80 (1978-80)]]: ''Rats in Chinatown'' runs 23:20–25:30</ref> and ''Golden Gloves boxing at Madison Square Garden'' (with [[John Ahearn]]), filming an amateur boxing match.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qty7FOOnOs Colab - ''All Color News''] – ''Golden Gloves boxing at Madison Square Garden'' runs 3:48–4:21</ref>

His independent punk films featured real-life aggression and violence, most notoriously ''[[Shot Dog Film]]'', wherein he adopted a dog from an animal shelter in [[Golden, Colorado]],<ref name="breeze" /> chained it to a stake, and filmed his hand shooting it dead. This was followed by four fight films, where Otterness, an amateur boxer, filmed his own [[Golden Gloves]] fights.<ref name="punkcatalogue" /> ''Shot Dog Film'' premiered at a Times Square screening room in early 1978, the film being shown in a loop, and viewers were flash-photographed when they left. The film was the only entry that was not accepted in the ''Punk Art Catalog'', due to its offensive nature.<ref name="punkcatalogue" /> Otterness described it as follows:

{{blockquote
|The Dog Shot film … [is] about fucking someone... getting fucked by someone. That's what the fight films are about too. Running over someone; defeating someone; being defeated. They're the same thing those two films.<ref name="punkcatalogue"/>}}
{{blockquote
|''You said earlier that when you showed Dog Shot Film at the screening room at 42nd Street that you wanted to hurt the viewers.''<br/>
Yeah, I mean that whole night on 42nd Street, as best as I could do it, was the most aggressive way I could think of to show a film, the most damaging thing that I could do to the audience by showing a film. I hired a photographer with a camera so when people were leaving the theater, they were assaulted by a flash, attacked.<ref name="punkcatalogue"/>}}

''Shot Dog Film'' was inserted by an unknown person into the repeating programming queue on Manhattan Cable TV<ref name="breeze" /> instead of the normal cartoon programming for children. It was also shown on Christmas Eve<ref name="punkcatalogue" /> or Christmas Day,<ref name="breeze">[http://commons.lib.jmu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=i19801989 ''The Breeze'', February 29, 1980], "Artfile: ‘Shot Dog Film’", p. 11</ref> 1978, and caused an instant outcry, leading to calls to prosecute Otterness. The film has continued to haunt Otterness, engendering continued controversy. ''Shot Dog Film'' was briefly mentioned as having "provoked a small scandal [in 1980]" in a 1997 ''New York Times'' article which dismissed it as "a seemingly uncharacteristic gesture that he has since declined to discuss."<ref>{{cite news|author=Cembalest, Robin|date=September 21, 1997|title=ART; Public Sculpture the Public Likes. Really.|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/09/21/arts/art-public-sculpture-the-public-likes-really.html|accessdate=22 March 2019}}</ref> It was brought back into the public conscience in 2004 by journalist [[Gary Indiana]], who criticized Otterness for the killing.<ref>{{cite news|last=Indiana|first=Gary|date=December 6, 2004|title=One Brief, Scuzzy Moment: Memories of the East Village Art Scene|work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]]|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/10557/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070213042753/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/features/10557/|archivedate=February 13, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Miller, Michael H.|date=October 4, 2011|title=The Dog-Killing Woes of Tom Otterness|work=Observer|url=http://observer.com/2011/10/the-dog-killing-woes-of-tom-otterness/|quote=The artist and critic Gary Indiana recalled the dog incident in an article in New York Magazine in 2004 about the New Museum’s “East Village USA” show. Mr. Otterness was included in the exhibition.}}</ref> Since then, Otterness has attracted criticism and protests for the 1977 film, apologized for his behavior, and lost a number of commissions from the continuing criticism.<ref>{{cite news|date=November 6, 2013|title=Millie turns 5 years old|newspaper=The Sunflower|url=https://thesunflower.com/6726/news/millie-turns-5-years-old/}}</ref><ref name="LJW-070325">{{cite news|date=March 25, 2007|title=Wichita State still plans to install piece made by artist who shot dog 30 years ago|newspaper=Lawrence Journal-World|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/mar/25/wichita_state_still_plans_install_piece_made_artis/}}</ref> Otterness's studio released a statement blaming his "anger at [himself] and the world" for the film.<ref name="LJW-070325" /><ref name="BDE-apology" />

{{blockquote |text=Thirty years ago when I was 25 years old, I made a film in which I shot a dog. It was an indefensible act that I am deeply sorry for. Many of us have experienced profound emotional turmoil and despair. Few have made the mistake I made. I hope people can find it in their hearts to forgive me. |author=Tom Otterness |source=''Brooklyn Daily Eagle'', April 14, 2008<ref name=BDE-apology>{{cite news |last=Frost |first=Mary |url=http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=19895 |title=Artist Apologizes for Decades-old Dog-Killing Incident |publisher=Brooklyn Daily Eagle |date=April 14, 2008 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626092228/http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=19895 |archivedate=2008-06-26}}.</ref>}}

In [[New York City]] in June 2011, the [[Battery Park City Authority]], under [[Bill Thompson (New York politician)|Bill Thompson]], rejected Otterness's lion sculptures for the area's new public library, after the sculptures were approved by 5-1 by [[Manhattan Community Board 1]] under Chairperson [[Julie Menin]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Johnston|first=Garth|date=July 10, 2011|title=Tom Otterness Statue Nixed Over 1977 Puppy Snuff Flick|work=Gothamist|url=http://gothamist.com/2011/07/10/battery_park_nixes_otterness_statue.php|url-status=dead|access-date=March 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322152620/http://gothamist.com/2011/07/10/battery_park_nixes_otterness_statue.php|archive-date=March 22, 2019|df=mdy-all}}</ref> The [[New York Public Library]] disavowed any involvement with the project, noting the donation of sculptures commissioned by a private donor had not been solicited by the NYPL.<ref>{{cite news|author=Panero, James|date=May 11, 2011|title=Opinion {{!}} Tom Otterness, dog killer: Cute sculptures disguise artist's cruel past|newspaper=New York Daily News|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/tom-otterness-dog-killer-cute-sculptures-disguise-artist-cruel-article-1.144249}}</ref> Following the Battery Park City Authority's rejections, in 2011, there was renewed controversy over the film, with animal rights groups protesting the selection of Otterness for a major sculpture project at the [[Memorial Art Gallery]] of the [[University of Rochester]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Silverstein|first=Jason|date=October 6, 2011|title=MAG receives protests, complaints over artist hire|newspaper=Campus Times|url=http://www.campustimes.org/2011/10/06/mag-receives-protests-complaints-over-artist-hire/}}</ref>

Also in 2011, the [[San Francisco Arts Commission]] terminated one of two contracts they had with Otterness.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sabatini|first=Joshua|date=November 17, 2011|title=Dog-killer artist loses SF contract, keeps second|newspaper=San Francisco Examiner|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/11/dog-killer-artist-loses-sf-contract-keeps-second|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016082307/http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/11/dog-killer-artist-loses-sf-contract-keeps-second|archivedate=2012-10-16}}</ref> He had been awarded a $750,000 contract in September 2011 for a piece in the new [[Central Subway (San Francisco)|Central Subway]] project; the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency stated they were unaware of ''Shot Dog Film'' when they awarded the contract.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sabatini|first=Joshua|date=September 16, 2011|title=Sculptor who killed dog set to make San Francisco Central Subway art|newspaper=San Francisco Examiner|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/09/sculptor-who-killed-dog-set-make-san-francisco-central-subway-art|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110918004537/http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2011/09/sculptor-who-killed-dog-set-make-san-francisco-central-subway-art|archivedate=2011-09-18}}</ref> The mayor of San Francisco put the project on hold, calling the film "deeply disturbing."<ref>{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Stephanie|date=September 17, 2011|title=S.F. subway sculpture on hold over artist misdeed|work=SFgate.com|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/09/16/BASL1L5NKR.DTL|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110917120732/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2011%2F09%2F16%2FBASL1L5NKR.DTL|archivedate=2011-09-17}}</ref> In October 2013, [[Lincoln, Nebraska]] Mayor [[Chris Beutler]] decided against purchasing a $500,000 train sculpture from Otterness for the city's West Haymarket development, after residents objected to ''Shot Dog Film''. Citing the unity brought about by the city's development, the mayor said, "...the artist's past behavior in this instance has created a level of division in the community that is simply not acceptable. Our feeling is that it is in the best interest of the city to discontinue the contract process."<ref>{{cite news|last=Hicks|first=Nancy|date=October 5, 2013|title=Controversy kills 'Train Set' sculpture for West Haymarket|newspaper=Lincoln Journal Star|url=http://journalstar.com/news/local/controversy-kills-train-set-sculpture-for-west-haymarket/article_397e95ab-c888-5991-aec5-6b00e8f89057.html}}</ref>

In September 2014, freelance artist Andrew Tider added three illegal sculptures to the "Life Underground" groupings in the subway station. They imitated the Otterness style, a blend of whimsy and biting commentary on corruption and greed, depicting a man pointing a gun at a dog, and a distant bystander.<ref>{{cite news|last=Carlson|first=Jen|date=September 5, 2014|title=Tom Otterness, Who Once Shot A Dog For Art, Mocked With New Guerilla Subway Sculpture|work=Gothamist|url=http://gothamist.com/2014/09/05/otterness_shot_dog_statue.php|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022175921/http://gothamist.com/2014/09/05/otterness_shot_dog_statue.php|archivedate=2014-10-22}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Otterness has practiced [[tai chi]], martial arts, and boxing since the mid-1960s. His studio has been photographed featuring a [[boxing bag]].<ref>Daily News, May 3, 1996, "Otterness enjoying his art", [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1696&dat=19960503&id=KvoaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=v0cEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5487,488044&hl=en p. 36].</ref> Some early boxing fights in the 1970s were filmed as part of his [[no wave]] punk art period, and he has won prizes for his tai chi in the school of [[William C. C. Chen]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.williamccchen.com/fyiarchive.htm|title=Archived Competition News|website=www.williamccchen.com}}</ref> He lives with the American filmmaker [[Coleen Fitzgibbon]] on the [[Lower East Side]] in New York City and in [[Utica, Montana]].

==Further reading==
* ''Inside the Artist's Studio'', [[Princeton Architectural Press]], 2015. ({{ISBN|978-1616893040}})
* [[Alan W. Moore]] and Marc Miller (eds), ''[[ABC No Rio]] Dinero: The Story of a Lower East Side Art Gallery'', Collaborative Projects, NY, 1985.
*Carlo McCormick, ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', Princeton University Press, 2006
* [[Grace Glueck]], ''The Downtown Scene", When It Was Still Dirty'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 13, 2006
* [[Carlo McCormick]] & [[Walter Robinson (art critic and artist)|Walter Robinson]], (1982) ''Slouching Toward Avenue D'', [[Art in America]]
* Julie Ault, ''Alternative Art, New York, 1965-1985'', University of Minnesota Press, 2002.
* Grace Glueck, ''Up With People'', Collaborative Projects exhibition review, ''[[The New York Times]]'', January 6, 1984.
* David Little, ''Colab Takes a Piece, History Takes It Back: Collectivity and New York Alternative Spaces'', ''Art Journal'' Vol.66, No. 1, Spring 2007, College Art Association, New York, pp.&nbsp;60–74 (Article [https://web.archive.org/web/20070928011001/http://www.tomotterness.net/pdf/news_artjournal_colabdavidlittle_2007.pdf])
* [[Carlo McCormick]], ''The Downtown Book: The New York Art Scene, 1974–1984'', [[Princeton University]] Press, 2006.
* ''The Red Book'', 1978 (NEA application document authored by Coleen Fitzgibbon, Andrea Callard and Ulli Rimkus) Andrea Callard Papers, ''The Downtown Collection'', Fales Library, [[NYU]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{external media
| width  = 210px
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| video1 = {{YouTube|SCSXoZnUWPE|"Life Underground" by Tom Otterness}}, Metropolitan Transportation Authority; January 13, 2010
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*{{commons category-inline}}
*{{official|http://www.tomostudio.com/ }}
*[http://www.batteryparkcity.org/otterness.php4/ Battery Park City Website]{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=no }}
*[http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=L&station=9&xdev=736 MTA's Arts for Transit Website Entry About Tom Otterness' "Life Underground" Sculptures of 2001]
*[http://whitney.org/WatchAndListen/Artists?play_id=897 Whitney Museum video interview with Tom Otterness on the "Life Underground" subway sculptures]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Otterness, Tom}}
[[Category:Art Students League of New York alumni]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:National Academy of Design members]]
[[Category:Sculptors from New York (state)]]
[[Category:20th-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:21st-century American sculptors]]