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Stanford University
Artists’ Day Jobs Come Into Focus at a Stanford University Exhibition

Artists’ Day Jobs Come Into Focus at a Stanford University Exhibition

An image of a girl and a baby inside a red car

Vivian Maier, Chicago, 1978; printed later Chromogenic print; 10 × 15 inches (25.4 × 38.1 cm) © Estate of Vivian Maier; Courtesy of Maloof Collection and Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York

Did you know that the sculptor Larry Bell, famous for his poetic glass boxes, began working with the material only after he dropped a piece of glass while working at a frame shop in Burbank, Calif.? Or that Jeffrey Gibson, the artist representing the United States at the Venice Biennale in April, got his start as a visual merchandiser at the Ikea store in Elizabeth, N.J.? What about how the minimalist pioneer Sol LeWitt worked as a receptionist at New York’s Museum of Modern Art while Dan Flavin ran the elevator? The impact that traditional nine-to-fives have on artists’ creative output is the subject of a refreshing, insightful exhibition opening at the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University on March 6.

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