Nearly 50 years after her first solo exhibition in New York City Nancy Grossman’s work is as powerful and relevant today as it was when it was first created. The video Nancy Grossman: Tough Life Diary was created to bring the artist’s voice directly to the viewer, opening up new ways of understanding a body of complex and sometimes difficult work. It complements the exhibition of the same name currently on view at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College.

The 14 minute video weaves together archival film footage of the artist in her studio at age 25, an interview from 1994, the artist’s own family photos as well as a present-day interview with the Grossman at her home in NYC, illustrating complexities in Grossman’s work that are often overlooked in simplified and sensationalistic interpretations of her art.

In the video, Grossman takes the viewer down the path of challenges and influences that she navigated, particularly in the 60s and 70s, to create a powerful body of work that combines exquisite craftsmanship with a long-standing exploration of the nature of violence and power. CREDITS | Producer/Camera/Editor: Vickie Riley. Interview: Ian Berry. 2nd Camera/Original Music: Brett Hartman. ©The Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College, 2012