Ingrid Sischy Explained

Ingrid Sischy
Birth Name:Ingrid Barbara Sischy
Birth Date:2 March 1952
Birth Place:Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Death Place:New York City, U.S.
Years Active:1978–2015

Ingrid Barbara Sischy (pronounced as //ˈsɪʃi//;[1] March 2, 1952 – July 24, 2015) was a South African-born American writer and editor who specialized in covering art, photography, and fashion.[2] She rose to prominence as the editor of Artforum from 1979 to 1988, and was editor-in-chief of Andy Warhol's Interview Magazine from 1989 to 2008.[3] [4] Until her death in 2015, she and her partner Sandra Brant edited the Italian, Spanish and German editions of Vanity Fair.[5] [6]

Early life

Sischy was born in Johannesburg to Ben Sischy, a family doctor who became an expert in radiation oncology, and Claire Sischy, a speech therapist. She had two older brothers, Mark Sischy, a lawyer who lived in Scotland, and David Sischy, a doctor.[7] [8] Her family was Jewish; they had Lithuanian ancestry.[9] [10]

In 1961, when Sischy was nine years old, the Sischy family left apartheid-era South Africa after the Sharpeville massacre and moved to Edinburgh, Scotland, where Dr. Sischy re-trained as a radiologist. The family had had to leave South Africa because Sischy's mother was in danger of being arrested for her involvement in an activist group, the Black Sash, that non-violently protested apartheid. In 1967, the family moved to Rochester, New York, where Sischy's father became the head of radiation oncology at Highland Hospital.[11]

While in Scotland, Sischy attended George Watson's Ladies College. In Rochester, she graduated from Brighton High School.[12] Sischy started college at Sarah Lawrence College.[13] She also took writing classes with Grace Paley. Sischy graduated from Sarah Lawrence in 1973.

She received an honorary PhD in the humanities from the Moore College of Art in 1987.

Career

After graduating from college, Sischy took a series of odd jobs and entry-level positions in the art world, including at galleries. She became the circulation coordinator at Print Collector's Newsletter, an art world industry resource, and was promoted to the role of editor, contributing reviews of art shows New York City. She was hired, and almost immediately fired, by the Guggenheim Museum in New York, where the dress code and atmosphere made her feel untrue to herself. She then worked at Printed Matter, Inc, a nonprofit book publisher that introduced her to artists like Sol LeWitt, Jenny Holzer, and many emerging artists.

Museum of Modern Art

In 1978, Sischy interned at The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) under a National Endowment for the Arts curation grant focusing on photography exhibits, one called "In the Twenties: Portraits From the Photography Department", and another on photographer Ansel Adams. During this time, she was mentored by John Szarkowski, the Director of the Department of Photography at MoMA.[10]

Artforum

In 1979, at the age of 27, Sischy was appointed editor-in-chief of Artforum magazine by businessman and publisher Anthony Korner and Amy Baker Sandback. Sischy tapped into the downtown art scene and advised on covers[14] and content, often written by artists.[15] [16] Sischy edited Artforum for eight years.[17] Sischy was profiled at length by the critic and journalist Janet Malcolm in The New Yorker.[18] [19] [20]

The New Yorker

She left Artforum in 1988, to become a consulting editor at The New Yorker and work on the AIDS virus, which had begun to decimate the downtown artist community.[10] From 1988–1996, she worked at The New Yorker, reporting on fashion and art.[21]

Interview Magazine

In 1989, Sischy became the editor of Interview, a downtown magazine founded by Andy Warhol in 1969.[10] During her tenure at Interview, covers of the magazine became noted by the press.[22]

In 1996, she was named Artistic Director of the inaugural Florence Fashion Biennale, where she organized an exhibition that showed work in 20+ museums in the Florence, Italy area. Part of this exhibition was later presented at the Guggenheim Museum Soho.[23] [24]

In 2008, Sischy resigned from Interview magazine amidst much press and speculation.[25] [26] [27]

Vanity Fair

Sischy was a contributing editor to Vanity Fair from 1997 until her death in 2015.[6] She was the international editor of Condé Nast, writing for the Spanish, French, and Italian versions of Vanity Fair, and the German and Russian versions of Vogue.[28] She shared this position with her long-time partner and later wife, Sandra Brant.[29] [30]

Other activities

Sischy was a member of an all-female art band called Disband, founded in 1978 by artists and writers.[31] [32] She was featured in the 2011 documentary film !Women Art Revolution, where she discussed her contributions to the feminist movement of female artists in the 1970s.[33]

She was a widely published author on a range of cultural subjects and contributed to several periodicals, including The New York Times and Vanity Fair and was at one time the fashion and photography critic for The New Yorker.[34]

In 2013, Sischy was given the "Fashion Scoop of the Year" Award (for her Vanity Fair piece on John Galliano) at the Fashion Media Awards by the photographer Bruce Weber.[35]

Personal life

Although she was in at least one long-term relationship with a woman from the time she was in college, it was a New Yorker review of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe photography show, "The Perfect Moment," where Sischy came out publicly as a lesbian.[10] [36]

Sischy described the chronic battles of her brother, Mark Sischy, with alcoholism in her interview with designer John Galliano, who was newly sober.[37]

In 2015, Sischy married her longtime partner of over 25 years, Sandra Brant (née Simms).[38] [39]

Brant was formerly married to Brant Publications' owner, Peter M. Brant, who was the publisher of Interview Magazine.[26] Sischy and Sandra Brant lived in Greenwich Village and in Montauk in a cottage designed by Stanford White.[5] They were godmothers to Elton John and David Furnish's son.[38]

Death

Sischy died on July 24, 2015, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center from breast cancer at the age of 63.[5] [39]

Works and publications

Monographs

Selected feature articles

Other works

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Fox. Margalit. Ingrid Sischy, Doyenne of Art and Fashion, Dies at 63. July 25, 2015. The New York Times. July 24, 2015.
  2. News: Roche. Eddie. Remembering Ingrid Sischy. July 25, 2015. Daily Front Row. July 24, 2015.
  3. News: Wolff. Michael. This Media Life: Fametown. July 25, 2015. New York. October 23, 2000.
  4. News: Brait. Ellen. Ingrid Sischy, longtime editor of Interview magazine, dies at age 63. July 25, 2015. The Guardian. July 24, 2015.
  5. News: Carter. Graydon. Ingrid Sischy: An Appreciation. July 25, 2015. Vanity Fair. July 24, 2015.
  6. News: Pérez-Peña. Richard. Condé Nast Names 2 for European Ventures. July 25, 2015. The New York Times. March 18, 2008.
  7. News: Paid Notice: Deaths – Sischy, Benjamin. July 25, 2015. The New York Times. September 27, 2000.
  8. Web site: Highland Hospital: Radiation Oncology . Highland Hospital, University of Rochester Medical School. July 25, 2015.
  9. Michael Wolff, "Fametown", New York Magazine, October 23, 2000.
  10. News: Smith. Dinitia. After Andy: Ingrid Sischy, Queen of the Downtown Art Scene, Takes over at Interview. July 25, 2015. New York. January 29, 1990.
  11. News: South African-born Dr. Benjamin Sischy dies at age 82. July 25, 2015. Bangla2000. Associated Press. October 4, 2000.
  12. News: Lemon. Brendan. Sense and Sensibility. July 26, 2015. The Advocate. March 5, 1996.
  13. News: Zerbib. Kathy. Ingrid Sischy, Fashion Writer and Longtime Interview Magazine Editor, Dead at 63. July 25, 2015. The Wrap. July 25, 2015.
  14. News: Horgan. Richard. Ingrid Sischy's First Magazine Cover. July 26, 2015. Adweek. July 25, 2015.
  15. News: Ingrid Sischy (1952–2015). July 25, 2015. Artforum. July 24, 2015.
  16. News: Saltz. Jerry. Ingrid Sischy, Artforum Maestro: 1952–2015. July 25, 2015. Vulture. July 24, 2015.
  17. News: The year in visual art was a dizzying reflection of today. Waxman. Lori. chicagotribune.com. August 10, 2018. en-US.
  18. Malcolm. Janet. A Girl of the Zeitgesit – Part I. July 25, 2015. The New Yorker. October 20, 1986.
  19. Malcolm. Janet. A Girl of the Zeitgesit – Part II. July 25, 2015. The New Yorker. October 27, 1986.
  20. Ingrid Sischy in The New Yorker. The New Yorker. August 10, 2018. en-US.
  21. Rothman. Joshua. Ingrid Sischy in The New Yorker. July 26, 2015. The New Yorker. July 25, 2015.
  22. News: Interview magazine's best covers under Ingrid Sischy – in pictures. July 25, 2015. The Guardian. July 24, 2015.
  23. News: Spindler. Amy M. Fashion as Art. Or Maybe Not. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. September 15, 1996.
  24. News: Smith. Roberta. Serious Side of an Infatuation With Fashion. July 27, 2015. The New York Times. March 14, 1997.
  25. News: Renowned Editor of Interview Magazine Ingrid Sischy Resigns After 18 Years. July 25, 2015. PR Newswire. January 23, 2008.
  26. News: Ryzik. Melena. Magazine Started by Warhol Names Editorial Directors. July 25, 2015. The New York Times. January 25, 2008.
  27. News: Koblin. John. Interview Editor Ingrid Sischy Quits. July 25, 2015. Observer. January 24, 2008.
  28. Web site: Ingrid Sischy on Cindy Sherman's Untitled #479, 1975. Walker Art Center. July 26, 2015. November 9, 2012.
  29. News: Ingrid Sischy and Sandra Brant to Helm 'Vanity Fair' Abroad . July 26, 2015. New York. March 17, 2008.
  30. News: Fury. Alexander. Ingrid Sischy: A tribute to the magazine editor who showed no vanity, but lots of flair. July 26, 2015. The Independent. July 25, 2015.
  31. Web site: Disband – Press Release. disbandny.files.wordpress.com. July 25, 2015.
  32. Web site: Feldman. Alaina Claire. Disband. dis. July 25, 2015. 2012.
  33. Web site: Hershman Leeson. Lynn. !Women Art Revolution.
  34. News: Silver. Dena. Remembering Ingrid Sischy Through Her Most Memorable Stories. July 25, 2015. Observer. July 24, 2015.
  35. News: Bruce Weber presenting to Ingrid Sischy for "Fashion Scoop of the Year:" Fashion Media Awards 2013. July 26, 2015. Look TV. September 7, 2013.
  36. Sischy. Ingrid. Photography White and Black. July 25, 2015. The New Yorker. November 13, 1989.
  37. News: Sischy. Ingrid. Galliano in the Wilderness. July 25, 2015. Vanity Fair. July 2013.
  38. News: Curtis. Nick. Meet the godparents of Elton John's new baby. July 26, 2015. London Evening Standard. January 12, 2011.
  39. News: Lockwood. Lisa. Ingrid Sischy Dies at 63. July 25, 2015. Women's Wear Daily. July 25, 2015.

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