A Short Life of Trouble

Marcia was instrumental in introducing so many artists throughout her career, and I was one of them.-Bruce NaumanI know of no other curator who has left a major museum and said, 'I'll start a new museum.' Marcia was for me a mentor, then a beacon, and later a role model. I consider myself fortunate.-John Baldessari Marcia was a rebel with a cause: shaking up the staid world of art museums. She did it with vision, guts, and humor. We are forever indebted to her example.-Guerrilla GirlsA Short Life Of Trouble-gossipy and delicious, smart and often deeply moving-takes us through Marcia Tucker's tough but fascinating days as a young, adventurous curator at the Whitney Museum to her ambivalent triumphs and constant challenges as the visionary founder of the New Museum, and beyond. The author emerges as a fierce, outspoken champion of contemporary artists, especially the risk-takers who are often marginalized and overlooked or not an easy sell. Her intelligence, passion, immense generosity of spirit, and wry, witty observations on the battles and machinations of the New York art world of the 1980s and 1990s are alive on every page. Although in her quest to live a just, meaningful existence she was often hardest on herself, Marcia Tucker clearly knew how to have fun and made every minute count. This poignant memoir lets us glimpse the all-too-brief but rich and remarkable life of an extraordinary human being.-Jessica Hagedorn, author of Dream Jungle