Tim Youd Retypes the Hudson Valley

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Welcome to Vassar’s blog for Tim Youd’s retyping of The Group by Mary McCarthy. Please browse this site for information on the artist, his ongoing project, and the scheduled locations where he will be performing at Vassar. Check back for updates!

The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center is pleased to announce a special performance by Los Angeles-based artist Tim Youd at Vassar College. The performance, which runs daily from April 19 through May 4, is part of the artist’s ongoing project 100 Novels in which he retypes novels from beginning to end in locations that are charged with literary significance in the author’s biography.  At Vassar, Youd will retype The Group by distinguished novelist, essayist, and critic Mary McCarthy (Vassar College, class of 1933).

During the two-week run of the performance, Youd will be relocating frequently. He will be stationed in various locations across campus including the Art Center, the Main Library, The Bridge Building, Main Building, the Students’ Building, and the quad. Announcements of his location will be posted on social media for students and visitors to follow. Others might come across the performance by chance, following the staccato rhythm of the typewriter keys, which can often be heard before the artist comes into view. Youd is open to visitors approaching him to talk about the project throughout the performance.

This performance is the 56th novel to be typed in the series and is one of several that Youd will undertake in the Hudson Valley during spring and summer 2018. The resulting diptychs from the Hudson Valley cycle will be presented in an exhibition in the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center’s Focus Gallery in fall 2018.