Ian Cooper (artist)

American visual artist and creative director of Monkeypaw Productions

Ian Cooper

Born| 1978 (age 45-46)

New York City, U.S.

Occupations|

* Visual artist
* film producer
* academic

Years active| 2017–present

Ian Cooper (born 1978) is an American visual artist,[1] film producer, and academic,[2] best known for his collaborations[3] with Jordan Peele; he currently serves as creative director of Peele's Monkeypaw Productions.[4]

## Career

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### Visual Art

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Cooper has had solo exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States and abroad. His "mixed-media sculptures"[5] have been written about in The New York Times,[6] Artforum,[7] among others. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art[8] and the Pérez Art Museum.[9]

Cooper's art has been described as "obsessed with the dark side of adolescence and with how the transition from youth to adulthood is acted out in a variety of aesthetic statements."[7] Cooper's sculptures of "institutionalized surfaces"[10] "filtered through the aesthetics of his 1980s childhood, pervert the forms and features of K-12."[10] Works have featured references to ballet barres,[5] institutional projection screens,[5] and a "penetrated matador's cape."[5] Writing about his work, Artforum critic Alex Javonovich stated that Cooper's sculptures are "sensuous yet sterile" and "frantic and batty."[11]

Cooper's artistic style can be seen reflected in his film work, and themes and elements from his exhibiting art career have appeared in his contributions to films, including ballet barres[5] in scenes from Jordan Peele's Us.

### Film

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In 2017, Cooper was brought on as the Creative Director[4] of Monkeypaw Productions, as well as becoming Jordan Peele's producing partner.[12] Since joining the company, Cooper has produced the following feature films: Peele's 2019's Us; Nia DaCosta's Candyman (2022); and Peele's 2022 film Nope.

Feature Films:

During filming, Ian Cooper went to great lengths[13] to ensure key plot points weren't leaked early, in one instance telling passersby that the crew was filming a Verizon commercial.

Candyman

Cooper spoke highly about the unity of the cast and crew throughout the filming process.[14] Reviews of the film praised the writing,[15] directing,[16] and social critiques[17]

Nope

While few details have been released about Monkeypaw's latest film Nope, the teaser announcement[18] included a released date of July 22, 2022. It has been confirmed[19] that the cast will include Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, and Steven Yeun. Cooper is credited on the film as a producer.

### Academia

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Before entering the film world, Ian Cooper was on the sculpture faculty at New York University's Steinhardt School Department of Arts & Arts Professions from 2005 to 2017. Cooper also served as the lead faculty of the Senior Studio Program and was the program coordinator for the Senior Honors Studio program[20] across the first three years of its inception. During his tenure at NYU, Cooper co-created the NYU Curatorial Collaborative[2] which remains a capstone experience to the thesis program, as well as a cross-departmental program that unites a select group of curatorial graduate students from The Institute of Fine Art[21] with a group of jury-selected undergraduate visual artists from the Steinhardt Studio Art program. The initiative "fosters interdisciplinary teamwork that prepares both the artists and art historians for future projects in their respective fields"[22] and results in a series of exhibitions annually, held at the 80WSE Gallery.[23] Cooper also partnered with artist Sara Greenberger Rafferty to teach a Cartoon Logic course at Michigan's prestigious Ox-Bow School of Art.[24][25]

## References

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1. ^ "Ian Cooper | Artist Overview | MutualArt". www.mutualart.com.
2. ^ a b "Senior Studio Program Coordinator". Retrieved September 29, 2023.
3. ^ Kroll, Justin (April 1, 2021). "Following Oscar Nomination For 'Minari', Steven Yeun Eyes Jordan Peele's New Film At Universal".
4. ^ a b "Monkeypaw Productions". www.monkeypawproductions.com. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
5. ^ a b c d e "IAN COOPER – OFF/OFF : HALSEY MCKAY GALLERY". Retrieved September 29, 2023.
6. ^ Smith, Roberta (November 16, 2001). "ART IN REVIEW; 'The Worst of Gordon Pym Continued'". The New York Times.
7. ^ a b "Ian Cooper at CUE Art Foundation". www.artforum.com. May 4, 2005.
8. ^ "Whitney Museum of American Art". whitney.org.
9. ^ "PAMM | Pérez Art Museum Miami". www.pamm.org.
10. ^ a b "Halsey McKay Gallery". www.artforum.com. October 23, 2015.
11. ^ Jovanovich, Alex (October 23, 2015). "Ian Cooper". Retrieved September 29, 2023.
12. ^ "Ian Cooper". Produced By Conference. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
13. ^ staff, T. H. R. (November 11, 2019). "How Producers on 'Irishman,' 'Once Upon a Time' and 10 More Best Picture Contenders Overcame Their Biggest Challenges". The Hollywood Reporter.
14. ^ "Candyman - Ian Cooper - producer". August 19, 2021 - via www.youtube.com.
15. ^ ""Candyman," Reviewed: A Sequel That Cuts Far Deeper Than the Original". The New Yorker. August 26, 2021.
16. ^ Dargis, Manohla (August 26, 2021). "'Candyman' Review: Who Can Take a Sunrise, Sprinkle It With Blood?". The New York Times.
17. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (August 25, 2021). "'Candyman' Review: A Slasher Movie with a Sharper Social Edge Than the Original".
18. ^ "Jordan Peele Unveils Next Horror Film 'Nope' With Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun". July 22, 2021.
19. ^ "Jordan Peele's next movie will be called 'Nope'". NBC News. July 22, 2021.
20. ^ "Mark Your Calendars! Upcoming Events at the IFA – IFAcontemporary". Retrieved September 29, 2023.
21. ^ "The Institute of Fine Arts, NYU". ifa.nyu.edu.
22. ^ "Home". nyucuratorialcollaborative.org.
23. ^ "80WSE Gallery". 80WSE Gallery.
24. ^ "Ox-Bow". Ox-Bow.
25. ^ "2016 Summer Catalog" (PDF). squarespace.com. Retrieved September 29, 2023.

## External links

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* Ian Cooper at IMDb