The artist observed
The artist observed: 28 interviews with contemporary artists
John Gruen
Publisher: Chicago, IL : A Cappella Books, c1991.
ISBN: 1556521030 DDC: 709.22 LCC: N6490 Edition: $19.95
interviewer´s voice is not present..... story telling interspersed with the artist´s voice
Preface p.viii interviews are the signposts that mark a particular stage in an artist´s ongoing creative life. As such they offer insights into the creative process and, more often than not, the mood and tenor of the times that fostered it.
To hear an artist speak of his art is to know a person grappling with the unknown yet secure in the pursuit of a precisely felt vision. in constant battle with the elusive, the artist nevertheless gives shape and form to a reality that is uniquely his own.
Francis Bacon
p.9 I´ve had the luck of having never gone to art school. Of course, they can´t teach you anything at an art school. It´s sad to see the young people studying at art schools today. They have this feeling that something will be unlocked in them. But there is nothing. They must find everything for themselves."
p.10 And Rothko. I was terribly disappointed when I saw his work when it came to London. I expected to see marvellous abstract Turners or Monets. But you see in an odd way, the very fact that you don´t have subject matter leaves the paintings too free. In theory it should work, but in practice it hasn´t worked out, because too much free-fancy can take over, and you can´t just make a decorative image. It´s just not possible.
Bridget Riley
p. 155 While I was supporting myself, I struggled with the business of what to paint, how, in fact, to solve the whole problem of being an artist.
Is Riley a feminist?
p.159 The movement, you mean? Absolutely not. People have tried to rope me into it countless times. But you see, I live it, therefore I have no interest in it.
