14 november 2012

Ross Bleckner #3




Atelier van Ross Bleckner, Sagaponack, Long Island, New York.

"In his new book, Inside the Painter’s Studio, artist Joe Fig documents the day-to-day lives of 24 contemporary artists with photos of their studios, notes on their work habits, and interviews about where and how they make art. In addition, Fig’s own sculptures are shown—miniature reproductions of the artists themselves in the process of creating, a spellbinding sort of diorama as portraiture. For any artist, historian, or art fan, there’s fascinating stuff in the minutia about gear and paint brands, and also the larger questions about what it takes to get up every morning and go paint. As Chuck Close says, “Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work.” See below for Fig’s detailed account of how the book came to be....

What stood out as something many studios and artists had in common?

What I found to be common factors between artists are several things. I found that in at least this group of particular artists, they are successful because they work incessantly. Several work seven days a week. They all seem to have very set schedules and daily routines that they diligently keep to.

As Eric Fischl says about his daily routine, “My discipline is that I try to work on a regular basis rather than in spurts. I certainly don’t wait around for inspiration!”

And Ross Bleckner: “I am happiest and most psychologically balanced when my days follow the exact same pattern day after day after day.”

There is no idea that I have ever had that comes to me outside of the process of work. So therefore, the few months in a row I am working seven days a week—and if I am having a show or not is irrelevant—I guess the operative metaphor for me is that I am a scientist in a lab, on the verge of discovering something. Or I am just a hound dog sniffing around trying to catch the scent. But in order to do that, I need the [daily] consistency.

Having visited so many other artists’ studios, are there things you’d like to change about your own space? Did you ever get studio envy?

Oh definitely. Size would be the main thing, not so much for actual working space but more for storage. I try to keep things cleared away but especially if I have a big sculpture in here it takes up both physical and visual space. Also if I had additional space it would also be nice if I could create a “drawing” zone, a “painting” zone, a “looking at the paintings” zone, a “display” zone, a “sit on the couch and chill out and read” zone.

However, I have been surprised at how small some of the studios are, such as James Siena’s and even to a degree Chuck Close’s. About the size of his studio Chuck has said, “You know there is really no reason to have a big studio.” And, “I could paint anywhere. [In the past] I made big paintings in the tiniest bedrooms, garages, you name it. You know, once I have my back to the room, I could be anywhere. I could care less.”

As for studio envy, Eric Fischl and April Gornik have a stunning studio. Plus architecturally it is incorporated into the surrounding grounds and the main house as well. If I could trade with anyone it would be with them." (bron: The Morning News)

> Ross Bleckner
> Joe Fig