1. When and how did you decide to become
an artist?
I decided to become an artist after college. I was writing
a lot and one day thought I could save time by making things
versus describing them with words. At that point I didn’t
see the distinction between writing and art making. I could
go to a lot of trouble describing a shoe or I could just
draw a picture. Shifting to visual art was just a time saving
measure.
2.Did you want to be an artist before or after you decided
to do your undergraduate in Anthropology?
After. I studied Anthropology because I thought it was the
broadest possible field. Anthropology means the study of
man. I thought under that definition you could do just about
anything. Once I got into it I realized otherwise but my
initial feeling was that I had discovered the super umbrella
under which all things were possible.
3.
How did your studies with Anthropology influence your practice?
There are a number of things I could point to but probably
the most obvious is the similarity of archeology to art
making. In archeology the scientist basically lines up a
group of artifacts and suggests that they tell a story.
It is completely theoretical because of course the cultures
typically no longer exist. Archeology rises and falls on
belief. The scientist makes the data persuasive by the way
they order it. Two archeologists might line up the same
artifacts and draw two very different conclusions about
what they indicate about the culture. It is the same in
art. We organize information and try to persuade the viewer.
Two artists may look at a landscape and one makes you think
it is heaven and the other makes you think it’s hell.
Who’s right? The one we believe. A lot of my work
has dealt with mutability of data and science as a poetic
endeavor. I probably would have stayed in social science
if I could write poems or novels. The problem with Anthropology
for me was that the monographs were so dreary.
4.Who
is your biggest influence in your prac tice and why?
It’s difficult to say who is my biggest influence
except to say there are certain people I turn to when I
am in the studio feeling all hope is lost.There are certain
people who give me courage. Reading Nietzsche gives me courage.
I love the concision of his writing his willingness just
to nail it -- to be outrageous. Martin Kippenberger’s
work gives me courage. Sometimes I forget you can just do
whatever the fuck you want. No idea is too dumb if tackled
with gusto. Kippenberger reminds me of that.John Baldessari
who was my teacher and remains a good friend, always has
very useful advice. He says to survive you have to have
a lively sense of the absurd. I draw on that in my darker
moments.
5. With your many practices; writing, painting, sculpture,
performance Do you find that they develop with one another
(if so how)? Or do you treat them as separate practices
(if so why)?
Each form has certain advantages that are suited to certain
ideas. I don’t think every idea can be dealt with
equally in every form. In writing you can deal with very
complex subject matter. You have limitless possibilities
to sort of double back and add nuance. Painting can’t
do that. Paintings can have tremendous impact but they don’t
lend themselves to complex stories. I like painting where
the object matter of the work is pared down. If I have to
put a lot little pieces together I think the painting fails.
Sculpture for me is about power. It takes up space and real
estate is power. My sculptures are for the most part about
taking up space. Performance is about addressing an audience.
Not all performances have an audience but mine do. They
are about me standing in front of you.I am interested in
what happens in live address versus other forms of communication.
6. Could you describe your current
show, Recent Works,
that is opening this month at The Happy Lion?
That’s easy. The show is five piñatas of me.
They are called Magical Death. The title comes from a film
by Napoleon Chagon about the Yanomano Indians and their
practice of ritual warfare. I have always been interested
in any way we can rehearse death.
7. What is the best, and the worst thing about being
an artist and why?
The best thing about being an artist is if you have the
courage you can do whatever you want. The worst thing is
everything that inhibits you: fear, loneliness, and envy.
8. If you could give a struggling artist advice,
what would it be?
Don’t
take no for an answer. Art (for the artist) is about willing
things into existence.
