David Lynch: Interview Project

I follow @DAVID_LYNCH because apart from being completely in love with him, his is an art that can make your mind wander to isolated corners. At the Fondation Cartier show a couple of years ago I had to keep going outside for a breather because his work was locating a part in me that I didn’t want to recognise that day; it’s like it finds that dark little shadow inside and seductively gnaws away at it. His work gave me an anxiety attack...

Yet when he’s interviewed you couldn’t find a man who’s voice makes me feel more relaxed. Anyway, so I found out that he’s started this new project called Interview Project. Every three days he presents a new interview; the interviewees are spotted by his team who are driving across America with one goal in mind to stop and set up camera when they see someone interesting. Simple, beautiful, humbling and hugely addictive. It’s given me the boot, inspiration, if you like to push on with a project I’ve been thinking about for a while which is not so dissimilar.

New Math by Craig Dramrauer, edited by Ed Ruscha

New Math is a project run by New York based artist Craig Damrauer. The works are a series of charming little graphic equations on contemporary life and the human condition. When I found them I thought of Ed Ruscha’s work and asked him if he would like to make an edit of 12 for a postcard edition. He agreed and they have were published as a limited edition of 250 sets for Ed Ruscha’s exhibition at the Hayward in 2010. 

Doing a Schizophrenia

When Carl Jung hit 38 his mental world started to unravel. He began to hear voices and descended into a world of horrific hallucinations, in his own words he felt “menaced by a psychosis” or “doing a schizophrenia.” Instead of medicating himself or trying to keep the unconscious at bay he encouraged this black period in order to explore it, and The Red Book was his journal and partner during this time in which everything is fleshed out. Included within these demonic fantasies he falls in love with his sister, is squeezed by a giant serpent, dines out on the liver of a small child and finds the devil criticizing him as hateful. Rock ‘n Roll… buy it here, and read an interesting article here.

Urs Fischer at the New Museum (2009-2010)

Urs Fischer, Violent Cappuccino, 2007

Hello! What’s going on here then? In this composition Urs Fischer presents an absurd puzzle that is immensely believable. He has brought life back to the skeleton; mid maneuver and completely consumed by his situation we seem to get a sense of his character (he’s definitely male). We can’t work out what is going on exactly; is he stuck? How could it have happened? It’s like the boxes have suddenly entrapped him. I want to go over and give him a hand but at the same time I don’t want to interrupt him, it feels a private conundrum somehow. There is something very contemplative and thoughtful about this, I love the way in which he’s suspended, with just the boxes touching the floor. It’s really quite sublime. The title, Violent Cappuccino, is rather lovely, and is to be seen at the New Museum on until Feb 2010. I’d really like to see it in person. Another one for the fantasy collection…

Ben Quilty

Ben Quilty, Skull-Burger no.3, 2006

Oh my, Oh my, Oh my… This young Australian painter makes me want money so I can buy; he makes me want a gallery so I can show; he makes me want to know him so I can look him in the eye and understand. But this is what Real Art does, it means you can understand everything in a pure moment, the world can make sense when you rest your eyes on paint so thick you want to chew it, colours so cool and melancholy you want them close to your skin, depth so bottomless you want to free-fall into it.

The form of this painting, the shapes, it reminds me of Claes Oldenburg’s wonderfully stuffed sculptures, remember those calico burgers and cigarettes? The painting is almost 3D. That background is super sublime like a Caspar David Fredrich relentless rolling sky; it makes me want to go on forever. The skull gorging on meat, the tomato sauce soaked soggy lettuce – I can taste the salt in it; the human avaricious will to consume; a dirty skull, soiled by life and left wretched by flesh. I could live very happily with this painting; it reminds me of all that is human and all that is not. I may get into a lot of debt over this – I’m mailing him now…

THIS IS ART!