Last week Jerome Witkin spoke at IU. It was a Friday night after a long, rich, day of lithography and so I have to admit that I nodded off for maybe 7 of the 120 minute talk in the daaaarrrrrk, comfortable seat filled, auditorium. BUT, I thoroughly enjoyed Jerome's thoughts on being an artist.
He grew up as a painting prodigy and went to the Skowhegan School in his teens. He is a direct artistic descendant of Western Europe. His monumental figurative paintings often address cruelty, war, and trauma. Sometimes he paints simple portraits of friends, but everything is painted with a lush weight. Amazingly, his twin brother is photographer Joel Peter Witkin.
Favorite quote of the night - "It is a privilege to paint such difficult things."
1 comment:
Do you know the title of the first painting you posted here? I wanted to find out more about it.
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