Dec 17, 20232 min read

Self-learning through artist interviews

When researching various artists, the most valuable thing for me is their live (recorded) interviews. But, unfortunately, it is not always possible to understand the specifics of a particular artist’s work from the first interview. Unfortunately, this is due to how popular and famous his work is.

When we talk about relatively new faces in the art industry, the interviewer builds the dialogue in such a way as to explain the main points of the work in as much detail as possible. From such interviews we can understand the main interest of the artist, his background, how he came to this idea, how it changed over time, how the idea is implemented in the material, how the presentation of the works is carried out, where the viewer is in the works, etc.... When we see some videos about the “titans” of the art market, these are likely deeper discussions about philosophy, their views on certain topics remote from art. Or it could be an interview about their particular type of activity, for example, if the artist is a sculptor, then it could be a dialogue about his drawings, which does not provide a general overview of the artist's methods and ideas, but certainly enriches the understanding of the depth of his work.

If I transfer this experience to my work, I only get upset, because I see my practice as a seething rushing avalanche of ideas and activities, without rules and directions. And in this storm of emotions, if it works out, then I find logic and consistency.

Of course, after watching interviews like the one below, I begin to think critically about what I do. So, for example, from an interview with Phyllida Barlow, I realized that my passion for the material “at hand” comes from my youth. From the interview with Katharina Grosse, I realized that sensitive, well-mixed and noble colour aesthetics are important to me, rather than industrial colours. From Anselm Kiefer's interview, I discovered my confirmation of a constant delight in work and a constant exploration of the world around me and the past.

Artie Vierkant and Oliver Laric for me are one of the progressive and at the same time simply thinking artists from whom I learn to formulate simple questions and draw conclusions from my practice, and also think about my place in the world of contemporary art.

Artie Vierkant