I'll always love Philip Guston. Aside from being a "painter's painter" and having some of the greatest paint to just look at, his courage to break away from AB EX and launch into, what many at the time considered, digressive and childish is absolutely extraordinary. His break with the norm led to a whole new source of imagery and allowed for a much wider use of subject matter. This video is from the Nation Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
No matter what you think of his work you have to give Richter the credit of revitalizing painting - especially in the 90's. He has remained a consistent reference point for contemporary painting. If you assign aesthetic or conceptual problems to solve through painting, at some point you will cross paths with Richter's work. For this reason I start this blog with him.
The video, despite the overly sentimental music, has some good comments by Richter regarding his work and painting in general and shows him at his most gentle - portrayed as almost grandfatherly. I'm sure there are better videos of interviews with Richter - but we'll start with this one.
Michael Hall is a Bay Area artist and educator whose work in painting, video and installation is concerned with historical narratives, the societal and personal function of images and the relationship between control and protection.
