Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
Joe Fig: Red Grooms: April 4, 2014, 2014. Mixed media.
Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
Artist Joe Fig has visited over 120 artists in their studios, posing questions about their practice, from their favorite color to their motto. His book Inside the Artist’s Studio, forthcoming in October from Princeton Architectural Press, reveals the daily working habits of two dozen artists, including figures like Tara Donovan, Leonardo Drew, Carroll Dunham, and Judy Pfaff.
Extensively illustrated with photos from the artist’s studios as well as images of Fig’s own drawings, paintings, and diorama-like sculptures showing their workspaces, the book also reveals artists’ memories of their childhood projects and their first shows. The book release follows a show of the same name with his New York dealer, Cristin Tierney Gallery, that includes paintings, sculptures and drawings representing his colleagues’ studios.
Here’s a little bit of what you can expect from the interviews:
Ellen Altfest at work.
Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
Ellen Altfest
“My credo comes from [writer and painter] Rackstraw Downes. … ‘Let the painting win.’”
Peter Campus
“The real motto I have comes from [Boston Museum of Fine Arts curator] Ananda Coomaraswamy. He said that art should have four equal components: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual… I don’t think it’s such a bad thing to feel some excess of emotion when you’re standing in front of, say, a painting like El Greco’s View of Toledo.”
Petah Coyne
Favorite color: “Deep purple, like a bruise.”
Adam Cvijanovic
“When I was a kid… I was very lucky to go to the Harvard ethnology [Peabody] museum often. … I became interested in Islamic Iran … And the motto that I picked up from that is ‘Victory or paradise.’ … I’m either going to win and accomplish something, or I fought a noble fight.”
Tara Donovan’s studio.
Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
Tara Donovan
Motto: “If it were easy, some other asshole would have done it by now.”
Leonardo Drew
What brought him to his current studio in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn? “The cemeteries. We have eight different cemeteries. Mondrian is buried out here in a pauper’s grave… Now there’s a gold plaque that marks the site, but when we found him there was nothing there.”
Tom Friedman
“My favorite title was for a piece where I cut cardboard into a burst shape. The title of that piece is Cardboard! [screams the word]. You have to say it really loud [laughs]. If you say the title is Cardboard [spoken softly], that’s not the title.”
Kate Gilmore
“I really hate hearing young artists bitch about how hard it is, that they have to work a million hours and still go to their studio. They feel they should have success right after school. But the art world is hard—it’s so hard… If you’re not a hundred million percent into what you’re doing, don’t do it. Get out.”
Leonardo Drew’s studio.
Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
Hilary Harkness
“In 2001 curator Max Henry put me in a group show… at Mary Boone’s gallery. I didn’t realize this was a good opportunity to meet a dealer. I didn’t have the good manners to say ‘thank you’ to Mary. In 2003 I was following my best friend [art advisor] Pearl Albino around Chelsea to art openings… Pearl decided to drop by a Mary Boone dinner party at Bottino. I panicked because I felt like we were crashing, but Pearl was unfazed. Mary noticed me hanging back in the entryway and glided across the room toward us. I thought, she’s going to kick my butt for crashing her party. But surprisingly, she asked me to join her gallery.”
Tom Otterness
“Whether I’m depressed or not, I work. You can’t wait for inspiration. You’ve got a job; you’ve got to get it done. I find the work turns out the same whether I’m depressed or happy.”
Roxy Paine
“I really don’t like to think about anything else besides the work, so every morning I just have a bowl of Corn Chex cereal and coffee. Every morning… I have a number of identical work shirts and pants that I wear every day to reduce that decision making.”
Judy Pfaff
“I cannot stand work that feels as if I didn’t read the right French philosopher to understand it.”
Laurie Simmons
“I went to a psychic when I first came to New York, and she kept saying, ‘Keep your eyes and ears open.’”
Carroll Dunham in his studio.
Photo Joe Fig, courtesy Princeton Architectural Press.
“Joe Fig: Inside the Artist’s Studio will be on view at Cristin Tierney Gallery from September 10–October 24, 2015.