Who Do (I) Love?

A few years ago I hosted a panel series called, "Who Do You Love" where I asked artists and writers to talk about the artists who inspired them.  My idea was that most artists create, (at least in their heads) their own artistic genealogy, based around some idea that runs from one artistic generation to the next to the next, right up to yours truly.  The panels generated some interesting discussions and also confirmed my theory that I'm not the only artist who does this. Most artists see themselves as connected to a self-defined artistic lineage.

That said, it occurred to me today that I never shared my own artistic fore-bearers.  So here they are, along with a word or phrase that comes to minds when I think about their work. As you might expect, many of them specialize in drawing.

Ike Taiga - small things make big things, not the other way around
Watteau - don't hit your subject smack in the face
Giacometti - analyze, the rest will happen by itself
Van Gogh - see the less important parts all the way through
Warhol (the Screen Tests) - do as little as possible
Balthus - the space is a character
David Hockney - the artist is a character
Alice Neel - if the truth is cruel, be cruel
Käthe Kollwitz - draw what you care about, not just what you like
Gengoroh Tagame - go to your most fucked up place
Frank Auerbach -  no such thing as overworking something
Dürer - grass
Saul Steinberg - I'll never be that good.

 

(I realize, my phrases are more aphorisms than ideas.  Not sure how I feel about that.  I'll post something about it once I decide.)