Discussing Julian Schnabel

In the last post I asked the question (in relation to working full time at only your art) - "...but where do you draw the line? At what point do you just go for it fully and how exactly do you do that?" On Sunday's edition of CBS's 60 Minutes there was an interview with modern artist Julian Schnabel, that at least provides his answer - "I stopped working has a cook when I got $6000 for a painting." (Aside from working other odd jobs before that too). The first thing he was noted for or got noticed for (as you can see in the interview below) was smashing plates he bought from thrift stores, then painting and gluing them to canvas in mosaic fashion.


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I have a lot of interest in Schnabel's work, I may not like all of it, but I find it very interesting. In addition to coming up in the art scene in the 1980's He has also been directing movies for a while now. He directed the movie Basquiat, which is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies of all time (along with Edward Scissorhands, and Dead Man directed by Tim Burton and Jim Jarmusch, respectively). But I don't think there has been a movie that depicts a place and time quite as perfectly as Schnabel does with the 1980's New York Art scene in Basquiat. (At least in comparison to what I can tell from pictures, interviews, literature, and the art made during that time).

Looking at the history of modern art specifically, Schnabel is at the center of the last two decades of the 2oth century and is still a huge influence. At least I would have to include his work at the top of my list of interests and influences on my work, if for no other reason than he does make you think. Say what you want about his work, but one thing you can't say is that it doesn't make you think, for even in the ways that you dislike it, your brain is churning on exactly the reasons why. It pushes thinking and new perspective, which is what the definition of good art is to me.

Watching the interview, I wanted to criticize the man but ended up only being intrigued and wanting to paint; to create art if for nothing else than to prove the man wrong in some way, but now that sounds silly doesn't it? I guess I like the way he thinks about things in an entirely different way than a lot of people, of course a lot of his work will be stuff that doesn't work for me, but there is undoubtedly a lot that is very interesting, for a lot of different reasons.

Also I relate to his story, I also have been an drawing and creating since I was a child, and I also had much older siblings and spent a lot of time alone. In one part of the interview he expressed that and also said, "I really wasn't going to be anything else" (other than an artist). It sounds cliche maybe but I relate to that directly. Not as an excuse not to pursue a different path but because it's always felt right. Like when you get a monkey off your back; solve a problem, defeat a fear, that feeling of well-being you get afterwords, that's what pursuing art has always been for me. So I guess my question is: when will I get my first $6000 for a painting?