Alfred H. Blaustein, Resident Artist Lecture 1969

Al Blaustein gives a lecture at Skowhegan showing a series of his slides which spans drawings, paintings, etchings and sculptures. For Blaustein, it is important to make sure that the total complexity of a painting is strongly unified, and one of the best ways to do this is by making great paintings out of the everyday, through unpretentious, simple means. Blaustein states how everything in his practice was originally limited to only what he saw, but over time, learned how to consciously organize so that he was also aware of other paintings and ideas outside of his vision. Blaustein states how he enjoys the feeling of making something solid which also helps him work with sculpture due to the handling of materials. Finally, Blaustein ends his lecture by talking about the role of drawing. Blaustein states that drawing will always be the most important part of his life, especially after being inspired by his trip to India. It was this trip to India which helped Blaustein think about how drawing can be used as a bridge for molding material in order to make sculptures.