Jack Levine, Visiting Artist Lecture 1954

Jack Levine gives a lecture at Skowhegan talking about his experiences as an artist. He begins his lecture by telling the participants that what they invest their faith in over a period of time will be determined by how hard they work. Levine then urges the artists that a healthy feeling of skepticism in how one approaches the art world is necessary for young artists. This will help them examine how to take apart the art world and critique it in order to be a part of it. Levine also talks about own practice, sharing slides of his paintings, which are rooted on telling stories about the human race and about people in order to create moving human documents that represent the times today. Levine reflects on his wide range of influences which have developed to this practice–including but not limited to– Flemish and Russian painting, the concept of aesthetics, speculations on mysticism and fragility, pure primary coloration, geometric constructions and expressionistic brushstrokes. Levine ends his lecture by stating that what’s lacking in painting today is the feeling for artists to express their own lives and how their lives can look.