Philip Pearlstein, Visiting Artist Lecture 1978

Philip Pearlstein gives a lecture at Skowhegan where he shows a series of slides of his works which span drawing, printmaking and painting. Pearlstein is interested in exploring the use of the male nude in his art, and he sees art as a way to create units of measurements and processes. Pearlstein then goes on to talk about film work too, which he is drawn to because of the film’s immediate documentary process. Pearlstein talks about a film he made where he interviewed fellow artists, and how he wanted this film to be a commentary on the current generation of realists, stating that they are the first in his generation to choose realism. Pearlstein says how artists can deal with realism and abstraction as fascinating technical procedures capable of endless permutations, and how each of these permutations can become its own aesthetic world. For Pearlstein, artists have to be just as aggressive with realism as they are with abstraction, for painting is ultimately an aggressive act. Pearlstein in particular uses realism to deal with confrontation, drawing from creating stylistic techniques to creating moments which also take on a political meaning, with pop art being a major influence in this type of working. Active looking is also something that is important for Pearlstein for it helps him fall into a hypnotized state which helps him establish his paintings. Pearlstein ends his lecture telling the participants that he doesn’t want to get in the way of their development as artists and wants to try to do as little as possible. Pearlstein further articulates these final points by saying that the ideas he shares with the participants can be useful but ultimately the students have to follow the logic of their own work.