How do you interview an artist?

[Matt Deckard]

A painter for instance. Ask how he gets his inspiration. Why he uses the colors he uses? I know what interests me about the art though I haven't the thoughts to generate the right questions and I don't want to be cliche with the standards which droll on about how the artist got started. I don't really care... I care that I like the art and i want to explain to others why it is gripping and I don't know if asking the artist about it will garner the information I need unless he can explain why I find the images so gripping.

So... how do you interview an artist?

 

[Kishtu]

Matt, if you love the work, you could start from the premise that you love it because it.... I don't know, whatever it does for you, and then draw the artist out from there. You could say why such and such is your favourite image, that it makes you feel so and so, and ask it in such a way that they can go "yes! exactly!" or even "how weird, that's so far off the mark!" - but at least it's kicked the door open for interaction.

I'm just thinking back in the far-off days when I used to interview (I used to edit a small press horror/dark fantasy magazine) I much preferred to start a discussion off with an opinion. Even if it wasn't what they wanted to hear! At least then the interview-ee is aware that a) you've done your homework and have an informed opinion and b) that you're interested in what they've got to say.

Treat it the same way as you'd treat a flirtation, and you can't go far wrong...

 

[Ben]

Matt,

As a journalist who does a lot of interviews, I have a few ideas for you. But, it would be easier if we knew the context of your question. Why are you interviewing him? What will the final format be?

In general, though, the best idea is to have a few questions going in and then let the conversation roll.

In your case it soounds like you are preparing to write about the art, not the artist. So, what you really want to do, I think, is pick a painting and ask about the elements in that. What color is right, but also, what circumstance.

You might want to think of it as interviewing the painting, or writing the biography of the work. If it could talk, what would you ask it?

In part, it sounds like you need to interview yourself a little to find out what draws you to the painting. Then, figure out what you don't know and ask the artist about that.

Finally, you can use the who, what, when, where, why, and how questions as an outline. Ask them all and you might find out some suprising things. Sometimes the When or the where, which seem like they would be simple answers can yield a whole new line of discussion.

Also, remember to add on the questions of so what, and who cares. Those two are often the way to lead into the follow up. They are short hand ways of asking why is this important.

Remember, interviewing should be a nice conversation. Have fun with it. Good luck.

 

[Dr Doran]

Just remember what Plato had Socrates say in the Apology. Socrates interviews poets and he discovers that they cannot intelligently discuss their work better than any random person in the audience could have. The artists made their art with a certain feeling or under a certain inspiration and cannot always explain it.

This is not necessarily true in all cases, just something to bear in mind.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

Doran made a very good point. Many artists cannot explain their art because it is more of a feeling and is difficult to put into words. Many artists can't explain their art because even they do not understand it. It just is. You could try to understand their art first before understanding the artist because in many ways, the artist is their own art and they are one and the same.

 

[Mr. Lucky]

So... how do you interview an artist?

Ply them with lots and lots of booze.

 

[$ally]

Artists, writers, dancers, and musicians don't usually interview well. We express ourselves better through our work.
That wasn't much help, was it?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Just remember what Plato had Socrates say in the Apology. Socrates interviews poets and he discovers that they cannot intelligently discuss their work better than any random person in the audience could have. The artists made their art with a certain feeling or under a certain inspiration and cannot always explain it.

This is not necessarily true in all cases, just something to bear in mind.

Very good point,Doran!
As an artist..I certainly agree. I could probably better explain the joy of doing what I do.......
HD

 

[Ben]

Matt,

Don't get discouraged by some of these posts.

Socrates wanted to exclude poetry from his Republic as I recall, and given the way he suffered at the hands of artists like Aristophanes, who technically wasn't a poet but still, it is no surprise that he wasn't too keen on them.

Classical digression aside, you can get atists to talk about their work and they can explain it, but you have to help by asking good questions.

People are story tellers. It is one of the things that separates us from the animals. Art tells a story, and you have to go after that story.

But if someone has a feeling that strong that they have to create art, then they have thought about how to express it. And if the artist says, "It's in the painting, and their is no other way to express it," then challenge him. Ask him how a blind person might express it, or is that a feeling they just couldn't express?

Sometimes you have to be adversarial to your source. Sometimes you have to be conspiratorial with your source. Almost always, you have to be persistent.

 

[funneman]

Interview an Artist

As someone who has interviewed a lot of musicians and actors, I find that people who express themselves with their talent are usually very quiet types.

I find it's best to get them to relax first. They are so used to the Howard
Sterns and the Bill O'Reillys of the world you have to make them realize they are not going to be ambushed.

I find that by first asking them if there is anything they DON'T want to talk about, they realize that you aren't looking to nail them. Once they put their guard down they usually open up and begin talking about their craft. After all, it's what they love to do, right?

If you're a good listener, one answer will lead you to your next question. I hate hearing someone give an answer that begs for a follow up only to be ignored by the interviewer because he or she has a list of questions in front of them and they just keep reading them off.

Final tip, never ask a question that can be answered with a "yes" or "no".

They only time that wisdom has failed me is in an interview with Country star George Strait. I had heard he was notorious for one word answers so I really hit him with my best stuff.

The exchange went something like this"

Me: So, George. What do you do when you're not recording or touring.

George: Ranch.

Me: And what do you do on your ranch?

George: Ride.

Me: What else?

George: Rope.

 

[Lady Day]

Well, as an aritist, I think part of the process is being able to talk about your work. That is why critiques are so important.

But as far as what to ask an artist about Id suggest a few questions:

1) What is your process? Do you become inspired about an idea then just create a painting/drawing/writing, etc, or is there build up via sketches, coloration, pure inspiration?

2) Are there topics you comment on in your work, but you feel you dont represent well?

3) What was the work that you received the most regonition for?

4) Do you fear being pigeonholed into one genera?

5) Would you like to corroborate, if so with who?

6) What do you draw/write/sketch well, but are not too fond of?

7) When did you discover your style, or are you still searching for it?


Ive been interviewed a few times, and I got the "So what made you become an artist?" crap. Most artists will tell you it isnt of their choosing. These are questions I wish I had been asked. I think they delve more into the person as an artist not just they create their work.


LD

 

[HadleyH]

A painter for instance. Ask how he gets his inspiration. Why he uses the colors he uses? I know what interests me about the art though I haven't the thoughts to generate the right questions and I don't want to be cliche with the standards which droll on about how the artist got started. I don't really care... I care that I like the art and i want to explain to others why it is gripping and I don't know if asking the artist about it will garner the information I need unless he can explain why I find the images so gripping.

So... how do you interview an artist?

That's a very difficult question, or rather it's difficult to answer (not that I'm any expert lol ) because 'the message of the artist 90% of the time remains partly misunderstood' but you'd ask for instance if the work is autobiographical, if his/her painting tells a story or if it express emotion,what he thinks of past movements (like dada or cubism) how does the use of color reflects in the painting, etc... things like that.

 

[Bebop]

In my opinion, and it is only an opinion since I am not in the interviewing business at all, it all depends on where the interview will end up. If you are interviewing an artist for a childrens publication you would ask different questions than if you were interviewing the artist for a publication directed at the industry. If the artist is a celebrity, or an older person, the interview would be geared differently also. Some may be interested in how the artist felt about government funding of art. Others may be interested in the artists life as a child. There is a varied audience out there.

 

[John in Covina]

So... how do you interview an artist?

**************
At gun point.

Ask what is their influences or who they find gripping.

 

[Dr Doran]

Aristophanes, who technically wasn't a poet but still,.

Excuse me?

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Doran
Excuse me?

DITTO.
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I posted a much longer response on this thread but my PC wisely decided it was a rant and swallowed it whole.
So, IMHO, the only way to even begin to interview an artist is to look at their work or body of work. Otherwise you'll be operating from a position of ignorance or incomplete knowledge at best.
Having worked as a stage actor for a number of years, I can echo several previous comments regarding the preference to do/make/perform/etc. rather that jabber. All that discussion tends to dissapate the creative impetus. Chatter can suck you dry like a stale loaf of Wonder Bread.
Hemingway wrote that he would work until he had a good place to stop knowing that he had something left in the tank to begin with the next day. He never wanted to pour it all out on the page by end of day. He always wanted a spark left for the morning fire. He did many things after a day's writing but he chose not to discuss his work. Rather he chose to renew his energies by observing and interacting with the world around him. He did not draw his vitality from talking about himself but from focusing on those about him.
Frankly, I'd rather read an informed opinion than an interview. Of course this is only one man's opinion.

That being said, I suppose there are interviewers with such a degree of talent and empathy that they are able to relate to their subject, keep them at ease, and draw them out. This is, I believe, a skill not often found in the so-called journalists of today. Where it does exist, the interviewer is as likely, or more likely, to be of interest than their subject. This then propels the journalist to a kind of celebrity. Perhaps one such is among us.

 

[HungaryTom]

A painter for instance. Ask how he gets his inspiration. Why he uses the colors he uses? I know what interests me about the art though I haven't the thoughts to generate the right questions and I don't want to be cliche with the standards which droll on about how the artist got started. I don't really care... I care that I like the art and i want to explain to others why it is gripping and I don't know if asking the artist about it will garner the information I need unless he can explain why I find the images so gripping.

So... how do you interview an artist?

Matt,

Since many professional interviewers replied there is hardly anything left to comment on.

You draw yourself - it is easier to interview a painter than for a person who has 0 affection for painting. Preparing for the interview (about the artist or the direction of art) is always helpful. Shows a certain respect and interest which are essential throughout the interview.

Location is also important: A TV show / Broadcasting studio is rather scary and nerves everyone and is rather about the interviewer.

A neutral place like a caf?© is somewhat better.

Naturally it is the best if you are invited to the atelier (second best to a gallery/exhibition with the paintings of the artist). Getting home invitations goes only after building of a relationship.

Anyhow it is the best if you can arrange the interview with the paintings as an ambient to talk about them with their originator. It is very intimate to discuss paintings while viewing them together.

It is surely a good experience - I see that you are really intrigued about meeting that artist.

Good luck

Tom.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

Just remember what Plato had Socrates say in the Apology. Socrates interviews poets and he discovers that they cannot intelligently discuss their work better than any random person in the audience could have. The artists made their art with a certain feeling or under a certain inspiration and cannot always explain it.

This is not necessarily true in all cases, just something to bear in mind.

Exactly. Art, visual art especially, is a non-verbal thing. It's hard to put into words, the non-verbal. Err,...see what I mean? :eusa_doh:
Many artists would rather not be interviewed I think, because it is so hard to verbalize the visual.
Maxfield Parrish was one of the most popular artists of his day, and was somewhat annoyed by frequent requests for interviews. He was a humble man, and would rather be left to his work.
He said it like this in a letter to his publishers dated July 28, 1943,...
"There is nothing I dislike more than any kind of personal publicity, the so-called write up or story. Ive endured the torture for the past forty years and have only allowed it once in a while just to be decent, and now my in my old age I am thankful that there seems to be an end to it.
There isn't any story here. So many in the past have tried to find one; jumped at the conclusion that because I painted pictures of a certain kind there must be something decidedly interesting about the artist. He must live in a tree, eat nuts and berries or something,.....
If you are going in for interesting publicity give the public mystery. The Greta Garbo kind is the best, and it keeps up. I am happier in my work for you people than I have ever been, but if this publicity by-product has to be a part of it, it detracts a lot."

 

[carter]

Originally posted by Maj. Nick Danger
Exactly. Art, visual art especially, is a non-verbal thing. It's hard to put into words, the non-verbal. Err,...see what I mean?
Many artists would rather not be interviewed I think, because it is so hard to verbalize the visual.
Maxfield Parrish was one of the most popular artists of his day, and was somewhat annoyed by frequent requests for interviews. He was a humble man, and would rather be left to his work.
He said it like this in a letter to his publishers dated July 28, 1943,...
"There is nothing I dislike more than any kind of personal publicity, the so-called write up or story. Ive endured the torture for the past forty years and have only allowed it once in a while just to be decent, and now my in my old age I am thankful that there seems to be an end to it.
There isn't any story here. So many in the past have tried to find one; jumped at the conclusion that because I painted pictures of a certain kind there must be something decidedly interesting about the artist. He must live in a tree, eat nuts and berries or something,.....
If you are going in for interesting publicity give the public mystery. The Greta Garbo kind is the best, and it keeps up. I am happier in my work for you people than I have ever been, but if this publicity by-product has to be a part of it, it detracts a lot."

I salute you sir. Parrish said it better than I ever could.

However, I suspect that, while this is interesting, we may not be much help to Matt. Should we begin another thread? Certainly seems worth a few pages at least.

Carter

 

[dhermann1]

My 2 cents

Just saw this article on line. Hope it helps:
http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article08200702.aspx