Monday Muse: Alex Katz
When I was in New York, we went to the Guggenheim Museum and they were in the middle of putting up a retrospective of Alex Katz’s work in the snail shell galleries. I hadn’t heard of Alex Katz before and I was surprised to find out that he’s a 96-year-old artist who has been in the game since the ‘50s.
My friend Dman lives in New York, so he was able to check out the show and give me a full report. From our view of the gallery set up, I could only see large paintings, mostly portraiture. Dman sent me some of his cut paper collage work and I found them very inspiring.
The collages are simple shapes and compositions, that evoke warm feelings of summer and memory. Because of their simplicity and lack of detail, they evoke the impression of recalling a pleasant memory, in that you can grasp the sense of it, but the details have become fuzzy. The feelings are what remain. Tne muted tones of the collages add to this feeling as well, especially when contrasted with the bolder colors of Alex Katz’s paintings.
The collage style is a natural complement to his painting style in that he paints in a flattened, hard-edge style that almost mimics the collage work. Knowing what I know about the artist, I find the work evocative. Critics say his bold use of color and flattened modeling are a precursor to pop art, similar to the work of David Hockney.
I’m always intrigued by artists who use collage because at times I feel like it is not a legitimate form of art. And then I’m reminded of just how potent and relevant a medium collage truly is. Pushing my collages to a more representational style is something I’m currently experimenting with. I feel inspired by the work of Alex Katz in the way of creating a collage that feels evocative of feeling and ephemerality.
I’m also always inspired and excited by artists who are still active well into their elder years. In a youth-obsessed culture, it can be difficult to feel seen and relevant as I age into mid-life. It seems that all the artists of our time are getting younger. It’s important to see examples of artists who are still creating, putting out new work, and having exhibitions. Alex Katz wasn’t even widely recognized until the ‘80s, 30 years into his career. There’s always more creativity to tap into, you just have to keep making the work. The best is yet to come, it hasn’t passed yet.
“Last year in Spain a journalist asked me if I consider myself a over the hill minor talent I said I didn’t but a lot of people do. I dedicate this show to all the people who did not take me seriously you provided the fuel for my rage.” - Alex Katz
