Charlie Rose

tshelford  06/25/2009 12:41 AM Report

Julian Schnabel states that:

"Most older artists are going to give you advice, and you can't listen to them because, what they don't understand is that the basis of your work is to destroy the standards that they set out in the first place."  

Perhaps the current generation of young painters could begin down this path by destroying the painting standards of elder artist Julian Schnabel, starting with these:

- Pretentiousness and ego as the primary sources of inspiration.

- Preference for concept over execution.

- Crude and sloppy execution passed off as virtuosity and expressiveness.  

- Smug incoherence masquerading as intellectual superiority.

And finally, the biggest rejection of Schnabel's generation would be to reject its destructive notion of the avant-garde itself, by choosing to move Art forward by constructively "standing on the shoulders of giants", building on the accumulated knowledge of the past. This is exactly what todays young figurative realists are doing. Hopefully Schnabel will pass the baton and stick to filmmaking from here on out.

Katherine A Murphy  04/05/2008 01:13 PM Report

Thank you for sharing this interview. Since I saw it a few months ago I had a hard time shaking it. The poem that Julians father wrote stays with you. Recently have seen the film in Toronto, and it is quite special. During the film my husband turned to me and thanked me for insisting we see it. I have a great admiration for Julians work as a painter and now as a film maker. We are lucky to have talented people like this in our time.

Michael Diamant  03/12/2008 04:31 PM Report

A great interview. Charlie's reading of a poem written by Julian Schnabel's father was particularly moving. I would like the text to this poem. Where could I find it?