Luminous Decay

justinehrlich

Justin Ehrlich was born in Essex in 1985 and has a degree in Philosophy. He writes poetry and short fiction dealing with themes of death, insanity and the supernatural.

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An Interview with Laurie Lipton by Justin Ehrlich

Laurie Lipton - Tete a Tete

Personal fortune aside Britain is poorer for losing you, why did you leave?

I left because my work was taking off in the USA and I hadn't had a major show in London for many years. The London Art Scene seemed to be dominated by the Jay Jopling/Saatchi crowd. I just wasn't "in" with them.

To say you've led a nomadic existence would be an exaggeration, but do you stay somewhere until it ceases to inspire you, or is location incidental to visions sprung from within?

My only desire is to draw. In order to draw I need to make enough money to pay the rent and buy art supplies, so I follow where my work is selling. It has lead me round Europe and lately to LA.

Returning to America after all these years have you noticed things that you have missed, or learned to appreciate things you weren't previously aware of?

Being estranged has allowed me to see the USA with fresh eyes. Everything appears wondrously alien to me. The people, the life-style, the politics... all are bizarre and grist for my art.

How long did it take before you were able to earn a living as an artist?

The first 20 years were the hardest. The second 20 years were worse.

There are undoubtedly underlying messages, but I find it refreshing that an explanation is not a requirement for enjoying your work. How important is it for art to impress an audience at surface level, and do you sense a turn in tide away from conceptual art?

Conceptual art is more gimmick than substance, and I think people are beginning to value craft and content more.... or maybe not. It's a big world and anything goes. I personally enjoy art on many levels and like it when a piece does more than toss an image or a color at me. I like to be made to feel and/or think... but that's me.

'Enlightenment is not imagining figures of light but making the darkness visible.' (Carl Jung)

Based on your artistic output and comments in other interviews it appears that you have lived by this from a young age. Do you ever wish that you could have just accepted the Disney worldview?

I used to want to be "Normal" and to blend seamlessly into the 1960's suburb where I grew up, but I'm not and I can't. I have embraced my Anti-Disney ethos with cackling glee.

I hope that you haven't drawn a line under working with colour having proved a point with your remarkable work on Splendor Solis. How did it make you feel to work with an alchemical manuscript? How deeply did you research it? Do you believe there is value in the study of alchemy, or is it a project you undertook for purely aesthetic or monetary reasons?

I was given wonderful commissions by a privately owned library housing the largest collection of books on alchemy and mysticism in Europe. I was able to handle and read rare manuscripts and re-interpret works handed down through the centuries by scholars and theologians. It was a great privilege. It also paid the rent.

I enjoyed using color, but I do not wish to use it with my own imagery. It gets in the way of the narrative. It distracts from the power of the image. You wouldn't ask the photographer, Diane Arbus, to put color into her work, would you? It wouldn't be a Diane Arbus picture if she did.

Laurie Lipton - La Luz

If you couldn't be quoted claiming to be motivated by greed I would have you down as deeply religious. How important is it for an artist to cultivate their soul in addition to developing technique?

My work has never been about money. If it has been, I've been uncommonly stupid! Why choose to make disturbing black & white pencil drawings instead of making colorful, sellable paintings? It was important for me to "cultivate" my soul in order to come to terms with life, but my one purpose and desire was to draw. It is important for an artist to cultivate his desire and passion. It is important for an artist to find his or her Bliss. People have romantic fantasies about being creative, but it's a very tough life. If you don't have a deep, burning passion driving you on, you're screwed.

You had an exhibition at the Freud Museum in London a few years ago and I wonder if you have been influenced, in particular, by his 'Beyond the Pleasure Principle', and also if you might have a sense of how he might interpret your work?

I enjoyed Freud's "Interpretation of Dreams", but think he was too focused on the male member to know how to interpret my work or women in general. He was a typical 20th Century man, so can't be held responsible for his tiny penis-centric world view.

Celebrities have been caught with Lipton Tees and Death and the Maiden tattoos are you content with your success? You spend a fair amount of time contemplating death and you must have considered your legacy, do you feel you already have your masterpiece behind you or is there more for your fans to look forward to?

Whether I have made a "Masterpiece" is not for me to say: time will tell. The more I draw, the better my drawings get so there is a LOT for my fans to look forwards to. I'm just getting started!