“Amy Sillman: To Abstract” | Art21 "Extended Play"

[Music] not knowing is a state that I think abstraction is really really important for addressing because it's not an illustration it's not a representation it's an experience of understanding certain kinds of physical and formal relations space color time weight heaviness lightness ugliness Beauty to Mark to stroke to struggle to contradict to offset to whittle to

[Music] abstract part of doing improvisational work is pitting yourself against the materials and the resistance that they offer and trying to figure out how to make something happen where you're both working with the materials and also very much working against them and questioning them I only use scrapers paper towels and sort of sticks and occasionally I

use foam brushes and I have some brushes but like I don't have very many cuz I don't really use them so it's kind of about finding a way to get some stuff on and then finding any possible scraper wiper rag Trel Etc to get it out of there so removal is a big part of it so

I need a sink in my studio you're editing with your body you're making these decisions to like spill something out cut it off put it over there you know move it around to drag to pull to scumble to cut to like try to smear it over it and the next thing depends on the thing before it

you're dealing with mistakes all the time and you're dealing with regret and like thinking oh God no let me do that again so on the big level and on the little level and on every level in between the slippage between control and finesse and and form and wanting it to be good and constantly adjusting things

and trying to make it better and between just like first thought best thought like let it all hang out like do a thing see what you're surprised by that tension is the tension of me making my work there's this Paradox you know at the heart of trying to say what something means that you need the