Q. How do people react to your paintings?
A. As you might expect, in various ways. Some wonder what is meant by the juxtaposition of the two images. They are convinced that there is an underlying message in the combination. There may be, but I’m not conscious of it. I put the images together in a certain way because the elements work visually, and because it’s fun. It’s OK to laugh at them if you like.
Q. How do you decide on what to paint?
A. That really is the easiest part. There are so many master paintings of all eras that I love being with for weeks on end. It reminds me of the eight years I spent at the Boston Museum living with the work of some of the greatest painters that ever lived. Besides painting, I studied graphics, commercial art, and printmaking. The principles involved in these disciplines also determine my choices.
"When harmoniously melded together with contemporary images, my paintings are a bit startling, but remain as homages to the great artists that inspired them."
Q. How would you describe your process?
A. After I have decided on the choice of an Old Master, and relying on my studies in design, I then look for an appropriate accompaniment. At first, I took images from various sources: books, magazines, or very often I shot an image myself. The foreground was completed first and then the background was projected behind it in the remaining space. Later with the advent of digital technology, there was unlimited access to images and I have taken advantage of this tremendous resource.
Q. Who were your influences during this process?
A. I was heavily influenced by the dadaists and surrealists of the early 20th Century who introduced readymades, or found objects. These movements led to the Pop Art phenomenon of the 1960s with images from fine art, commercial art and popular culture. During this time, I was a printmaker and started combining objects in my etchings, lithographs, woodcuts and serigraphs. It did not take long for me to switch to painting where I could express my juxtapositions more directly.
Q. How do you achieve such detail in the paintings?
A. Ever since I returned from Syracuse University in 1968, I have been using projectors to enlarge images. Each facet of the original is drawn to scale and subsequently painted as a flat surface. The viewer is really doing the blending. In this manner, I maintain an abstract quality different from classical painting and super realism.
"I create a new reality. My work is not just derivative but transformative."
Q. How do you justify the use of a projector to enlarge images?
A. I come from the Bauhaus School of Design tradition which had as its main thrust the cooperation and integration of technology and art. For me, the projector is a drawing tool, no more or less legitimate than any other drawing aid. Today’s computers are a perfect example of machines that are being put to work in startling ways by fine artists. Another misconception is that the projector solves the problem of not being able to draw. I had only to observe my students trying to decipher the mishmash of pencil shapes they drew from projected images to know that they needed lessons in perspective, basic shapes, and anatomy.
Q. What about copying Old Masters? Have you received criticism for this practice?
A. In the beginning, yes. The practice of basing a work of art on a preceding one and using borrowed elements has been around for centuries. I do not alter the parts of the works that I borrow. There is no attempt to criticize, satirize, or parody. I remain faithful to the image as I find it. The artist who painted the source work is always credited. I believe my work is not just derivative but transformative.
"I think there's a difference between meaning and message."
Q. You seem to emphasize the viewer in the artistic process. You also say that there is no intended message in your work. How do you explain this?
A. I think there is a difference between meaning and message. All works of art have meaning to the artist and to the viewer. Our brain always searches for meaning. But message is something else. I have no message to convey. Progressing from purely instinctive design elements that fit together in a harmonious way, I am not unaware that the images I put together become elements of artistic meaning — for the viewer. If they catch a metaphor, they take it from there. I am delighted when viewers share their narratives with me.
Q. How long does it take you to do a painting?
A. I only kept my time once while doing a large painting. It took 72 hours. It would seem that smaller paintings take less time, but this is not always the case.
Q. Do you have a favorite painting among your own?
A. That question has to be answered in the same way as if you asked me if I have a favorite daughter. I have three children (three daughters). Many painters have said that their paintings are very much like their children. They love them unconditionally and can’t bear it when they are not near.
"I don’t think I've even scratched the surface."
Q. Why have you remained with this one style for so long? Well-known painters have changed their style often
A. I've been at this for a long time and ideas come to me every day. I don’t think I've even scratched the surface of the possibilities this technique presents. When I do, I'll know it.
Q. Since many of your pairings involve great European masters, can you assess how your work has been received in Europe?
A. I have not exhibited in Europe but my work has been seen there through my website and other media. Most of the interest seems to stem from the academic community. On numerous occasions, I have responded to requests for more information and received praise for what I do. Students have also sent me their research papers that contained descriptions of my work!
In another vein, many years ago, while at the Jeu de Paume Museum Paris with my wife and three daughters, we came upon several Impressionist paintings that I had used in my work. Our youngest daughter Lea, five years old at the time, was up ahead. To our astonishment and embarrassment, we saw and heard her say to groups of viewers, "My Daddy painted that!"
Q. Are some Old Masters easier for you to work with than others?
A. Yes. Manet comes to mind. His penchant for painting forms with broad flat strokes makes them easy to replicate. So, I go to him often. On the other hand, van Gogh's style involves a myriad of brushstrokes. This explains why I have used only two or three van Gogh's although he is one of my favorite painters. I was privileged to visit his grave in Auvers-sur-Oise. I felt I was walking on sacred ground.
"One of your paintings has been stolen!"
Q. You once had a painting stolen?
A. Yes. During one the many summers we spent in Vermont, l got a call from an administrator at Torrington, Connecticut's Charlotte Hungerford Hospital where my work was displayed in their lobby. He sounded devastated. "One of your paintings has been stolen!" he exclaimed. I was so relieved that no one was ill or hurt that I blurted out without thinking, "That's great!" My feeling was that it was really wonderful that someone wanted the thing so badly that he was willing to risk incarceration to have it. The administrator was so astounded by my reaction that he put the phone down and went to the exhibition area and bought a painting! (Incidentally, the stolen painting was returned to the hospital by the sister of the thief on the very day that the insurance check was to be mailed to me!)