ART, WHATEVER IT TAKES

Since the early pandemic in 2020, Rome Art Program has conducted a series of interviews, “Art, Whatever It Takes.”
Artists, Art Critics, and Art Historians living in Italy, the U.S., and U.K., share their insights during these powerful times.

Interview with Fred Gutzeit

Fred Gutzeit is an American artist born in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended the Cleveland Institute of Art from 1962, and Hunter College, New York, from 1977.  He has exhibited widely and is represented in several private collections. In the tradition of Claude Monet, he created a series of paintings that chronicled a close-up section of sidewalk at different times of day and under various weather conditions. Another body of work features mixed-media assemblages and installations created from discarded work gloves, mirrors, and neon, among other materials. These ensembles not only trace the artist’s creative process but also reflect the accumulated social experience of the anonymous workers who wore the gloves.

Three Fred’s main phrases: “Found Objects, Landscape, and Pattern-transformation. Early on I represented found objects to embody pattern as a way of abstracting visual reality—I find it a beautiful thought to see patterns in social situations and that cosmic events follow patterns that are “hard wired” into us..! “

RAP: What is your definition of “art” today?

Fred Gutzeit: I say: “Synthesis and Form”—that is what I want to bring to art today (that may not be what art actually is today).

RAP: Art is dynamic and regenerates itself… how does it change, and how did it change us?

Fred: No, Art is part of Sociology, and it is regenerated by individual artists through their creativity.

RAP: When (and how) did you understand that art was becoming very important in your life?

Fred: While I was a student at the Cleveland Institute of Art, when I was 20 years old, in 1961, I was awarded a scholarship to the Yale Summer School and my experience there, made me feel like I could be an “Artist.”

RAP: What role does art play today? What are the “great figures” who have recently changed it? Do you feel close to any of these figures?

Fred: Louise Bourgeois, Chuck Close and Umberto Boccioni. Louise Bourgeois for psychology and art, Chuck Close for emphasizing process (but popularly bringing back “faces”). Boccioni for dynamic pattern that inspires me to make “music for your eyes.”

RAP: Are there still traditional figures such as collectors, muses, mecenate and patrons, in today’s art and society interaction model?

Fred: YES, there are collectors. They are supporters of art through their purchasing of art. Each artist has to find their own “muse”. There are also corporate collections which support artists by buying art and putting it in their corporate offices.

RAP: How have the new technologies and media culture changed art today, improving or worsening it…? What do you feel are your biggest challenges?

Fred: Technology like Instagram and Facebook give big access to all levels of art. But to see and experience an art work in it’s “physicality” is extremely vital and the technology maybe weakening that experience.

RAP: Art as a mirror of man, in this moment of emergency seems to be shattered …what do these fragments reflect now?… Shadow or light of the moment?

Fred: The shattering is showing more of a picture of the real world. A view of diversity is emerging greatly.

RAP: Understanding, interpreting, and then possibly judging the work of art; which is the right path when we are in front of a piece of art?

Fred: What does it feel like when we are away from it? Does the artwork reappear in memory and reveal different layers of meaning and feeling.

RAP: Which is the real role of Academies and Art schools today? What can artists learn from these institutions today?

Fred: I like to think that Art has visual language: and that’s what’s important to learn in school. Learn the components of art and put them together creatively.

RAP: Art too has undergone a complex process of globalization; can having an authentic and genuine style be an advantage or a drag for an artist?

Fred: Galleries seem to prefer artists with an identifiable style (that would be an advantage to having representation and sales). However, I have taken 60 years to find a style and most people don’t get it.

RAP: How do Art Galleries and Museums position themselves today, and, in your opinion, how should they?

Fred: Most galleries seem to want to make sales. Museums want to draw in crowds. Ideally, both should be dedicated to presenting creative statements.

RAP: “Figuration” vs “Abstraction”. Which of the two is better descriptive of the period we live in? Which one will have a better future?

Fred: Figurative will always be accepted and generally preferred but what does “Abstract” mean anyway—an obscure or popular style or “look”?

RAP: Today we often speak of “emerging artists”; what advice based on your experience do you feel you can give to young artists?

Fred: Artist are constantly emerging and disappearing. I say keep trying, curators and dealers don’t always know what they are doing, and can even change their minds–sometimes!

RAP: Art as a lens for reading the present, can it modify the space and time we pass through? …will art save us?

Fred: ART can’t modify space and time, but it can affect how we feel about our life journey. Only addressing climate change and getting vaccinated can save us.

www.fredgutzeit.com

www.facebook.com/fredgutzeit