Larry Mullins Q & A
November 11, 2010 Back to News
On the eve of his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Hillary Metz, owner and director of Blythe Projects in Culver City, sat down for a song, dance and chat with Larry Mullins…
Hillary Metz: When and where were your born?
Larry Mullins: Charlottesville, Virginia 1957
HM: What are your earliest memories or encounters with art?
LM: Throughout my childhood I remember having quasi-mystical moments whenever encountering the color blue with light acting on it. Glass objects, cheap 3-D design paper, blue light bulbs, etc. The painter, Peter Haley, said day glow is “low budget mysticism”. Funny, I think he may have been describing my experience– but in a different medium. I’m guessing it had something to do with depth of field and degrees of transparency in a single hue.
HM: When did the idea of being an artist strike you?
LM: It began in my sophomore year of undergraduate work - after trying a few other majors. I found patience and observational skills in my work habits I didn’t know I possessed. I’d also pick up spending money by drawing musicians or pop gurus for other friends in the dorm. It was typical to have drawings/posters of your favorite groups on the walls – thus establishing your loyalties and musical esthetic. Music was important. No one knew who Willem deKooning was. I enjoyed both.
HM: Name your strongest artistic influences / inspirations.
LM: These are a few – Motown, James Siena, Neil Young, untrained hand made religious signs, Levon Helm, Lou Reed, Morris Louis, John Lee Hooker, John Lennon
HM: You have a long history of using text/language in your work and in your most recent exhibition works are loosely based around lyrics written by you. Talk to us about this.
LM: I’m writing verse - then translating it to/into the painting. The words also function as song lyrics, which I combine with guitar and harmonica. It’s a kick –just a hobby. At some point in the paintings process I’ll begin to let go of some of the verse – although rarely willfully. Pieces of abstraction or fragments of letterform begin find their place in the mix. These elements become important vehicles for eye movement and velocity. They also provide a break or a bridge for the viewer from the language – similar to breaks/bridges/instrumentals in a pop song. In the end the – the painting still retains openness to interpretation because parts of the narrative are missing - replaced by abstraction – which adds a different kind of meaning to the structure. In the beginning this bothered me – but I’m learning that for the painting to stay fresh and retain enough atmosphere to breathe I can’t pack it full of language. Finding this balance is what gives each painting its individual flavor.
HM: How many hours a day, weeks a month, months a year do you spend on a panel? Or should I say IN a panel.
LM: I spend anywhere from two to three years on each painting in the “New Baggage” show. Although this was a first for me - it allowed me to go deep enough to find lots of interesting relationships between shape, letterform and color. There are multiple panels in process at any time. I maximize time by moving back and forth between them. Drying paint, getting stuck, changes in direction, depth of investigation, looking for good decisions - all play roles in the baking/making time –which also allows for tension to be slowly built into the painting. I heard a writer once say “dramatic tension is caused by reversal”. These painting contain a lot of reversal. It’s a ridiculous business model – but the paintings thrive.
HM: The title of your current exhibition, ‘New Baggage’…what does this mean to you?
LM: Having spent an unfamiliar amount of time on this group of paintings – I was looking for a title which put across my understanding of having looked into these eight rectangles for an extended period. These painting are very familiar to me – like an arm or hand – another extremity – like a piece of myself.
HM: Do you have secrets or hidden messages in your works?
LM: No.
HM: What do you hope people will receive from your work? What are your goals and dreams for your work?
LM: I’d like the viewer to experience the painting with both mind and gut. That is, for the structure of the work to root itself in the viewer in hopes they may hang around to find the multiple complexities built into composition, hue and content.
My goal is to have the work survive, cared for and seen. Institutions and good collectors are essential to this process. It’s wind in the sails of any artist.
My dream is to sell a painting to Neil Young.
HM: You’ve lived in LA for almost three years now. How has living in LA informed your work? Do you identify with the buzzing LA art scene and do you consider yourself an ‘LA artist’.
LM: I consider myself a hybrid. Having spent pockets of time in a number of cities – I retain each one. I find LA culturally unique in numerous ways. For example - language painting has a firm place at the visual table - it’s dealt with on it’s own terms and embraced by those who follow painting. This isn’t true everywhere. Many of its fathers still live and work here. In this environment - one has to be aware of what’s going on around you. That is - to find an intellectual place unique to you that doesn’t parade someone else’s act. Artists need to grow their own crops in an artistic practice and develop personal positions. At first, it may narrow your audience but in the end it will bring people towards you. Also - LA is a movie machine. Language is fuel for the film industry as well as other performing arts. Like petro for cars – water for plants. It’s always in the air, always visible. This is fertile ground for a person with my interests.
HM: What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received?
LM: Be kind to yourself.
HM: You’ve taught painting courses throughout your career. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever given a young artist?
LM: Find the “you” in you - “just do it”.
HM: Thanks, Larry. Okay…Rapid Fire!! Name your all time favorite…
1) Biography – “Jackson Pollock: An American Saga”
2) Novel – “A Prayer For Owen Meany” by John Irving
3) Album - “Shot of Love”, by Bob Dylan
4) Song – “Brownsville Girl”, by Bob Dylan
5) City - NYC
6) Painter - Dubuffet
7) Songwriter – Bob Dylan
8) Art show - The large Mondrian Retrospective
9) Smell – Blue Dream Sativa
10) Word - Bone
11) Cloud – Cumulous (of the Simpsons variety)
New Baggage is on view through Saturday, December 18th. Additionally, two large panels by Larry Mullins will be on view at Pulse Miami (http://www.pulse-art.com/index.htm) December 2nd – 5th, exhibited by Blythe Projects in Booth E-306.
Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232. 323.272.3642 and info@blytheprojects.net.
Hillary Metz: When and where were your born?
Larry Mullins: Charlottesville, Virginia 1957
HM: What are your earliest memories or encounters with art?
LM: Throughout my childhood I remember having quasi-mystical moments whenever encountering the color blue with light acting on it. Glass objects, cheap 3-D design paper, blue light bulbs, etc. The painter, Peter Haley, said day glow is “low budget mysticism”. Funny, I think he may have been describing my experience– but in a different medium. I’m guessing it had something to do with depth of field and degrees of transparency in a single hue.
HM: When did the idea of being an artist strike you?
LM: It began in my sophomore year of undergraduate work - after trying a few other majors. I found patience and observational skills in my work habits I didn’t know I possessed. I’d also pick up spending money by drawing musicians or pop gurus for other friends in the dorm. It was typical to have drawings/posters of your favorite groups on the walls – thus establishing your loyalties and musical esthetic. Music was important. No one knew who Willem deKooning was. I enjoyed both.
HM: Name your strongest artistic influences / inspirations.
LM: These are a few – Motown, James Siena, Neil Young, untrained hand made religious signs, Levon Helm, Lou Reed, Morris Louis, John Lee Hooker, John Lennon
HM: You have a long history of using text/language in your work and in your most recent exhibition works are loosely based around lyrics written by you. Talk to us about this.
LM: I’m writing verse - then translating it to/into the painting. The words also function as song lyrics, which I combine with guitar and harmonica. It’s a kick –just a hobby. At some point in the paintings process I’ll begin to let go of some of the verse – although rarely willfully. Pieces of abstraction or fragments of letterform begin find their place in the mix. These elements become important vehicles for eye movement and velocity. They also provide a break or a bridge for the viewer from the language – similar to breaks/bridges/instrumentals in a pop song. In the end the – the painting still retains openness to interpretation because parts of the narrative are missing - replaced by abstraction – which adds a different kind of meaning to the structure. In the beginning this bothered me – but I’m learning that for the painting to stay fresh and retain enough atmosphere to breathe I can’t pack it full of language. Finding this balance is what gives each painting its individual flavor.
HM: How many hours a day, weeks a month, months a year do you spend on a panel? Or should I say IN a panel.
LM: I spend anywhere from two to three years on each painting in the “New Baggage” show. Although this was a first for me - it allowed me to go deep enough to find lots of interesting relationships between shape, letterform and color. There are multiple panels in process at any time. I maximize time by moving back and forth between them. Drying paint, getting stuck, changes in direction, depth of investigation, looking for good decisions - all play roles in the baking/making time –which also allows for tension to be slowly built into the painting. I heard a writer once say “dramatic tension is caused by reversal”. These painting contain a lot of reversal. It’s a ridiculous business model – but the paintings thrive.
HM: The title of your current exhibition, ‘New Baggage’…what does this mean to you?
LM: Having spent an unfamiliar amount of time on this group of paintings – I was looking for a title which put across my understanding of having looked into these eight rectangles for an extended period. These painting are very familiar to me – like an arm or hand – another extremity – like a piece of myself.
HM: Do you have secrets or hidden messages in your works?
LM: No.
HM: What do you hope people will receive from your work? What are your goals and dreams for your work?
LM: I’d like the viewer to experience the painting with both mind and gut. That is, for the structure of the work to root itself in the viewer in hopes they may hang around to find the multiple complexities built into composition, hue and content.
My goal is to have the work survive, cared for and seen. Institutions and good collectors are essential to this process. It’s wind in the sails of any artist.
My dream is to sell a painting to Neil Young.
HM: You’ve lived in LA for almost three years now. How has living in LA informed your work? Do you identify with the buzzing LA art scene and do you consider yourself an ‘LA artist’.
LM: I consider myself a hybrid. Having spent pockets of time in a number of cities – I retain each one. I find LA culturally unique in numerous ways. For example - language painting has a firm place at the visual table - it’s dealt with on it’s own terms and embraced by those who follow painting. This isn’t true everywhere. Many of its fathers still live and work here. In this environment - one has to be aware of what’s going on around you. That is - to find an intellectual place unique to you that doesn’t parade someone else’s act. Artists need to grow their own crops in an artistic practice and develop personal positions. At first, it may narrow your audience but in the end it will bring people towards you. Also - LA is a movie machine. Language is fuel for the film industry as well as other performing arts. Like petro for cars – water for plants. It’s always in the air, always visible. This is fertile ground for a person with my interests.
HM: What’s the greatest piece of advice you’ve ever received?
LM: Be kind to yourself.
HM: You’ve taught painting courses throughout your career. What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever given a young artist?
LM: Find the “you” in you - “just do it”.
HM: Thanks, Larry. Okay…Rapid Fire!! Name your all time favorite…
1) Biography – “Jackson Pollock: An American Saga”
2) Novel – “A Prayer For Owen Meany” by John Irving
3) Album - “Shot of Love”, by Bob Dylan
4) Song – “Brownsville Girl”, by Bob Dylan
5) City - NYC
6) Painter - Dubuffet
7) Songwriter – Bob Dylan
8) Art show - The large Mondrian Retrospective
9) Smell – Blue Dream Sativa
10) Word - Bone
11) Cloud – Cumulous (of the Simpsons variety)
New Baggage is on view through Saturday, December 18th. Additionally, two large panels by Larry Mullins will be on view at Pulse Miami (http://www.pulse-art.com/index.htm) December 2nd – 5th, exhibited by Blythe Projects in Booth E-306.
Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232. 323.272.3642 and info@blytheprojects.net.
