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Roy Lichtenstein: Still Life Paintings

Hermine Freed

1972 00:21:35 United StatesEnglishB&WMono4:3Video
Tags:
Documentation , Independently Produced Interviews , Interview

Description

Freed intercuts still color imagery of Roy Lichtenstein’s paintings with a close quarters interview conducted in Southampton, N.Y in Summer 1972.  Lichtenstein discusses the creation of his work, points of inspiration and his recurring aesthetic choices. Freed interrogates Lichtenstein’s overt references to the work of other artists in his painting, questioning his intentional evocation of cliche as he tried to define the genesis of this particular approach. As the interview continues, Freed cuts away to Lichtenstein painting in his studio and they move onto discuss particular brush techniques in detail as well as the intentions for this work in progress. Lichtenstein works closely with tape to ensure clean sure lines in on his canvas - toward the end of the interview he starts to undo some of his work, scraping away paint from the canvas and retouching other areas as he discusses the back and forth process of realizing an initial sketch in this final form. Freed offers suggestions toward the relevance of Lichtenstein’s application of cartoonish techniques in order to provoke discussion and their discussion emphasizes the role of ‘fakery’ in the artists work.

About Hermine Freed

Hermine Freed studied painting at Cornell University and New York University. During the late '60s she taught at NYU, working as program editor for an NYU-sponsored series on art books for WNYC. Assisted by colleague Andy Mann, she began using video to produce a series of contemporary artist portraits, beginning with painter James Rosenquist. Although the program did not meet WNYC's broadcast standards, Freed continued to produce the series, showing the tapes to her students and at other venues. In 1972 she was invited to participate in the groundbreaking exhibition Circuit: A Video Invitational by Everson Museum curator David Ross, whose encouragement led her to explore other aspects of the medium and produce a new body of work. Freed continued to produce both documentaries and artworks exploring female perception and self-image. Art Herstory (1974) was made while she was an artist-in-residence at the Television Lab at WNET. Freed taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York from 1972. She passed away in 1998.

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