Ian Scott "Late Models"

IAN SCOTT LATE MODELS

IAN SCOTT LATE MODELS G O W LA N G SFO R D G A LLE R Y K ITC H E N E R S T 21 M A R C H —14 A P R IL 20 12

S can tily clad sex-b o m b s, m asterp ieces o f m o d ern art an d b lan k w h ite w alls: th ese are th e ju xtap o sitio n s th at co n fro n t th e view er o f Ian S co tt's exh ib itio n Late Mo d els.

S co tt's career b eg an in th e early 19 6 0 s an d sp an s o ver fi fty years.

T h ro u g h o u t th is tim e h is w o rk h as co n tin u o u sly m o ved b etw een tw o seem in g ly d iff eren t trad itio n s o f p ain tin g : rep resen tatio n , fro m lan d scap e p ain tin g to P o p A rt, exem p lifi ed b y th e p ain tin g s o f th e G irlie series, an d ab stractio n , su ch as th e Lattice series, w h ich b eg an in th e m id 19 70 s. W ith th e Mo d el series, b eg in n in g in 19 9 6 , S co tt co u ld b e said to h ave m ad e a g ran d su m m atio n o f h is p revio u s w o rk. M o re im p o rtan tly, h o w ever, h e h as b ro u g h t to g eth er th e afo rem en tio n ed trad itio n s o f rep resen tatio n an d ab stractio n in to a n ew kin d o f p ain tin g .

O f th e th ree co m p o sitio n al elem en ts, th e m o d els are arg u ab ly th e m o st p ro vo cative. T h ey are b o th cap tivatin g an d rep ellen t. S o ciety’s p revailin g m o ral co d e d o es n o t en co u rag e u s to see su ch w o m en , so u rced fro m so ft p o rn m ag azin es, as ‘b eau tifu l’. Y et n eith er are th ey sim p ly p o rn o g rap h ic. R ath er, th ey are ab o u t p o rn o g rap h y. T h e tran sfo rm atio n fro m airb ru sh ed p h o to g rap h to p ain ted p ictu re ch an g es th e fu n ctio n o f th e im ag e. T h ey can n o t b e co m p letely sep arated fro m th eir asso ciatio n w ith th e ‘m ale g aze’, as th e p ain tin g s th em selves im p ly th e p resen ce o f a sp ectato r, b u t it w o u ld b e red u ctive to d escrib e th ese su b jects sim p ly as d isem p o w ered w o m en , o r as an artist’s w et d ream in p ain t. T h e d isju n ctive relatio n sh ip b etw een th e w o m en an d th eir n ew co n text, th e o th er elem en ts aro u n d th em , co m p licates th is p ictu re.

Sky Dash ,19 6 9 -70 o il o n can vas 18 27 x 16 27 m m A u cklan d A rt G allery T o i o T ām aki co llectio n

W h ile th e w o m en are co p ied fro m g irlie m ag azin es, th e ico n ic p ain tin g s b eh in d th em are taken fro m th e p ag es o f art h isto ry b o o ks. In p airin g th ese exam p les o f w estern ico n o g rap h y, S co tt h u m o ro u sly p o ses q u estio n s ab o u t h ig h an d lo w , sacred an d p ro fan e.

W h en S co tt p laces a n u d e n ext to an ab stract p ain tin g , is h e co m m en tin g o n th e rejectio n o f th e fi g u re an d th e d esire fo r p u rity o f fo rm in m o d ern ist ab stractio n ? Is th e R o y L ich ten stein p ain tin g (w h ich so ld fo r m o re th an $ 4 7 m illio n at C h risties in N o vem b er) an y d iff eren t to a P layb o y fl o o zy? B o th h ave b een co m m o d ifi ed fo r co n su m p tio n , an d th e p ain tin g is as m u ch an o b ject o f excessive d esire as th e g irl.

Track ,19 6 8 o il o n can vas 1720 x 1718 m m A u cklan d A rt G allery T o i o T Ä m aki co llectio n

T h e th ird elem en t o f th ese w o rks is th e sp ace th at th e m o d els an d p ain tin g s o ccu p y. In a p erio d o f in ten sive activity in 20 0 1, b o th th e im ag ery an d fo rm at o f th e Mo d el series p ain tin g s d evelo p ed rap id ly. T h e lo cality o f th e su b jects ch an g ed . In earlier w o rks, th e b reeze b lo ck o r b rick w alls h ad lo cated th e su b jects in a sp ecifi cally su b u rb an co n text. W h en th ese g ave w ay to p lain w h ite w alls, b ro ad er p o ssib ilities w ere evo ked , in clu d in g referen ces to art g allery sp aces, su ch as th e w all lab el in N o . 8 1 (Th e En d o f N ew m an ) (Ju n e 20 0 6 ).

M o re sig n ifi can t still, w h ere th e su b jects in p revio u s w o rks h ad ap p eared cen tre-stag e, fram ed o r co n tain ed b y th e can vas, th e later m o d els w ere d ep icted at extrem e left o r rig h t, o p en in g u p vaster exp an ses o f sp ace to o n e sid e. T h is refl ected S co tt’s o n g o in g search fo r a rad ically free an d u n clu ttered p icto rial sp ace, b eyo n d m ere co m p o sitio n al b alan ce or d eco ru m .

If th e trad itio n o f th e n u d e is p rim arily ab o u t id eal b eau ty, S co tt’s

w o m en test o u r d efi n itio n s o f b eau ty as w ell as th e lim its o f ‘g o o d taste’. T h e co n fro n tatio n al n atu re o f th ese w o rks is evid en t in th e co m m en tary th at h as evo lved aro u n d th em . S tran g ely, w h ile to d ay’s m ed ia sto ries an d ad vertisem en ts co n stan tly b o m b ard u s w ith sed u ctive im ag es o f th e fem ale b o d y, as h ave artists th ro u g h o u t h isto ry, S co tt’s p ain ted rep resen tatio n s h ave p ro ved co n tro versial. P erh ap s th is is b ecau se th e view er is m ad e u n u su ally aw are o f th eir o w n p resen ce as o b server, an d is ch allen g ed n o t o n ly w ith w h ere to lo o k, b u t (p erh ap s o f g reater p erso n al co n seq u en ce) w ith h o w to cast th em selves an d feel, as th ey view th e p ain tin g s in th e g allery sp ace. O f co u rse, th e n aked m o d els alo n e are co n fro n tatio n al. B u t th ere is m u ch m o re th an sex o n o ff er h ere. S co tt’s co m p lex co llisio n s o f im ag ery are vitally aw kw ard an d in ten sely co m p ellin g .

Lattice N o .9 0 ,19 8 2 acrylic o n can vas 18 4 6 x 18 4 6 m m C h artw ell C o llectio n ,A u cklan d A rt G allery T o i o T ām akii

Mo d el Series N o . 6 2 (G irl w ith Lich ten stein ), 20 0 5 acrylic o n can vas 16 5 0 x 19 3 0 m m

Mo d el Series N o . 6 2 (G irl w ith Lich ten stein ), 20 0 5 acrylic o n can vas 16 5 0 x 19 3 0 m m

Mo d el Series N o . 8 9 (G irl w ith N o lan d ), 20 0 7 o il an d acrylic o n can vas 19 3 0 x 16 8 0 m m

N o . 6 9 (G irl w ith N o lan d ), 20 0 6 O il an d acrylic o n can vas 19 8 0 x 16 8 0 m m

Mo d el Series N o . 8 1 (Th e En d o f N ew m an ), 20 0 6 o il an d acrylic o n can vas 213 0 x 29 0 0 m m

Mo d el Series N o . 79 (G irl w ith Lich ten stein ), 20 0 6 o il an d acrylic o n can vas 19 8 0 x 29 0 0 m m

Mo d el Series N o . 8 4 (G irl w ith Malevich ), 20 0 6 o il an d acrylic o n can vas 10 20 x 8 4 0 m m

N o . 5 7 (G irl w ith N ew m an ), 20 0 4 acrylic o n can vas 175 5 x 13 0 0 m m

N o . 72 (G irl w ith N o lan d ), 20 0 6 O il an d acrylic o n can vas 13 70 x 13 70 m m

IAN SCOTT ON TH E M OD E L SE R IE S In terview w ith C h ris C o rso n -S co tt M arch 20 12

C h ris C o rso n -S co tt: Y o u are b est kn o w n fo r tw o d istin ct b o d ies o f w o rk: th e 'G irlie Series' p ain tin g s o f th e late 19 6 0 s, an d th e 'Lattices' w h ich b eg an in th e m id -19 70 s an d h ave co n tin u ed , in vario u s fo rm s, to th e p resen t d ay. I w o u ld like to b eg in b y askin g h o w yo u see th e 'Mo d el Series' in relatio n to th ese p revio u s b o d ies of w o rk?

Ian S co tt: L ike th e earlier series, th e 'M o d el S eries' p ain tin g s are a refl ectio n o f m y th o u g h ts ab o u t p ain tin g an d reality at th e tim e th ey w ere d o n e. In p ain tin g , yo u are alw ays try in g to b e ab le to say m o re, an d at th e sam e tim e b e in a freer situ atio n th at lets yo u d o m o re th in g s at o n ce. F o r in stan ce, in th e M o d el S eries I am ab le to co m b in e fi g u rative elem en ts an d ab stractio n , w ith a sen se o f o p en n ess, at a larg e scale. P u t an o th er w ay, th e so lu tio n s o f th e ‘M o d el S eries’ are so lu tio n s I co u ld n 't h ave co n ceived o f w ith o u t h avin g m o ved th ro u g h a n u m b er o f p revio u s d evelo p m en ts an d ch an g es w ith in m y w o rk o ver th e p ast 40 years or so .

C C S:

W h en

yo u

talk

ab o u t

b ein g

freer

in

th ese

p ain tin g s,

w h at

do

yo u

m ean ?

IS : F reed o m in p ain tin g u su ally m ean s a m o re exp an d ed o p en n ess th an h as b een seen b efo re.

C C S : B y exp an d ed o p en n ess, yo u 're referrin g to th e w ay p ain tin g s like Mo n et's late ‘W aterlilies’ exp an d ed th e sco p e o f Im p ressio n ism , o r P o llo ck's ‘d rip ’ p ain tin g s exp an d ed C u b ism , w h ich o f co u rse itself w as an exten sio n o f C ezan n e? In each o f th ese cases, th e artist is tryin g to b rin g th e im ag e 'clo ser' to th e view er, b y rem o vin g th e illu sio n o f th ree-d im en sio n al sp ace an d u ltim ately b y accep tin g a p ain tin g as p ain t o n a p iece o f can vas, rath er th an a p ictu re 'o f' so m eth in g , w h ich is w h ere ab stractio n cam e in .

IS : Y eah , I g o alo n g w ith all th at, b u t in so m e w ays I am m o re in terested in th e trad itio n in A m erican p ain tin g after P o llo ck, th at ru n s u p th ro u g h B arn ett N ew m an , M o rris L o u is an d Ju les O litski. T h ese p ain ters h ave tried to m ake p ain tin g m o re actu al b y, as yo u said , b rin g in g th e su rface o f th e p ain tin g m u ch clo ser to th e view er, an d b y in creasin g th e scale an d sp ace w ith in th e p ain tin g . T h is is th e w ay I th in k ab o u t sp ace in th e 'M o d el S eries', an d w h ere th e larg e areas o f o p en w h ite can vas co m e in – esp ecially in th e later w o rks.

C C S : B u t to th e p ain ters yo u m en tio n ed , rem o vin g th e fi g u re w as a fu n d am en tal p art o f m o vin g p ain tin g in th at d irectio n , an d m akin g m o d ern art. Mo re so , it w as a q u estio n o f eth ics in th eir d rive fo r a 'p u re art' w h ich w as au to n o m o u s in a co rru p t w o rld . Is th is p art o f th e reaso n fo r, o r jo ke in , p lacin g a fi g u re – b est o f all, a p in -u p m o d el – n ext to w o rks b y th ese artists in th e 'Mo d el Series'?

IS : W ell, after L o u is, O litski an d th e o th er artists m en tio n ed ab o ve, it seem ed to b eco m e im p o ssib le to m ake fu rth er ad van ces w ith in p u re ab stract p ain tin g . S o m eth in g else n eed ed to b e in tro d u ced if p ain tin g w as to b e sh ifted aw ay fro m o u tw o rn co n ven tio n s, an d ag ain h ave o p en p o ssib ility.

C C S : I su sp ect m o st w ith in th e art w o rld at p resen t w o u ld say so m eb o d y like G erh ard R ich ter is d o in g th at, o r th at th is is w h y p ain tin g can n o lo n g er co m p ete w ith in stallatio n art.

IS : T h e p ro b lem th ere is th at b y d isco u n tin g o r ig n o rin g th e m ain p ain tin g trad itio n , th ey b yp ass th e real issu e, w h ich is th at n ew art is alw ay s in th e fo rm o f a n ew stru ctu re – a fu n d am en tally n ew w ay o f o rg an izin g a p ain tin g . A n ew stru ctu re is o n ly relevan t w h en it is relative to w h at cam e b efo re – fo r exam p le, Im p ressio n ism co m in g after M an et.

C C S : H o w d o es P o p Art relate to th at, an d to yo u r 'Mo d el Series' p ain tin g s?

IS : In th e m id d le S ixties, P o p A rt seem ed to b e o n e o f th e m ain n ew styles, an d it w as h ard n o t to b e im p ressed b y it. It seem ed very n ew , in a w ay w h ich is h ard to see o r u n d erstan d n o w . A t th e sam e tim e, I alw ays liked ab stract p ain ters, like L arry P o o n s, an d K en n eth N o lan d , m u ch m o re, an d th o u g h t th eir w o rk w as b etter. L o o kin g b ack, it seem s like th e n ew th in g in P o p A rt w as th e su b ject m atter, su ch as co m ics an d ad vertisin g , b u t n o t th e actu al art; th e fo rm al q u alities o f th e w o rk w ere co n servative, n o t ad van cin g th e p ain tin g trad itio n th e w ay so m eo n e like P o o n s w as. I su p p o se, h avin g b ein g aro u n d in th e fo rm ative years o f P o p it h as stay ed w ith m e. P o p m ad e d iff eren t areas o f su b ject availab le, b u t I n ever th o u g h t th e m o d el series h ad th at m u ch to d o w ith P o p A rt o n a d eep er level.

C C S : Sp eakin g o f su b ject m atter, w h y w o m en ? I kn o w yo u h ave b een asked w h en sp eakin g p u b licly w h y yo u d o n 't p ain t m en in stead .

IS : W o m en b ecam e p art o f m y su b ject m atter as early as 19 6 7 w ith th e fi rst p ictu res in th e 'G irlie S eries', w h ich seem ed , fo r m e, a n atu ral th in g to d o . P ain tin g th e fem ale n u d e is a lo n g h isto rical trad itio n g o in g b ack 5 0 0 years o r m o re, th ro u g h T itian , R u b en s, R em b ran d t, M an et, C o u rb et, etc., an d m o re recen tly D avid S alle o r Jo h n C u rrin . E ach stag e o f th is trad itio n h as h ad to fi g h t b attles ab o u t p ain tin g th e fem ale n u d e. U su ally th ese b attles sin k b ack in to h isto ry an d are fo rg o tten . B asically, I d o w h at I like, as p ain ters h ave d o n e th ro u g h o u t h isto ry .

C C S : To d ay, very few g allery visito rs w o u ld fi n d th e co n ten t in th e 'G irlie Series' p ain tin g s o f th e 19 6 0 s co n tro versial o r tro u b lin g , yet as I u n d erstan d it th at's exactly h o w th ey w ere received . C an yo u talk ab o u t th e reactio n to th o se p ain tin g s w h en th ey w ere fi rst exh ib ited in th e late Sixties?

IS : W ell, tim es ch an g e. W h en th e p ain tin g 'L aw n L o vers' to u red N ew Z ealan d as p art o f th e M an aw atu A rt P rize in 19 6 9 , it cau sed a lo t o f tro u b le. It w as b an n ed , an d rem o ved fro m exh ib itio n in th e H am ilto n A rt G allery d u e to p u b lic o b jectio n , an d also cau sed co n sid erab le tro u b le in P alm ersto n N o rth , an d m o st o th er p laces it w en t. S een fro m th is p o in t in tim e, all th is seem s in cred ib le. S u rp risin g ly, th e sam e th in g h ap p en ed ag ain , w h en th e 'M o d el S eries' w as exh ib ited at C o C A in C h ristch u rch in 20 0 7 . T h o u g h th e w o rks w ere n o t b an n ed th is tim e, th ere w ere co m p lain ts to th e g allery an d a h u g e p u b lic d eb ate in n ew sp ap ers an d o n th e in tern et. T h ere w as even a sig n at th e en tran ce to th e exh ib itio n sayin g “d iscretio n is ad vised ”.

C S S : Often , o b jectio n to th e w o rk seem s to h ave b een b ased aro u n d issu es o f fem in ism . It's so m eth in g yo u h ave b een asked ab o u t b efo re, an d I'm cu rio u s h o w yo u w o u ld resp o n d to th at n o w ?

IS : F u n n ily en o u g h , p ain tin g s fro m th e 'M o d el S eries' h ave b een so ld to fem ale co llecto rs, w h o liked th e w o rk as p ain tin g s, an d d id n o t fi n d th e co n ten t to b e an issu e. W h en M an et's ‘O lym p ia’ w as exh ib ited in th e F ren ch salo n o f 18 6 5 , its co n ten t created a scan d al, an d th e p ain tin g b ecam e in fam o u s. N o w ‘O lym p ia’ h an g s in th e M u sée d ’O rsay an d is lo o ked at as a g reat p ain tin g . T h e co n tro versy su rro u n d in g th e co n ten t seem s irrelevan t.

C S S : So w h at are yo u are really in terested in w ith th ese w o rks?

IS : W ell, o n e th in g th at in terests m e is th e p ro b lem o f stru ctu re in p ain tin g . A s I see it, p ain tin g can b e b ro ken d o w n in to ro u g h ly fi ve m ain co m p o sitio n al system s: realism , w ith its illu sio n o f reality; C u b ism , w h ich d ivid es th e p ain tin g su rface p art b y p art; th en P o llo ck's 'all o ver' sy stem ; th e n ext system w as b y M o rris L o u is – in th e 'U n fu rled s', h e m ad e th e m o st extrem e fo rm o f co m p o sitio n y et d evelo p ed ,

u sin g , fo r th e fi rst tim e, th e ed g e to h o ld th e p ain tin g to g eth er; fi n ally, in th e m id S ixties, Ju les O litski d evelo p ed su rface co verag e, w h ich h ad n o fo rm s o r rep resen tatio n in th e p ain tin g b u t th e p ain t itself, an d th is seem ed to b e th e en d o f ab stract art. Y o u m ig h t th in k I'm sim p lifyin g th in g s to o m u ch , b u t I'm talkin g ab o u t th e m ain m o ves h ere. E ach o f th ese p ain ters d evelo p ed system s th at refl ected th e state o f u n d erstan d in g ab o u t th eir w o rld , an d p ain tin g , at th eir resp ective m o m en ts. B u t n o w , g iven th e state o f th e w o rld , an d o u r kn o w led g e o f th e u n iverse an d reality, it d o esn 't m ake sen se to m e to u se th ese p ast sy stem s, th o u g h a lo t o f p ain ters u se th em , o r m ix tw o o r th ree to g eth er, w ith o u t realisin g . In th e ‘M o d el S eries’, I h ave tried to b rin g b ack fi g u ratio n an d th e u se o f th in g s fro m th e w o rld , b u t w ith o u t u sin g an y o f th e p revio u sly m en tio n ed co m p o sitio n al system s, w h ile also tryin g to in co rp o rate th e freed o m an d o p en n ess th at w as d isco vered an d u sed b y th ese artists. S o th at is w h y th e p ain tin g s lo o k asym m etrical an d ‘d is-u n ifi ed ’ in relatio n to p revio u s p ain tin g . T h e p revio u s system s, su ch as C u b ism o r all o ver p ain tin g , tried to say th at th e w o rld w as o f a p iece, o r o n e u n ifi ed w h o le. B u t I so rt o f b elieve th at, w ith th e w o rld as it is, th ese co m p o sitio n al system s n o lo n g er ap p ly.

C S S : So yo u w o u ld say th at th e w ay in w h ich m o st art h ere relies o n o verseas stru ctu res, is th e m ain stu m b lin g b lo ck to th e creatio n o f tru ly o rig in al N ew Z ealan d art? In o th er w o rd s, th ere is an u n fo rtu n ate co n victio n th at art h ere m u st fi rst b e verifi ed b y o verseas d evelo p m en ts, su ch as th e w ay m o d ern in stallatio n art is verifi ed b y referrin g to Du ch am p ?

IS : Y eah , freed o m in art m ean s fi n d in g a n ew system th at relates to th e co u n try it is d o n e in . T h is is seen in all p revio u s sch o o ls – fo r exam p le, th e D u tch , E n g lish , F ren ch o r recen t A m erican sch o o ls o f p ain tin g – w h ich are in trin sic to th e co u n tries th at d evelo p ed th em . I still th in k, an d alw ays h ave, th at it is p o ssib le to fi g u re o u t so m e b asis fo r d o in g so m eth in g o rig in al w ith th e stu ff w e h ave h ere.