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FRED SMILDE
"ABSTRACT MUSIC"
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ARTIST INTERVIEW /.
12. 16. 2022
By: PROVK STAFF
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WHAT IS YOUR EARLIEST MEMORY OF ART?
I CANNOT REMEMBER A SPECIFIC TIME OR MEMORY, BUT CAN SAY THAT HEARING BEETHOVEN FOR THE FIRST TIME LITERALLY CHANGED MY PATH. I WAS MAYBE 15 OR 16 AT THE TIME AND ACTUALLY PLAYING GUITAR IN A HARD ROCK BAND. I CAN REMemBER GOING TO LIBRARY AND TAKING OUT A RECORD OF OPUS 57 AND LISTENING IN ONE OF THE STALLS WITHIN THE LIBRARY. I REMEMBER MURRAY PERAHIA WAS PLAYING, THOSE FAMILIAR WITH CLASSICAL MUSIC OPUS 57 HAS BEEN PLAYED SO MUCH. BUT AT THE TIME BEING MY FIRST EXPERIENCE WITH THAT TYPE OF EXPRESSION, IT CHANGED ME. 35 YEARS LATER, I STILL THINK OF BEETHOVEN IS A MONSTER, ESPECIALLY HIS LATER WORKS, HIS SUBLIMITY OF EXPRESSION AND HIS ARCHITECTURE IS AT TIMES BEYOND WORDS OF DESCRIPTION, SO AFTER THAT I STARTED PLAYING PIANO.
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TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK, PROCESS AND SUBJECT MATTER?
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EVERY ONE OF MY PAINTINGS IS DICTATED BY THE FIGURE. THOUGH WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO ME IS SPACE. A FIGURE KEEPS ME GROUNDED BUT IT IS ALWAYS HOW THAT FIGURE MOVES WITHIN SPACE. I'M IN THAT SPACE AND I TRY TO FIND MY WAY OUT, I'M AFTER A SPACE THAT MOVES YET REMAINS TIGHT.
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WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAW, READ, OR HEARD THAT INSPIRED YOU TO CREATE?
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FOR ME THE CREATIVE ACT IS MORE INTERNAL RATHER THAN EXTERNAL. IT MAY SEEM STRANGE BUT I'M INSPIRED BY THE FACT THAT I'M STILL ALIVE. INSPIRATION COMES FROM HOW YOU REACT TO WHAT IS AROUND YOU AND INSIDE YOU.
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YOU HAVE AN EXTENSIVE BACKGROUND IN MUSIC. HOW HAS THAT EXPERIENCE TRANSLATED TO YOUR WORK AS A VISUAL ARTIST?
I WAS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE AN ASSISTANTSHIP IN MUSIC THEORY. I LEARNED HOW MUSIC WAS PUT TOGETHER AND WHY IS MADE SENSE AS A WHOLE. WITH ALL ITS INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS, IT ALWAYS MADE SENSE TO ME. I COULD SEE AND HEAR LONG TERMN RELATIONSHIPS IN TIME. MUSIC TAKES PLACE IN TIME (I WOULD ALSO ARGUE SPACE) AND PAINTING TAKES PLACE IN SPACE. TO SOME EXTENT THE TWO ARE THE SAME. MY MUSICAL BACKGROUND HAS HELPED ME SEE A PAINTING AS A WHOLE AND HOW INTERACTS WITH SPACE.
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YOU'VE MADE QUITE A CHANGE IN TERMS OF CREATIVE OUTLET GOING FROM MUSIC TO PAINTING. THAT IS INSPIRING TO MANY THAT IT'S POSSIBLE TO MAKE A CHANGE IN LIFE. WAS THERE ANYTHING SCARY ABOUT IT AND WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO PEOPLE THAT ARE ON THE FENCE OF MAKING A MOVE TO SOMETHING NEW?
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FOR ME IT WAS NOT A CHANGE, JUST PURSUING EXPRESSION IN A VERY SIMILAR MEDIUM. ACTUALLY TO ME THE SAME THING. ULTIMATELY IT IS THE NEED TO DO SOMETHING CREATIVE, WITHOUT GRANDIOSE AMBITIONS OR NOTIONS. YOU SEE SOMETHING IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU SAY OK, WHAT CAN I DO? AGAIN, AS FAS AS PAINTING FOR ME IT IS ABOUT BALANCING EXPRESSION WITHIN SPACE.
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WHO ARE SOME OF THE ARTISTS THAT HAVE INFLUENCED YOUR WORK?
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AS FAR AS PAINTING, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY DE KOONING. ON A STRUCTURAL LEVEL, WOULD HAVE TO SAY BEETHOVEN.
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NOW THAT WE ARE COMING TO THE END OF 2022, IT'S A TIME OF REFLECTION. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU'VE LEARNED THIS YEAR?
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IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO DO A DECENT PAINTING. I STILL DO BAD PAINTINGS AND I IMAGINE THAT WILL CONTINUE. I HAVE TO BECOME LESS ACCEPTING, MEANING IF THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG FOR ME WITHIN A PAINTING I WILL CONTINUE TO WORK ON IT REGARDLESS OF HOW MANY PEOPLE LIKE IT. I CONTINUE TO PAINT OVER PAINTINGS, THE BEAUTY OF PAINTING AND ANY CAREER IN THE CREATIVE FIELD IS THAT IT NEVER ENDS. YOU DON'T REACH A GOAL. IT IS A CONTINUAL METAMORPHOSIS OF WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU, AND THAT CHANGE OF VISION DOES NOT ONLY TAKE PLACE IN WHAT YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU BUT WITHIN YOU AS WELL.
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BY: PROVK STAFF
IMAGES: FRED SMILDE