Legendry; Interview with Artist Constantino Nivola, Part 1 of 2

Good evening. This is Frank Anthony. Welcome to legendary. Tonight artist Constantino novella whose murals are and buildings of many of our major cities. Tell us about his relationship to his friend and what art meant to him at that time. Here for legendry. Is Constantino novella. With. News. Noob. Where did you first get the idea to be a sculptor. We're I live thing that happened on Saturday. Get in a night here it's. Time. I have the feeling that to be a sculpture painting or a piece

of acting making builds the sort of was something that was that I always head. As a child and then ran around for another and I think that it would make a tray something on the floor and stuff that would lend itself to be shaped like. Mark or clay or sand or anything. And so it's it's. It's a disposition I think that I fear all the time. Does that go back to when you were very young. Oh much of it goes back as far as I had and actually I would put it this way.

I remember exactly. Right and I become conscious. All right Shiva the rareness of beauty or a special situation. And this took place. Stop me if I make it very long. But he said it's a very very important to me. I was. Probably my first birthday in the middle of the day. I was lying down on the floor. Inside the house was black dark inside the house and brilliant outside in the middle of the day. My mother was sitting next to the door and the light

would come to the door and he would make hear relief on the way of the thing. The irregularities so they were through this light coming from the side would become a fantastic play of shadows and light. But most of the I was looking up at the ceiling which was totally black by smoke from the butt up the broken ties columns of a light kind of like in the temple. I had made a dead set on those columns and I was touching with my painting because the light would make the hands transparent and and I decided that this was so beautiful so extraordinary that I would remember the rest of my life.

But that was the moment when. I say that because the poetry Chandimal separation and thinks it's the source of making are tainted to make anyway. I mean if you see the events that lead me to become an artist were purely accidental. I was taken as an assistant as very young as an apprentice to a local painter that I was in charge of decorating at the University of Pennsylvania. I spent the first of five years sitting in the decoration consisted of

marbles and painting and so on. I went through this frame to see artists and trades and after I was sent to an art school graduated in 1935. Some of that in the nature of architectural work. The appendices spirit haven't been out to make things more artificial or or the limitation of the materials that it's in the tradition of. Decoration or was a preference to the imitation rather than to the original more proud of imitating marble than the actual experience he's going through the various cathedrals.

How do you feel about. Your pain. I found I keep shifting from painting to sculpture. There are differences that sculpture I feel like I Myrrha sure of myself. It's like making objects right away. What comes next. It's it's like building an object is to build a construction building with a more concrete and Lino of a form in painting it's more of the make believe. So it's more abstract and and it's more intellectual it's less say sure as I would say sculpture but more into like in painting it's in my opinion it's it's

really good when he's charged with intellectual understanding. Can we learn. This in the residence is not ask any teaching except for in conversation with the students. Some time I did some demonstrations. All right took over a class teacher that couldn't attend at the time but that is not even a regular course but I did some teaching at Harvard University and University. But what I think about teaching is in space that there are certain

things that can be and should be certain basic information. But my belief is that those could be conveyed at very early stage. At their grammar level in high school he says. It's this it's interesting that the where and the notion that the sense of the vision is as important as any other sense is the sense of hearing music or even the verbal. It's been not recognized I mean I dare to say that. We remain when it comes to visual understanding and visual reading in a sort of literate stage. It's like if a child

would. When it comes to narrow the meaning of the song and it doesn't it doesn't go to school to learn of the structure of the language. That is the level that we're in Maine. We learned at a very early age to recognize things to see things and recognize them but by Turkey and justification and recognize that we see the chair seat of the glass due to cream to eat or and then we accumulate this Recognizing of objects and stop seeing that. So Sam George and they decide your different definition about C as not being a God given gift. But a discipline that has to be. So this

from looking at things from the military point of view do they look to look for the carload of objects that patch of disinterest or is interested leave from their function. That has to be natural but when did this happen. That's when the translation matic to libertarianism contemplation and poetry is the act of looking at things not because they have a function but because they have an appearance or they have a shape that thinking. Where did the emotion and liking

me. The capillary 2p to be defined to be a suppressed emotion that is not this precedent. It's a confusing factor in my visual emotion that it's not defined in terms of its visual language confuse motion. Who do you admire as an artist. Than the one artist. That I know of a person to view. I admire Jack because I missed him and try to see who put himself in trying to do something that he didn't know out.

He say I've been trying to corral to paint ahead and obviously I don't know how to do it. I must be very stupid in trying to do something that I don't know how to do. I admire that attitude for being in power but constantly with something that one doesn't know how to do because who wants to get what one yells out. You probably feel that accepting and overcoming challenges is part of the artistic life. It's interesting that. He expects the expansion to the expansion of the. Of the perceptions you know their actual state. Rocked I admire its really.

The capacity of revealing possibly more than one expect rather oriented to collect to see to run. A particular point of view. But. I would say that. I have very difficult in this clued in anybody from the top 10 of course are my considered a success if my not important match my no that has been the tendency to make a big deal over some time with very minor contribution. Just because events that take

control like the kind of factors alien to the purity of the stick when I step back. The Dartmouth experience been a good thing. Experience are a waste especially in a new environment. And to me it's just simple realisation a simple observation like going through the highways and discovering what being to be led by the determination of the highways cutting through the ears and through the rocks they could be state standards and rocks. It's just it's very reassuring feeling. I hate to start speculating how the trees could

sustain themselves from such a layer of snow or so that came to the conclusion that the rock star the roots of the trees which first of all they are the center of the pie trees and they they they gave the feeling that they are the foundation on the solid foundation that makes the tree stand so proudly and so secure. It's difficult to judge you on being without the context of what it said. So my passion of this area was already strong last. Last April when

I went to Berlin. I flew from Phoenix for Boston and we drove to Greenland and due to that marked the change you know situation the changing landscape made me realize how different the state west east and that difference. Grandiosity or solemnity that around here let out some Fransisco are made of clay and compare it to the to the to that Rocky and the superiority on one part and in their gentleness and be all that is what makes that very evident. Change of climate the changing of place changing of feeling they the period

and time tends to go very fast but it was a pleasant experience. How do you think it would affect your painting if you were to live in Vermont. Yes I believe very strongly in the influence of the environment and least with me it affects me right away or whatever I like. I'm taken by the Bible by the character of the place. Thanks I don't put any resistance to to defend myself and I'm always waiting to meet myself and go and brace for the place where and. What was it like to have done with what was he like as a man and as an architect. It's such a

reputation that that girl's sense of books that he had to go to about him said about his work and all the relict of inviting about him. But the big question the writer was up as a man it's that most everybody knows what he was and so as an architect. As a man he was. And wanted to know him very very closely to find out because the kind of opinions. According to the experience they had made to me he was very impatient to eat the ambitious people are superficial. He wasn't the arbiter of defining situation. Doctors not only a doctor but also with people in love are to defamation about situation. So when we came to judging

people it would say that with people agreement or disagreement and a disagreement with the conversation the relation becomes simple and and stimulating. If there is not in place it agreement. Again it's tied in and it's contradictory and it's he would also make my thought for that. Comparison like people being like a fish in different strata and creating a great deal of confusion when one strata of fish goes to another. He sounds dangerous to definition but the men that that there are people that tend to agree to be

more than ever more affinity among themselves independently from grace in his life he had among his friends. Leaders of government like Nero in the city or a fisherman in the south of France and he would put the same people in the same definition as being in the spirit of the people who were in the spirit of truth or not. So if they happen to be in a defined Spirit of truth he was inclined with those who would be extremely gentle affectionate and warm and with others he would be rather impatient and even democratic.

Is there some other artist you relate to now that he's gone. It's very difficult not to be. Known to be a star of his generation and be part of the face of the historical period he influenced they way they are inevitably active in the formation and the arts and repercussions through the rest of the time. It's I'm very grateful to see it because we think something that is that is that it did do we understand in grasping certain universal values universal principles which are present and current in every walk of life. And every time in every culture

in which you belong to nobody and to everybody but to to understand those. They can be used they are different but essentially in order to not to be infatuated but to be in a position as press subject of a story read to us something. Now for the basic principle of every plastic card chip play to understand factors makes money free from

dependence to independence and in fact is the best way to get to a certain degree. Originality person a way of doing. Related indeed actively. Sympathizing or having a female with him. Many things not not by a fellow in a sack with the same steps but that being in the same set of principles. I had the chance to look at your work in general. It's easier to come quickly to the point with your sculpture. Much more so than the paintings. Is there some reason for this. Well of the paintings were done up at the sculpture and it was a not tend

to to do painting using the same vocabulary as that in this culture most just the kind of sculpture I do for the day to day things and that they are very very analytic and painting very less than us. The problem of color the problem of the painting forms in a team so the conflict comes between form and God. Get out all of this this and this problem problematic roaches that are in the painting and sculpture to me was surprised in the sense that I never had a show that

showed the variety of attitude that if you take makes a difference of approach to work and because usually presented either you know girly. One expat at that time in DC who was surprised to see because I was also curious to see if it was any. If there was any conflict between the various approaches that Peter had in the ocean attitudes but I was reassured by my passion and by all that that the video that that they there is a continuity that he set the spirit you know all of that only I

am a great defensive of of neglect to seize. I think that it's now time for a practical reason or a most commercial reason because it made it easy to the critics and to the merchants to force of the artist to remain senior to one that's that so that could be easily recognizable and easily identified like industrial products that were seized in their gun in order to be remembered easily I don't think the artist should play that game and we know what it's like. Think about being an artist it's nice to have a feed in there but that time is changing constantly that it is a big fan to be two in the morning and even if it is at a

range of that oddity and play of light and seasons and the years that pass and so what was richness of that there should be its best said as they come along. Fried and I'm concerned with the idea of a spy. No wait and see to the point of anybody should do which Bill mania Michael East has been a nation of bad handing out actually think we're out here to enjoy the capacity of imagination and richness of emotion. Misplace that mistake and. That takes a certain freedom of expression does not it takes a great it takes cards and reading. Thank you for being with us tonight. Next Saturday on part two of my

interview with Constantino Novoa. He discusses Picasso in detail and his own limitations as an artist on legendary next Saturday at 7 p.m.. Our engineer was Joshua Landis. This is Frank in for me wishing you a pleasant evening. Or early. Morning Will.