An Interview with Tom Wesselmann
AJ Nadel
Tampering with an icon, even by its creator, poses considerable challenge and
risk. Tom Wesselmann’s Great American Nude series was introduced in the
1960s to make representation of the figure as exciting as could be achieved by
the brush strokes and deconstruction of De Kooning. Colors were kept realistic
but the size, the posture and the exposed genitals of the female nudes gave them
an “in your face” seductiveness. They became symbols of an American
mood of freedom and commerce. For an artist, this is a significant achievement.
However, the creative process demands more than satisfaction. Representing the
figure continues to intrigue Tom Wesselmann. His recent show of Nudes and Abstracts
at the Robert Miller Gallery demonstrates the changes initiated by a nude on
canvas “destroyed” by color in 1999 as well as the evolution of dimensional
abstractions begun in 1993 as small mylar collages. The intent in both types
of works – nudes and abstracts – is to be more loose, spontaneous and expressionistic.
The arbitrary use of color, the concentration upon “drop out” areas
(those spaces between boundaries), and the widespread swathes of white create
nudes which are bold and aggressive. Nipples and lips appear but there is less
languor. Instead, intensity is conveyed by the postures and by the saturated
colors. Reds, oranges and yellows contrast with cooler blues and greens, interspersed
with the areas of white. They make images where sex is blatant but does not dominate
the canvas. In the most dramatic pieces, the interior settings and the outdoor
environments are reduced to broad and striking shapes matching the proportions
of the partly visualized female bodies.
The nudes painted
on canvas bear a striking resemblance to the abstractions of hand cut, bent and
painted metal fastened to a metal background painted white. Dimensimality and
size are critical to these works. Recognizable imagery has disappeared but the
irregular colored shapes partly cover black forms and the white background as
if portions of a Wesselmann interior were pasted over a Franz Kline. In the pieces
which are less dense, the layers seem just to be held together before coming
apart. This creates a tension which enhances their directness and fixes the viewer.
Having pushed the
figure further towards abstraction and having made large non-representational
constructions, where does Tom Wesselmann go from here? His answer: “who
knows”? Working sometimes from models and occasionally from magazine images,
Wesselmann continues to make small drawings and mockups that explore the limits
of figural representation and the boundaries of abstraction. The results of these
endeavors will be of interest to all who follow the dynamics of a successful
artist devoted to the challenges of his profession.
