Brian McPartlon Land scape CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW Your artworks have often short titles that seem So what happens when there is nothing left to to offer guidance to the viewers: how do you be considered? All people will have access to go about naming your work? In particular, is it all images and the ability to create all things. important for you to tell something that might So where do the dinosaurs like me fit into this? walk the viewers through their visual experience? I look to history for my place. Brian McPartlon: When I title the work it is We have really appreciated the multifaceted important to use only one word. All abstract nature of your artistic research and before leaving this stimulating conversation we work should convey a personal thought. My would like to thank you for chatting with us desire is to only start the viewer down the and for sharing your thoughts, Brian. What process of reasoning. The short titles allow the projects are you currently working on, and viewer a beginning only, from there it is their what are some of the ideas that you hope to interpretation that matters more than mine. explore in the future? You are an established artist, and over the years Brian McPartlon: Thank you for the thought- provoking questions. It is rewarding to be your artworks have been showcased in many asked such well-considered questions by an exhibitions, including your recent solo show in educated interviewer that has taken the time Santa Fe, New Mexico: how do you consider the to look at my work. nature of your relationship with your audience? I am currently working on large scale paintings As the move of Art from traditional gallery relating to fire. New Mexico was besieged spaces, to street and especially to online with forest fires earlier this year. Thousands of platforms — asInstagram firefighters battled the blazes for 3 months https://www.instagram.com/brianmcpartlonstudio from March until June. Our monsoon rains — increases, how does this, in your opinion, came early in June and extinguished the change the relationship with a globalised blazes. I spent much time observing this and audience? have come away with images that relate to Brian McPartlon: I think what Warhol was trying that experience. to say when he said that "everyone will have 15 The fires have become a metaphor for my view minutes of fame" was that the human of society. What has man done to evoke this experience will be so available to all people that situation, to what end? Along with the visual the only uniqueness left to experience will be interpretations of the fire images, I am the difference in our DNA, and that will transforming the personal experiences of fire, eventually become the last art. its meaning for life, its place in our being, its place in medieval philosophy, the passion and There can never be two people with the same emotion of fire into my paintings. DNA makeup. This will be the only thing left that An interview by Josh Ryder, curator separates us from one another. Globalization of and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator images is the path on which we are on. [email protected]