In a compelling dialogue between artist Christopher Wool (CL) and interviewer Arthur Weisbard (AW), the essence of art, its purpose, and its impact are meticulously dissected. Within this exchange, the notion of “charm” emerges not as a standalone artistic objective, but as a concept to be critically examined and contrasted with deeper artistic values. This exploration offers a profound understanding of Wool’s artistic philosophy, revealing what truly underpins his creative endeavors beyond superficial appeal. This article delves into this insightful excerpt, unpacking the nuanced comparison of “charm” with more profound elements such as enchantment and meaning within the realm of art, as articulated by Christopher Wool.
Defining Art and the Artist’s Intention
The conversation commences with Wool questioning the very definition of art, a fundamental inquiry that grounds his artistic approach. He posits, “Is there even something called art?” This skepticism isn’t dismissive but rather a catalyst for understanding his practice. Wool describes his creations as “extremely contrived ritual acts,” stripping away romanticized notions of art and emphasizing the deliberate, constructed nature of his work. He clarifies that this isn’t ritualistic in a traditional spiritual sense, but in the sense of a conscious, performative act of creation.
Wool contrasts two prevalent views of art: art as commentary and art as a cynical capitalist gesture. He rejects both, instead positioning his work as “an occasion for experience.” He underscores the deliberate setup surrounding art – the anticipation, discussion, and attention it garners – as a reason to invest his values into his work. This investment is about creating an experience that transcends the mundane, even if the occasion itself is, in the grand scheme of life, “very insignificant.” His artistic process, likened to Henry James’s approach to novel writing, starts from an “initial germ” and evolves through a process of rigorous exclusion, avoiding clichés and superficial sentiments to arrive at a genuine artistic statement.
The Pursuit of Meaning and Subjective Experience
Weisbard picks up on Wool’s skepticism about art, interpreting it as a valuing of “meaning.” He probes into Wool’s core artistic concerns, asking, “What do you care about most?” Wool responds by emphasizing the “ineffable experience,” the “pondering of the complexity of experience and why this experience.” This lifelong preoccupation with subjective experience, from childhood onwards, is presented as a central driving force in his art. He confesses to being “tormented by subjectivity,” struggling to grasp its nature and origin.
This personal torment translates into a formal artistic pursuit. Wool aims to “throw himself into the present, the unanswerable, the unknown, the unquantifiable.” His ultimate artistic aspiration is to facilitate a similar “ponderance” in the viewer, to create work that leverages the viewer’s attention to instigate a profound engagement with existence and subjectivity.
Goethe’s ‘Charm’ and the Artist’s ‘Repulsion’
The conversation then pivots to Goethe’s concept of “charm.” Weisbard introduces Goethe’s aesthetic position, where “charm” was considered essential for a great artwork, capable of captivating the recipient. Goethe’s “charm” is not mere superficial attractiveness but a powerful aesthetic force. Weisbard asks if Wool feels a similar need to “charm” the viewer, to co-ponder experience and being with them.
Wool acknowledges Goethe’s “charm” but expresses a visceral “repulsion” towards the word as it’s commonly understood today. He clarifies, “I want to charm. But what I need to do… I need to have bent or made awkward that charm.” This is a crucial distinction. Wool isn’t rejecting the idea of engaging the viewer, but he’s resisting a simplistic, unchallenging form of charm. He believes true artistic engagement requires disrupting conventional charm, making it “awkward” to provoke deeper thought and feeling. He even doubts his ability to effectively deploy conventional charm, suggesting a deliberate artistic choice to move beyond it.
From Charm to Enchantment: A Deeper Aesthetic
Weisbard recognizes Wool’s artistic trajectory as a “path of fighting beauty, charm, enchantment even,” acknowledging this struggle as a sign of artistic maturity. He points out that mixing in the “anti-aesthetic” can lead to a “different kind of enchantment.”
Wool affirms this, agreeing that “enchantment” is a more fitting term. He distinguishes between superficial “charm” and a more profound “enchantment” that arises from challenging conventional aesthetics. This deeper enchantment is not about easy appeal but about a captivating quality that emerges from complexity, difficulty, and even the “anti-aesthetic.”
Finding Beauty Beyond Charm: Longing and Enchantment in Hardship
Wool illustrates this shift from charm to enchantment with his “LA River pieces,” born from a “long, dark night of the soul.” He recounts reading Viktor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning” and Primo Levi’s “The Periodic Table,” books that grapple with profound human experiences in extreme adversity. He draws a parallel to Weisbard’s novel, “The Marriage Artist,” set in Nazi-era Austria, noting their shared inclination to “search for what is special in a hard place.”
This period of artistic exploration for Wool was about reaching “rock bottom” to find genuine artistic value. Working with “garbage and nature” in the LA River basin, he sought meaning in stark and challenging environments. Weisbard interjects, highlighting that this dark period wasn’t pessimistic, a crucial observation.
Wool elaborates on Frankl’s book, recounting a poignant scene where Frankl, in a dire situation, finds solace in his capacity to have loved, even amidst uncertainty and despair. This resonated deeply with Wool, leading to a piece titled “Direction of My Home.” He describes it as “achingly beautiful” and “totally enchanting,” created from found objects from disparate environments – New York sidewalks and the LA River. This piece embodies “home and longing and the beauty of longing,” revealing that “longing itself is incredibly enchanting.”
An image depicting a typical New York City sidewalk, representing the urban elements integrated into Christopher Wool’s artwork.
A photograph of the Los Angeles River, illustrating the natural and urban decay elements that inspired Christopher Wool’s art during a period of intense artistic exploration.
In conclusion, within this excerpt, the word “charm” is being compared with and ultimately contrasted against concepts like enchantment, meaning, and profound subjective experience. While acknowledging Goethe’s aesthetic value of charm, Christopher Wool distinguishes it from a more superficial and conventional understanding. He advocates for an art that moves beyond easy charm, embracing a deeper “enchantment” that arises from challenging aesthetics, confronting difficult experiences, and exploring the complexities of human existence. For Wool, true artistic power lies not in charming the viewer in a simplistic sense, but in creating an “occasion for experience” that provokes ponderance, delves into subjectivity, and ultimately, reveals a more profound and resonant form of beauty and meaning, even in the most unexpected and challenging contexts.
