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Artists- Deanna Yesko & Sam Carroll
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In an interview with Max Donson I asked him some questions about himself and his philosophies. Here are some of his responses.
WinePhilosopher: I would like to start by asking, when did you become an artist, and why? Max Donson: Well, I was very young and art has always been a language that I was most comfortable with. I was quite influenced by my oldest brother Jerome, I call him Jerry. Jerry! long story, anyway he's now retired from a distinguished career as a museum director, and art curator. He was in touch with some of the greatest figures in modern art, including Picasso, Salvatore Dali, Jackson Pollock, etc, etc, etc. In 1964 at the height of the cold war, Jerry was selected from all the art authorities in the country to head a government exhibition of American Art throughout all the communist block countries, as a gesture of peace. I'm sure this helped at the time. If I could do anything via the language of aesthetes to bring peace to others, then that was going to be my career WP:
What
does your work do for you, and what do you want to communicate (if anything) to
others through your work? Max: We all have ways of getting to that place where we feel whole and are doing what we love to do, and are suppose to do. My art brings me to that place. I absorb myself totally in my work. I love wood... I love exotic wood. I use only rare and exotic woods in my sculptures. I would like my art to enhance people's lives, and perhaps even enchant. WP:
When
you create a sculptor do you have the form in mind and then pick the wood, or
does the wood dictate the form? Or
none of the above, or both? Max: I think both, because sometimes I have a theme, however, in midstream somewhere it will take on a life of it own. Something happens in the in-between. It’s very difficult to plan what I do, because it’s not really the subject matter it’s more the subject scatter that I’m involved in. It’s not what appears to be real because it’s not. The moment that it is, it isn’t; things are always in motion and they’re constantly… oh! I would say, transforming, and they appear to be solid but they’re not… really. So I’m more involved in the effects that are created from the impact of an agreed upon happening, whether it be a life form or otherwise. Something is always in some kind of transmigrated state. WP: And
that leads perfectly into our next question. Are you and/or your work influenced
by a particular philosophy or way of perceiving reality? WP:
As an artist, are there any insights you can share with me and the viewers of
WP.com that would help us to heighten our enjoyment and understanding of Art? Max:
Well!
“It’s in the eyes of the beholder” that’s a cliché but it holds true.
I would say not to look for anything, let it come to you.
WP:
Is there something that you would like people to "behold" in your art? Max:
If I’m doing something that’s
bringing more then just visual and tactile pleasure then I would say spiritually
that, that satisfies me even more. WP: Are
there any of your pieces that you would like to talk about? Max: (laughter)
I would love to talk about them all, I have a reluctance to interpret my own
work. Because I do conceptual work
so I’m sometimes asked, what is it suppose to be? And my response is “I was
hoping you could tell me that.” I’m kind of embarrassed to talk about my work, actually. I don’t know why, it’s just that I feel that what I’m saying, I said.
But
I will say, most of my work is multi-dimensional in a sense, in that each way
you look at it, it may say something else but it’s all saying something very
similar. In a sense, we are, we
have been, and will continue to be. It’s
just basically my interpretation of life and existence and it’s what I do and
what I love doing. WP:
In concluding, would you
like to explain anything else about yourself, your work, or the nature of
reality? Max:
Morris
Gluckman was a sign painter when I was a kid. All of a sudden there was an
announcement that he had a grouping of watercolors and oils at the Brooklyn
Museum of Art. Now we in the neighborhood (Brooklyn) never knew of Morris Gluckman to be a
painter, other then a sign painter. And
he, in his privacy, was building up a body of work which he did not talk about it
to anyone. The only thing that
anybody knew was that he was having this exhibit and this was a great surprise
to all.
I’ve worked for
others; I’ve worked for myself. I
have been part of the machine. Like
Morris for years I have been in seclusion doing what I really truly love to do.
It satisfies me. I don’t have words; to express the
inexpressible, the unspeakable. From
that example of Mr. Gluckman I hope that at least it gives some explanation of
where I’m coming from or where I’m going.
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