Leon Golub: An Interview

Leon Golub was born in 1922. He received his BA from the University of Chicago in Art History, and his BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. His paintings function within a social context where strength has no virtue, and power no glory. Described as an existential and activist painter, Golub's interest in the depiction of the figure never waned. He has recently regained recognition for his large-scale, politically-charged works that directly address issues of war, racism, sexism, and power. Golub is a neo-expressionist, who uses the power of paint to refer to a culture of institutionalized aggression. The process of building and taking away paint results in a dense, flat surface that often exposes the raw fiber of the canvas. His painterly concerns with texture and surface yield a highly tactile plane. This early interview with Golub takes place in 1977. "Most artists grow up into an environment where decisions are being determined by older generations, and they either react plus or minus to those situations. Therefore one’s self consciousness is determined by social situations." A historical interview originally recorded in 1976. "