In her first major UK show in over two decades, American artist Mary Heilmann presents a survey of her work since the 1960s at London’s Whitechapel Gallery.At the opening, we spoke to Mary Heilmann about life as an artist in the 1970s — when she was taught by David Hockney, and counted Richard Serra, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Donald Judd as friends — as well as the rest of her long, influential career. We were also joined by Lydia Yee, chief curator of Whitechapel and curator of this latest exhibition. Excerpts:I wanted to start with New York in the 1970s. Looking back, it feels like a golden age. Did it feel that way at the time?Mary Heilmann: Yes it did. I came from Berkeley [in California] which was working on integration and getting rid of segregation, which was really exciting. Then there was all this great music….we were aware that it was a big time. I knew all about what was going on in New York, and that’s why I wanted to go. Plus, people were already there that I knew. I’d originally wanted to go to Los Angeles, there was a cool scene there, but since New York was so small, you could really connect better.In the curator’s talk, you were speaking about the idea of wanting to impress certain artists. Was there a hierarchy?MH: That was the way I saw it. Artforum got started right around the middle of the 1960s. There were art magazines all around, but this was a new modern one and we were really conscious of who was in it.Was there much jostling for position in the hierarchy?MH: That was a big part of it, “jostling for position.” It was almost like a sport!Who came out on top?MH: Richard Serra. During college in Santa Barbara and Yale, he knew the whole New York scene and came there to live after he graduated. And Chuck Close was starting out there at that time, then [Donald] Judd, and Robert Morris. Eva Hesse was big too.Let’s talk about the work. Music is something that’s referenced a lot in your work. Do you listen to music whilst painting?MH: Lately, I’m thinking about music in a slightly different way, not always having it in the background while I’m working. I do listen to a number of DJs to find out what’s happening, but while I’m working, it’s quiet. Used to be that you’d always have music.Since I’m in London, I’m thinking about how much I listened to the Rolling Stones when they started to get going, and the Beatles were big for me when I was in school. And then I was there in New York when the Beatles came, so that really got me into them.Is there any particular music that you’re listening to at the moment?Lydia Yee (exhibition curator): How about that guy Necrobutcher?MH: (laughs) We met this Norwegian heavy metal dude the other night with Thurston Moore [of Sonic Youth] at a book party and he has a band called Mayhem. I haven’t heard Mayhem yet but we ran into a girl who works at Hauser & Wirth and she says “Mayhem….that’s my favorite band” so I’m on with Mayhem!A lot of your early work was very inspired by the music, film or art around you. At what point did you notice your work was getting more autobiographical?MH: I guess when I had the chance to make a book of my story in the middle of the '90s for a show at Hauser & Wirth. That was really seminal. We had just gotten a computer and my boyfriend was a graphic designer just transitioning to working with digital programs, and so we made this book, “The All Night Movie,” an autobiography with images of the work.How would you describe your work to someone who had never seen it?MH: Well, I would define it as “cultural biography.” Call it that.LY: It encapsulates so many levels, from the art historical to the very personal.MH: And also historical in the sense of being a document of a time, like Hockney’s work. David Hockney taught me at Berkeley, and his influence is huge.One can see a lot of Hockney’s influence in your paintings, especially the waves and your shared love of California. In your work, however, there’s always a struggle between you as a Californian and as a New Yorker. As the exhibition goes along it seems more Californian. What do you think about those two poles in your career?MH: I came to New York in 1968, but I go to California all the time to see family, and culturally I’m really connected to San Francisco and Los Angeles too. So it’s like I have my feet in both worlds.Is it always an equal amount or does it fluctuate between the two?MH: I’d say equal.LY: But your main studio right now is in Long Island so you’re near the ocean rather than in New York City...So physically there has been a move towards the oceans and long roads of California, which is reflected in your work.MH: That’s right. And also, the roads are from cross-country trips from New York to Los Angeles. That’s a big part of my story from when I first got there.What would you choose as highlights in this exhibition?MH: It’s a hard question. (To Lydia) What do you think?LY: It changes all the time. One day it might be the early 1970s work, but I also love some of the more recent works, like “Primalon Ballroom,” 2002. That was quite hard to hang. In an early hanging we realized that it needed its own space because it’s so vibrant and there’s so much going on with the color, the geometry, the dripping. Then we weren’t sure whether it was supposed to go on the floor or the wall. Our perspective kept changing.How does it feel to have a retrospective and see your whole life’s work in one place?MH: It comes as a surprise. You see the whole process in a different way every time and so this is brand new right now. I’ll have to get back to you!LY: I think most artists don’t want to talk about their work retrospectively, they want to look forward. Mary’s always saying “I’ve got a great idea for a new show or a new painting, I want to get back to the studio,” and that’s how it should be.What have you enjoyed in London?MH: The Lisson Gallery. Seeing Stanley Whitney and Cory Arcangel in the same beautiful architectural space was amazing. I hope to get back there because Stanley’s work is traditional, huge scale, wonderful craftsmanship, and Cory’s is super digital: digital logic. The two of them together I just can’t stop thinking about.“Mary Heilmann: Looking at Pictures” runs from June 8 through August 21 at Whitechapel Gallery.
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