Interview
Alan Vietze
Alan has been doing art for over 50 years. He started as an under-graduate at Harpur College in Binghamton NY (now Binghamton University) under the tutelage of Fred Devito, a student of Josef Albers of the Bauhaus, and Ed Wilson. While most of his original works were sculptures, his true thoughts pertained to the interaction of color, shapes, movement and depth as can be seen in today’s works. During the 1970’s and 1980’s, he spent a good deal of time exploring the world from Australia to the Middle East and much of the USA. He participated in the 1960’s life on the road, in a commune and running homeless shelters. Upon settling down, he began painting, first in Israel and then the in the US. Initially, his colors were subdued, but upon moving to California they opened up and each painting leads to the next. He has always said that his art reflects the moments in his life during which they are made. His work varies from paintings to screen prints, assemblages, and pencil drawings.
Aside from being a painter, he has done art therapy. He spent over 25 years, reforming the way mental health services are delivered to children. He has always felt that his artistic expression has gone hand in hand with his public work. He continues to paint avidly. Four years ago, he and his wife, Sheelagh, found their way to a lovely neighborhood and really enjoy their view of the bay from his studio.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I was born and grew up in New York City to parents who fled the Holocaust. New York is a culturally rich town and I went to museums often as they were free in those days. My parents supplied me with art supplies and I was free to do as I liked. Early in school, I was encouraged to do art with charcoal and paint, but as I proceeded, I was told that I need to focus more on academics. For what it is worth, one of my grandfathers, whom I never met, was an artist. So, after a certain point in school I did not do art until my sophomore year in college at the State University of New York in Binghamton. I had failed a couple of courses in political science as I was out to save the world. I spent much time at anti-war rallies.
So, I decided to go to summer school to make up the credits and I signed up for an art fundamentals and design course. As it was, the university had just hired a new faculty member who had been teaching at Cooper Union in NY. He was also a part of the NY art scene for Opt Art in the 1960's and had studied under Josef Albers of Bauhaus fame at Yale. We had a variety of exercises to perform. I found myself totally engrossed in them, finding a peace that I did not know existed. I would come every day for the 3 hour classes and became totally immersed. The professor noticed and started up a daily dialogue with me. His name was Fred DeVito. And as the term progresses, he continued to support me and encourage me in my work and in my reflection. He also detected that I had not been very content. And thus began my "career" in art.
In the autumn, I took two art courses; one in sculpture and the other in design. Life has not been the same since. I was in shows in school and continued to do work wherever I was. I had a chance to move to NY at one time in 1970, but chose San Francisco. I had a nice studio in the city, but the road and communal life beckoned. Something remarkable to note is that some of my first paintings still exist and my parents housed much of my work from the "old days."
I still have a painting from 1968 and recently came upon a sculpture that a friend had from 1970 in his yard. I did some screen prints too, some of which remain. But it was not until 1988, when I was living in Israel after years on the road across the globe, that I began to paint again and make assemblages. And there the government supported artists and developed shows. I was in one in Tel Aviv that I will always remember. I still have the catalogue. It was there that I also began doing art therapy with folks coming back into the community from psychiatric hospitals. When we returned to the USA in 1990, I needed to earn a real living and got a job as an art therapist for the mentally ill and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, which I did for 10 years and produced shows for the people. At the same time, I began to paint in most of my spare time. I spent the next 20 years painting and having small shows, but usually gave my paintings away based on my aversion from the commercial world. When I retired from my work in the social services, having gotten my MSW and worked for the state in New Jersey, we moved to California and find myself painting all the time; producing work and presenting in small shows around the state and in online shows. I recently had a one person show in a community building in Vallejo that belong to some small community galleries.”
What inspires you?
“Life, nature and the healthy part of people-dom. I feel very fortunate and have some wonderful children and a wife of 45 years and great encouragement. I wake up everyday to paint and show my gratitude for the good life I have been able to live and enjoy. I feel that my life is here to help others, as I am also a therapist, and that my art has been a way to share my unconscious zeal for life with others and so that people might enjoy the work.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“That’s an interesting question. I cannot think of themes that I pursue, so to speak, in my abstract work as I do pencil portraits too. But I continue to work with the forms, the interaction of color, depth and movement in the abstract, which I would say are reflections of my life. At the moment, I am doing a painting or a lyrical assemblage or a drawing celebrating someone else's life. I guess an underlying message is peace, freedom and a gratitude for the good fortune in my life and that of my family. I am continually pained by the pain I see in the world.”
“I wake up everyday to paint and show my gratitude for the good life I have been able to live and enjoy.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work is my opportunity to celebrate life and to share that pleaseure and joy with others and to serve to inspire others.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Today, I find myself alone. Over the years, I have ascribed to my mentor Fred DeVito, my sculpture professor Ed Wilson and then we move on many of the archons such as Josef Albers, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Alexander Calder, Georgia O'Keefe, Vincent Van Gogh, Pollack for his bravery, Klee for his lyricism and Helen Frankenthaler for her work.”
What is your creative process like?
“Movement and repose. I pretty much always want to create. I have many venues including one in public service to improve mental health services for people across the USA. When I sit in nature and reflect and go to that place of peace, there is the moment when I start with one color with great vigor and then reflective aspect of which color is next and in what form. This takes time, but I no longer plan out my painting. I do them in the moment and what I have been doing for some time is what I an calling Hard Edge Abstract Expressionism: reflecting the moment.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Wow! That’s a big one. Artists are examples of people who are channeling their energy, their joy, their pain, their mental state, reflections for which others who see their work can relate and feel comfort and to also gain understanding of life. Artists are under appreciated and not understood. Our art brings beauty and poignancy to our societies/world and should be better supported, if I may say.”
