Interview
Bob Landström
Born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, USA, Landström first studied fine art at Carnegie Institute and then at Carnegie-Mellon University. He later continued his fine art education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. Landström also earned a Bachelor’s and Master of Science Degrees in Electrical Engineering. Landström’s work has been exhibited extensively and can be found in public, private, and corporate collections worldwide. Landström has spent considerable time abroad and has visited archeological sites around the globe, which inform his studies and artistic practice. Landström currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the steel industry there was in full bloom. One would be surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of heavy industry everywhere. Fire. Smoke. Huge machinery. It was a very working-class culture. My father worked in the steel mills for 35 years. We lived in cooperative housing. That sort of, bare knuckles work ethic and affinity for industrial process is very much my DNA. I first studied fine art by invitation, at Carnegie Institute and later at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. This was a very formal and classical fine art curriculum. Months drawing bottles. Months sketching in the cadaver labs to learn human anatomy from the inside out. It was a very traditional approach to fine art. I had to assume a kind of 16th-century thinking cap. It provided a wonderful foundation on which to build. I later found myself at the School of the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, Massachusetts. This was a completely different vibe. No rules. Declare your direction for yourself. The faculty provided support and guidance along the way, and I had some fantastic instructors there. A completely different approach than at CMU. This was where I first encountered a personal aesthetic from within rather than from outside of me. That’s when I embarked on the windy trail I’ve followed since those days. By the way, I also have a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering which also informs my work.”
What inspires you?
“At the core of my aesthetic is an affinity for metaphysics. When I was younger, I was an amateur student of ancient cultures, ancient religions, lost knowledge and such. Over the past five years or so, I tend to work in the context of a series. Ideas are coming in from left field all the time. When an idea really captures my imagination, I jump into the rabbit hole with a pick and shovel. I’ll read books, conduct experiments, interview people to learn as much as I can about the topic. As I go along, I’ll make paintings about the things I’m thinking about. This will last for twelve to eighteen months and by the time it has run its course, I have a new body of work. The subjects that capture my imagination often tend to be in that area in which art and science overlap. Where physics and metaphysics overlap. A few years ago, I was deep into quantum mechanics, and especially the notion of multiple parallel universes. I produced a body of work that ended up in a solo show in Los Angeles entitled, “Multiverse.” This year I’ve been working on static. Electromagnetic interference. In particular, the messages that exist between messages. The subtle signals that we normally tune out, but have surprising information in them.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Each painting is a page torn from my mental notebook. The act of producing the painting is a way for me to process the subject matter I’m thinking about. A tool for learning. The themes that I latch onto are subjects that have captured my imagination so strongly that I’m compelled to learn more. To do more research. They can really come from just about anywhere. I keep notebooks close to me all the time so that I can record an idea when it happens. While the paintings are “about” a topic that I’m working out in my head, the painting seldom carries a “message,” per se. I frequently use alphabets and formulae in my compositions. Visitors in the gallery will stare at the painting and try to construct prose. They’ll glance down at the title, then back up at the painting, and hunt for a meaning. In actuality though, I’m using these characters, words, formulae for their graphical qualities in plastic space rather than for phonetics or prose. There’s no secret to decipher. No message or position. But the painting does reflect the subject I’m working on. It should be viewed within that context or in no context at all.”
How would you describe your work?
“Materiality is important to me. I have painted with liquid paint before, but it left me unfulfilled. I started experimenting with alternative materials. Things you don’t see in an art supply catalogue. I was searching for materials that are more closely aligned with what I was painting about. The material that a piece of art is made of is a primary source for the work’s energy. Mostly, I paint with the Earth itself. Volcanic rock, in particular, has been an important material to me. I like the alchemical pedigree that it carries. Once liquid within the Earth, it becomes solid when released from the Earth. I’ve developed ways to permanently attach pigment to the volcanic rock. If you were to look around inside my studio you would see dozens and dozens of bins of colored gravel. Different sizes of grains and different colors. This is what I paint with. I paint with a dry medium. This allows me to do things with color that I couldn’t do in the same way with liquid paint, because the pigment doesn’t blend between two adjacent pieces of gravel. Every grain on the painting is individually colored before it’s attached to the canvas. There’s a primal experience that you wouldn’t get looking at paint. I’m developing even newer techniques now to allow the elegance of the material itself take a more forward role in the composition.”
Which artists influence you most?
“My artistic influences have evolved over the years. My childhood hero was Wassily Kandinsky. I was impressed by how he was able to describe what he was doing in a very academic way. His book, “Point and Line to Plane” described a conceptual scaffolding that allows one to manipulate the energies on the page as if you’re playing a synthesizer. That’s been great brain food for me ever since. As an artist, one is always changing and growing. My influences changed a lot as that maturation took place. You de-emphasize a part of your aesthetic that you’re leaving and find new champions to reference in your new direction. A long-time hero of mine is Squeak Carnwath. I’ve admired Squeak’s work for more than 20 years. Whenever I feel adrift, I look at Squeak’s work. I’ve also been looking at the work of Jack Whitten and reading his studio notes. Whitten is another artist who thought about the intersection of physics and metaphysics. I especially like his focus on the materiality of paint and light.”
“Each painting is a page torn from my mental notebook. The act of producing the painting is a way for me to process the subject matter I’m thinking about.”
What is your creative process like?
“My work is seldom done spontaneously. Working in the context of a series I do quite a lot of background work, that may not be directly painting-related, to develop the ideas for my compositions. I meditate, watch the birds in my garden, make notes in my notebooks, and read. Ideas for paintings are done as sketches on my iPad. I don’t know how I got along before the iPad. Moving things around on the page, and doing “what-if” studies, it’s all so easy on the iPad. I’ll accumulate a working set of painting ideas to select one at a time to make a painting. I’ll sort them and prioritize them, compare them with materials on hand, and choose which one to work on next. Sometimes, as I’m creating a painting, it will call out to me with a new idea. Something important will reveal itself that I can fold into the making process or that will influence the content of further compositions. People often ask, “How long does it take you to make this?” The actual “making” phase is probably the smallest component of the process. The thinking, sketching, writing, and planning for a piece take much longer. Artists need a lot of quiet time to think. A lot of pre-painting work is necessary to create my materials. I have a process that I created for pigmenting the crushed volcanic rock. I’ll make batches of the colors and grain sizes I need, usually in batches of a gallon at a time. Because of the material I’m using, most of the painting happens with the canvas in a horizontal position. When I’m painting a very large canvas, it’s difficult to reach the center areas of the canvas. In these cases, I have a harness attached to the ceiling that allows me to hang over the canvas on the floor. I paint while hanging from the ceiling, and move the canvas beneath me as needed.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“That’s a tricky question. There are lots of different types of artists, and it’s awkward to assume they all have the same view of their role. Some have said that all art is political. ‘A philosophical answer. At one time, my work was strongly rooted in social and political commentary. It was really emotionally draining to be angry all the time, so that became a lot less attractive. I try hard to insulate myself from beliefs, and politics is an example of a system of beliefs. Art is like amber capturing history. The thoughts of the times, current events, and so on of the artist pollinate the work we do, whether we like it or not. As we are a product of our times, so is the art we produce. We aren’t creating change, but we are interpreting and giving commentary of those changes, and hopefully a catalyst for deeper thought. The potential of the artist’s role in society is proportional to the level of critical thinking within that society. When critical thinking is scarce, there’s little chance that an artist will evoke significant change. We never stop trying, though.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Last year, I had a solo exhibition entitled, “Florum Somnia,” or “Plants Dreaming.” I came across information about how plants communicate with one another, underground through mycelium networks, through the air using VOCs. I started to paint about this. I was deep into research on this when I encountered an article in the New York Times that had recordings of plants communicating with sounds. I thought, “What? Plants can speak?” During the exhibition I had a plant connected to a synthesizer and the plant supplied the music just be speaking through the synth. I mentioned my solo show in Los Angeles, “Multiverse,” where the work was about living in multiple parallel universes at the same time. In 2019 I had a solo show entitled, “Conjuring Secrets.” This was about moons. At the time, there was consistent news in the astronomical circles about new moons being discovered. I think Jupiter alone was up to over sixty moons at that time. Anyway, I placed myself in the persona of a newly discovered moon. There I was, for billions of years and no one knew to even give me a name. Now I’m discovered. I have a name. They know what I’m made of. Yesterday I was a secret and today I’m a future tourist destination. What is it like when a secret is discovered and is no longer a secret?”
