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Q & A with David Stern
Ongoing interview series with Ellipsis artists
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How have you been coping with this new reality?
A lot has happened during these 9 weeks of the crisis - but I was only marginally involved, mostly through social media phone calls and e-mails, not counting our grand total of 4 grocery shopping trips, I have seen and spoken with, maybe a dozen people in person.
Thousands of New Yorkers have died, hundred of thousands have lost their jobs and livelihood, all in close proximity, we have lost a friend and a grandson was born to us, yet I experienced this all more or less remotely from my apartment.
We all, who were not “essential” for the basic needs of our society, must have experienced some sort of this sensation, living a remote life, without any real interaction with the world, it left me with a heightened sense of anxiety and disorientation. The only real proof for me, that time has passed, is in the stack of self portrait drawings I have made during 60 days of self quarantine.
When you're not creating art, what are you reading or watching to keep your mind occupied?
I am reading several books at this time, “The Road to Unfreedom” by Timothy Snyder, “The Self-Portrait, a cultural history” by James Hall and a novel “The American War” by Omar el Akkad and of course sporadic binge watching some series on NetFlix like “Fauda” , “Messiah” and “The English Game”
I also took up baking sourdough bread, which is by now turning out pretty well.
What are some of the most persistent feelings you're personally experiencing during this time?
For me, the most persistent sensation is that of disorientation, paired with some sort of mental exhaustion.
Have you changed your behavior as an artist or human being in any significant way?
Not really, although I was forced to return to the small or shall we say very small format, since I could not venture out to my studio which is in a different borough of the city, and my study in my apartment doesn’t allow for anything much larger than ~ 15 x 20 inches. (David typically works on large scale paintings ~ 71 x 81 inches)
How do you see the art world changing in the future?
I am certain, that it will take a while until normal operation is about to resume, if it ever does, for example in the case of art fairs, a lot of small to medium sized galleries will have to close, artists will have to cope with limited opportunities to show and sell their work. In terms of art itself, will it change? I doubt that the general direction will change, except the world will change at large and we’ll look at a prolonged health and economic crisis resembling the Great Depression.
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