Following on from my thoughts on their talk on 9 Dec 2004, here’s some more of what the two sculptors said during the question-and-answer session, paraphrased rather than quoted verbatim:
On how much an influence one’s environment should have:
Botero: There’s a sense of universality that makes your work understood. Elements of colour and composition can be universally understood.
Ju Ming: What does the environment lack? What can you add?
On the vast difference in their views of human figuration:
Ju Ming: The difference reflects the influences of history and locale.
Botero: I lived 15 years in New York, but my art still remained very Latin American. Even when I lived in Paris I felt Colombian - I don’t agree that if you move somewhere that your art has to change. The beauty of art is to do the same thing in different ways: take the depiction of horses in cave art as compared to horses in Picasso.
Ju Ming: Changing the material brings out very different elements - you need to be faithful to the material. Subject matter is just a pretext to begin sculpture.
Botero: I do my work by adding to something, he does so by removing.
Botero: There’s not much point in realism.
On whether the arts need to provide social commentary:
- Ju Ming: it’s a mistake to think that, that’s the function of a newspaper.
On whether they have any advice for young artists:
Ju Ming: One needs to look at a lot of art, needs to learn technique. But the idea of learning from books doesn’t help, because those aren’t your own ideas. You must have a searching, discarding attitude, not a studying one, and throw away others’ influence, to get back the original you.
Botero: But remember, nothing comes from nothing. You cannot escape art history, and at some level people should assimilate
On Botero’s work:
- Botero: Everything I do is an extension of volume, creaing an effect of sensuality.
On the bombing of Botero’s bird sculpture in 1995:
- Botero: in response, we created a 2nd bird, 3m away from the original. (Picture of the two birds)