0:00:07.900,0:00:10.900 [Arlene Shechet: Pentimento in Paper] 0:00:16.800,0:00:17.940 [Dieu Donné Paper Studio, New York City] 0:00:17.940,0:00:26.040 [SHECHET] I have this impulse to put a whole[br]block of color on the wood. 0:00:26.040,0:00:26.980 [ASSISTANT] Yeah. 0:00:51.420,0:00:55.040 [SHECHET] The thing that's unseen is sometimes[br]way more interesting 0:00:55.050,0:00:57.750 than what people want you to see. 0:01:00.140,0:01:01.880 It's like looking at a construction site-- 0:01:01.890,0:01:03.880 there are the things you don't see. 0:01:03.880,0:01:05.800 There are the bones. 0:01:05.810,0:01:07.930 They can be beautiful. 0:01:12.880,0:01:18.180 All of these molds have been made in my studio[br]upstate. 0:01:18.189,0:01:24.109 And what they are is they're molds of things[br]that have happened in my studio 0:01:24.109,0:01:25.950 as I'm working with the clay. 0:01:25.950,0:01:31.930 Like, here. These are just my fingers in the[br]clay. 0:01:33.580,0:01:37.639 I happened to have a brick that had glaze[br]on it, 0:01:37.639,0:01:40.649 so this actually the surface of glaze. 0:01:40.649,0:01:44.249 See, that is the fire brick. 0:01:46.960,0:01:54.420 Some of the paper pieces actually have a record[br]of this clay process. 0:01:57.020,0:01:58.039 At the end of the day, I'll say, 0:01:58.039,0:01:59.849 "Oh, this looks really scenic," 0:01:59.849,0:02:03.509 Or, "I like that way that tool makes that[br]mark." 0:02:03.509,0:02:11.009 So they're actually pentimenti of my sculpture-making[br]process. 0:02:14.100,0:02:19.960 I really love the idea of color and form being[br]one thing. 0:02:20.680,0:02:23.980 It's not that I've painted on the paper, 0:02:23.980,0:02:25.610 it's that the color is the paper 0:02:25.610,0:02:29.350 and it goes pretty deep into that. 0:02:34.000,0:02:35.940 --[SHECHET] We could do yellow mush. 0:02:35.940,0:02:37.480 --[ASSISTANT] This, with a little yellow in[br]it. 0:02:37.480,0:02:38.440 --[SHECHET] Or just... 0:02:38.440,0:02:39.500 --[ASSISTANT] Or just yellow. 0:02:39.500,0:02:40.660 --[SHECHET] ...that bright... 0:02:42.330,0:02:47.450 [SHECHET] In that way, it's very similar to[br]working with the clay, 0:02:47.450,0:02:52.300 where the glaze and the clay become one thing-- 0:02:52.300,0:02:54.980 one structure--a surface and form. 0:03:06.420,0:03:07.820 --[SHECHET] So fun. 0:03:12.800,0:03:20.240 [SHECHET] The thing about working with paper[br]is the immediacy of that entire process. 0:03:20.900,0:03:26.100 I love--I love--seeing the thing and responding. 0:03:26.110,0:03:28.980 --I think it throws it off a little, so... 0:03:28.980,0:03:32.520 [SHECHET] My assistants say that I make decisions[br]really quicky. 0:03:32.520,0:03:36.319 --Chelsea, I think we should just press the[br]cotton on this. 0:03:36.319,0:03:37.260 I love that feeling, 0:03:37.260,0:03:39.920 and for me, maybe that's being in the zone, 0:03:39.920,0:03:41.430 like, "Oh, let's let it rip." 0:03:41.430,0:03:46.450 Like, just take this chance because there's[br]another one right over there. 0:03:46.450,0:03:49.630 That's why I work on five or six pieces at[br]the same time. 0:03:50.250,0:03:54.270 --I still would like to see if we can get[br]some of that mojo going 0:03:54.270,0:03:57.490 --that was happening with this, 0:03:57.490,0:04:02.540 --of making the sculpture and tearing away. 0:04:04.160,0:04:05.880 --Here, check it out. 0:04:07.980,0:04:10.840 I always talk about this like it's an athletic[br]event 0:04:10.840,0:04:18.000 because it's just, like, really thinking about[br]it a lot the day before. 0:04:18.000,0:04:21.680 It's basically a month of preparation before[br]coming in. 0:04:22.380,0:04:24.240 --24-karat gold! 0:04:24.240,0:04:25.860 It's expensive to do this. 0:04:25.860,0:04:26.870 --Very expensive! 0:04:26.870,0:04:31.090 And we really need to consolidate our time[br]and use it. 0:04:34.759,0:04:38.819 The fun of it is that you were prepared, but[br]then you don't know anything. 0:04:39.260,0:04:41.740 --Oh, and then we have some holes. 0:04:42.640,0:04:44.320 --Natural holes. 0:04:52.520,0:04:57.499 Sometimes, the work that we do on a given[br]layer never shows up. 0:04:57.499,0:04:59.389 You never know it's there. 0:04:59.389,0:05:02.699 Although, I believe in the energy of it underneath. 0:05:03.360,0:05:10.560 There's a certain physicality to it that is[br]exciting to me. 0:05:13.360,0:05:15.160 --[SHECHET] It might be better this way. 0:05:15.160,0:05:15.840 --[ASSISTANT] Yeah. 0:05:32.360,0:05:34.640 --[SHECHET] The terracotta is beautiful! 0:05:35.420,0:05:40.660 One other way that this is similar to working[br]in ceramics 0:05:40.669,0:05:45.549 is that it never looks as good as it looks[br]when it's wet. 0:05:49.260,0:05:51.479 This color is so good, 0:05:51.479,0:05:54.020 and you mix it, and you love it, 0:05:54.020,0:05:56.820 and then it dries, and it's lighter. 0:05:57.639,0:06:01.249 What I'm always pining for is the wet. 0:06:01.249,0:06:05.409 It's closer to the aliveness of the actual[br]experience. 0:06:07.400,0:06:11.120 So in ceramics, you make it, it's wet, you[br]love it; 0:06:11.120,0:06:12.719 it's dry, it looks horrible. 0:06:12.719,0:06:15.979 You fire the first firing, it looks horrible. 0:06:15.979,0:06:19.519 And then you have to bring it back to life[br]with the glaze. 0:06:25.840,0:06:29.840 [Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston] 0:06:33.120,0:06:38.880 I got a letter saying, "Show up here and we'll[br]teach you how to make paper." 0:06:38.889,0:06:39.759 That's a situation. 0:06:39.759,0:06:44.519 It doesn't have any answers, it just provides[br]a forum. 0:06:45.300,0:06:52.520 It provides a way to create that lateral expansion[br]of the practice 0:06:52.529,0:06:56.099 without knowing where it's going to go-- 0:06:56.099,0:06:58.259 and I'm hungry for that. 0:07:03.610,0:07:08.960 I'm in awe of people who do the same thing[br]for their whole lives; 0:07:08.960,0:07:12.900 but, it would not fit, in any way, my restlessness 0:07:12.900,0:07:19.260 and my desire to investigate on a much broader[br]scale.