[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:06.38,0:00:08.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[sound of tools being sharpened]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.86,0:00:18.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Jack Whitten: An Artist's Life"]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:22.82,0:00:29.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now I find myself doing a type of painting\Nwhere my hand doesn't touch it.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.56,0:00:36.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is an adaptation of the artist's palette.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.38,0:00:53.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.32,0:00:58.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,About ready to go.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.32,0:01:06.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each one of these carries information--
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.04,0:01:09.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's compressed into each one--
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.56,0:01:15.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because it relates so much to\Nwhat's happening with modern technology.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:15.04,0:01:17.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, bytes of information.\NBits.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.84,0:01:19.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That kind of a thing.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:22.58,0:01:24.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can build anything I want to build.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.96,0:01:28.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not a narrative painter.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.32,0:01:35.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't do the idea, or the painting\Nbeing the illustration of an idea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.82,0:01:37.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't do that.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.02,0:01:41.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's all about the materiality of the paint.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.92,0:01:57.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I grew up in Bessemer, Alabama.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:57.82,0:02:01.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everything was segregated--\Ntransportation, the buses.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.94,0:02:04.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I call American apartheid.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:06.46,0:02:09.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I always did art.\NI always did painting since I was a kid.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.20,0:02:11.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it was not encouraged,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:13.06,0:02:19.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the theory being that it's good for a hobby,\Nbut you couldn't make a living out of it.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:24.28,0:02:27.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Lucky for me, I graduated with good grades.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.32,0:02:29.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I went to Tuskegee.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.72,0:02:34.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The idea was for me to be a doctor\Nin the U.S. Air Force and a pilot.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:34.77,0:02:39.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was always in the back of my mind\Nthat I was an artist.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.38,0:02:41.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what I wanted to do,\NI wanted to do artwork.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.20,0:02:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Tuskegee did not have an art program,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.02,0:02:53.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so I left Tuskegee to study art at Southern\NUniversity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.46,0:02:57.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that went well, for a while,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.97,0:03:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I got involved politically with the demonstrations.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:02.46,0:03:06.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We organized a big civil rights march\Nthat went from
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.45,0:03:10.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,downtown Baton Rouge to the state office building.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:11.26,0:03:16.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was that march, what I experienced,\Nis what drove me out of the South.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.06,0:03:19.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,After that march,\Nwhich turned vicious and violent,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.16,0:03:22.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that politically changed me forever.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.02,0:03:34.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The fall of 1960,\NI took a Greyhound bus from New Orleans
Dialogue: 0,0:03:34.56,0:03:36.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take the test at Cooper Union.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.89,0:03:38.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I was accepted.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:39.04,0:03:40.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I studied art--painting.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.58,0:03:43.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was a good thing\Nand it was tuition-free.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.78,0:03:47.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I came to New York,\Nsome of the first people I met was
Dialogue: 0,0:03:47.64,0:03:48.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Romare Bearden,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:49.84,0:03:51.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Norman Lewis,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.36,0:03:53.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Jacob Lawrence.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.72,0:03:58.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And in 1960 in New York City,\Nthe scene was open.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.82,0:04:00.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Bill de Kooning would talk to you!
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.88,0:04:06.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had a dialogue,\Nwhat I call, on both sides of the divide.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.22,0:04:10.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't make a distinction between\Nthere being Black, White, and whatever.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:10.08,0:04:11.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really don't.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.06,0:04:14.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If they've got information\Nand my instincts tell me,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.20,0:04:15.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Boy, you got to meet that person"--
Dialogue: 0,0:04:15.62,0:04:18.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You got to find out what they're doing,"\N"you have to understand this stuff"--
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.86,0:04:19.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd reach out.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.96,0:04:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The young artist has to\Nhave something to react to.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:27.28,0:04:30.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My first influence was Arshile Gorky.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.66,0:04:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nobody springs forth from the head of Zeus!
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.80,0:04:36.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That was my first influence.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.98,0:04:38.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Early surrealism.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.46,0:04:41.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Figurative expressionism.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:41.84,0:04:46.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It wasn't until the end of the '60s, though,\Nthat I made a drastic change
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.76,0:04:52.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,toward more conceptual ideas\Nthat dealt with the materiality of paint.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:53.70,0:04:56.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I removed all the spectrum color.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:57.34,0:04:59.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Made a big move to acrylic.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.58,0:05:01.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Restructured the studio.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:01.02,0:05:04.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Restructured my thinking about painting.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.46,0:05:06.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I built a tool.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:06.84,0:05:08.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I called it "the developer."
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.36,0:05:12.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With that tool,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.14,0:05:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I could move large bodies of acrylic paint\Nacross the surface of the canvas.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:19.40,0:05:22.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I call them "slab" paintings.\NS-L-A-B.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.34,0:05:24.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It became a slab.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.28,0:05:30.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I wanted a painting to exist as a single line--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.25,0:05:33.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,one gesture, three seconds.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:33.39,0:05:35.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's why I built that big tool.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.46,0:05:41.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spent ten years working on that drawing\Nboard.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:43.38,0:05:46.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Ten years bent over, stooped down.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.22,0:05:47.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can't do that no more.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.66,0:05:53.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There comes a time when the body\Nwill not accept that type of abuse--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:53.58,0:05:54.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was abuse.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.34,0:05:58.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The slab is what led me into the tesserae.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.48,0:06:06.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a chunk of acrylic that has been cut\Nfrom a large slab of acrylic.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:06.88,0:06:12.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My interest, of course, is always about\Nhow I can use it to direct the light.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:13.42,0:06:18.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So with these surfaces,\Ndepending on how I place them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.11,0:06:19.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can direct the light.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:19.78,0:06:21.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You see how it changes?
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.60,0:06:34.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That painting came out of a lot of pain.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.70,0:06:40.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started that painting\Nand then I developed a serious illness.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:42.94,0:06:45.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I spent a month in the hospital.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:47.42,0:06:49.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So that knocked me on my ass.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:50.16,0:06:53.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that painting was a way of hitting back.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.62,0:06:54.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:06:55.52,0:06:58.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm not going to let this shit defeat me,\Nyou know?
Dialogue: 0,0:07:02.10,0:07:03.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's one of the "Black Monoliths."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:05.20,0:07:10.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's called,\N"Six Kinky Strings: For Chuck Berry."
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.32,0:07:14.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that title comes from the fact that,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:14.99,0:07:18.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,anybody who knows about the personality\Nof Chuck Berry, he did some weird shit.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.60,0:07:28.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The "Black Monolith" is a series of paintings that\NI've been doing for a number of years, though.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.16,0:07:33.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It started back in the early '80s.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:34.84,0:07:38.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a Black person who has\Ncontributed a lot to society.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.04,0:07:45.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I make it my business\Nto memorialize those people.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.69,0:07:52.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I find that each one,\NI have to locate the essence of that person.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:52.58,0:07:54.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That person becomes a symbol
Dialogue: 0,0:07:56.50,0:07:58.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I build that into the paint.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.42,0:08:19.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to be remembered\Nas a very average guy
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.70,0:08:23.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who pretty much stays to himself.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.18,0:08:24.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.10,0:08:32.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dedicated worker.\NBut on top of that...
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.94,0:08:37.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The question was asked to Count Basie once,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.60,0:08:41.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he says, "I just want to go down as\None of the boys."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.62,0:08:45.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There was a kind of a modesty in that\Nthat I've always admired.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:45.42,0:08:48.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Nothing big,\Njust one of the boys.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:49.38,0:08:50.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.88,0:08:58.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,["Quantum Wall, VIII (For Arshile Gorky, My\NFirst Love In Painting)"]
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.78,0:09:05.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Jack Whitten (1939–2018), In Memoriam]