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[ saw buzzing ]

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DAVID ALTMEJD: I don't need to make sketches[br]of the sculptures I make

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because I don't think[br]that there's a lot of difference

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Between putting ink[br]on a piece of paper

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and gluing little pieces[br]of crystal

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on plexiglas in space.

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I don't do drawings,

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because I have other materials[br]that I find interesting.

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95% of the relationship[br]I have to my work

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is through process.

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It's not as a distant object.[br]It's a made object.

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I like the idea[br]of trusting the work,

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trusting the material,[br]and trusting

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that every little step[br]is gonna dictate the next one.

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I have to give it a structure.[br]That's on me.

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But then at a certain point,

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the material behaves[br]in such unpredictable ways

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that I find beautiful.

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[ sighs ]

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I'm interested in science

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the same way I'm interested[br]in art,

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with a sort of childlike[br]fascination.

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I realized very early[br]in my studies in science

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that I wasn't interested[br]in learning a language.

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I was really interested[br]in inventing languages.

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I figured out that art would be[br]the perfect place for me

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because what's encouraged[br]is the invention of languages.

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Even when I was a kid[br]and was making drawing,

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what I found fascinating[br]is that I was able

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to make whatever I want[br]exist in this world

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and have people react to it.

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I've always felt different,[br]I mean, for many reasons.

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My father comes[br]from eastern Europe,

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I'm Jewish, and I'm gay.

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But when you're young[br]and you realize

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that you have an ease[br]at something

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or a talent for something,

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it gives you confidence.

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It's minty.[br]It smells like mint.

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It's true, because they use–[br]that's what they use

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at the dentist to take[br]the imprint of your–

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It's not toxic, you know?

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[ exhales ]

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When I make a sculpture,[br]I deal with the material first.

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Then I try to inject[br]my sensibility in it.

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I try to give a certain flavor[br]to the sculpture.

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That's how I make color choices,[br]for example.

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I see the importance[br]of the choice of colors

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as changing everything[br]inside the sculpture.

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I'm extremely attracted[br]to pastel colors,

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but they have to be[br]dirty in some way.

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I like the combination[br]of lavender and pink

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and maybe mint green,

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but then there has to be

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some kind of dirty brown[br]green in it...

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Just to kind of infect[br]the prettiness.

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Then I feel like I've found[br]exactly the right balance.

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I don't want the sculpture[br]that I make

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to be a mere illustration.

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I try to build an object

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that's gonna become complex[br]enough, have enough layers,

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have enough references[br]and energy

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to start feeling[br]like it's alive...

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That it's developing[br]the capacity

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of generating its own meaning.

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And then I can look at it[br]from a distance

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and learn from it,

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because I can almost see it say[br]or hear it say

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things that I never thought.

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These are meant[br]to resemble bees.

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Actually, in that piece,

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what I'm gonna try[br]to be doing is

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accumulate a lot[br]of small elements

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that are sort of referential,[br]figurative elements–

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bees, insects, needles–

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and accumulate them to the point

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where that swarm[br]that I'm going to create

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is going to become[br]a sort of abstract shape.

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So I want to start

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by figurative, recognizable,[br]small, detailed elements

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and combine them to make[br]something that becomes abstract.

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Very often,[br]it's the other way around.

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The more you zoom in,[br]the more abstract it becomes.

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In that case, I want to start[br]with a large abstract shape,

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and when you zoom in,

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you actually start recognizing[br]things more and more.

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[train rumbling on tracks]

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[ saw buzzing ]

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[ saw buzzing ]

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When I make sculpture,[br]what I'm trying to do is

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make an object that's going[br]to feel like it's alive.

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I'm not interested[br]in re-presenting life.

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I'm more interested[br]in making objects

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that sort of function[br]like living things,

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so they'll feel[br]like they're alive.

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When I put my hands on it[br]or when I make holes in it

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and drag plaster[br]through that hole,

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it's really to inject[br]an energy in it.

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So I kind of like that contrast

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between the fact[br]that a hole through the chest

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might be interpreted[br]as meaning death,

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but in my mind,[br]it's actually the opposite

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it should not even,[br]like, be flush.

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it should be lower,

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Because, if you can imagine,

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if I put plaster on it[br]and it's flush with the surface,

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then I–that means there will be[br]such a thin layer of plaster

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that, like, just that[br]is gonna make it crack.

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- Yeah.

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- Take it down, like,[br]at least 1/8 inch.

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- All right.[br]- Right?

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- Yeah.[br]- Thanks.

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[ scraping sounds ]

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[scraping sounds]

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This one is part of a series[br]that I started a year ago

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called "The Watchers."

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[ saw buzzing ][br]

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"The Watchers" are some kind[br]of angel figures.

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they're not necessarily[br]winged figure,

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like the cliche of the angel,

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but the ears have something[br]a little bit winglike.

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[ saw buzzing ]

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I'm also interested[br]in openings, orifices.

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a body that would be filled[br]with orifices

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that usually have the purpose[br]of hearing sound

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was interesting as well.

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The idea of senses.

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Sometimes their bodies[br]are covered in hands;

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that's the idea of the touch.

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And if they're covered in ears,

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I like the idea that they're–

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become like a body that would be[br]ultrasensitive with sound.

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[sighs]

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I think faster than I can speak.

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My brain is not the best when it[br]comes to verbal language.

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but it seems like[br]I'm very comfortable

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using matter and placing things.

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It feels like my brain[br]is totally in sync.

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Sometimes I feel like[br]there's brains in my hands.

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"The Vessel," there's something[br]almost religious about it,

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and it's really making a very[br]strong reference to the body

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in its symmetrical shape.

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The way it's radiating feels[br]almost Catholic in some way.

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I can see it going[br]in that direction,

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the idea of a center of energy

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and radiation of that energy[br]and the body,

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something that wasn't[br]as clear before in my work.

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Because of the fact[br]that it's not symmetrical,

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I feel like the swarm[br]becomes more like a landscape

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and less like a body.

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That shape floating in space[br]is very soft.

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That almost looks like[br]a cloud somehow.

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But they're, at the same time,[br]aggressive.

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Every element in that swarm[br]has the potential to sting you.

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I found that combination

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of the softness[br]of that abstract cloud shape

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and that aggressive potential[br]to be really nice, that balance.

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The vessel and the swarm[br]are big enough

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to be considered[br]like laboratories

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inside of which I try things,[br]I combine materials in new ways,

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I make mistakes,[br]I come up with new ideas.

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The work has developed[br]enough complexity and layers

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and intelligence[br]and independence

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that it's able to generate[br]itself and transform itself.

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0:17:40.649,0:17:45.590
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0:17:52.650,0:17:55.421
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0:17:55.421,0:17:59.320
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0:17:59.320,0:18:04.135
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