1
00:00:42,127 --> 00:00:44,633
[ saw buzzing ]

2
00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:54,320
DAVID ALTMEJD: I don't need to make sketches
of the sculptures I make

3
00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:56,400
because I don't think
that there's a lot of difference

4
00:00:56,400 --> 00:00:59,960
Between putting ink
on a piece of paper

5
00:00:59,960 --> 00:01:02,960
and gluing little pieces
of crystal

6
00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:04,819
on plexiglas in space.

7
00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:07,280
I don't do drawings,

8
00:01:07,280 --> 00:01:11,006
because I have other materials
that I find interesting.

9
00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,280
95% of the relationship
I have to my work

10
00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:29,040
is through process.

11
00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:33,226
It's not as a distant object.
It's a made object.

12
00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:39,240
I like the idea
of trusting the work,

13
00:01:39,240 --> 00:01:42,280
trusting the material,
and trusting

14
00:01:42,280 --> 00:01:46,101
that every little step
is gonna dictate the next one.

15
00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:52,960
I have to give it a structure.
That's on me.

16
00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:54,560
But then at a certain point,

17
00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:58,200
the material behaves
in such unpredictable ways

18
00:01:58,200 --> 00:01:59,840
that I find beautiful.

19
00:02:25,442 --> 00:02:26,356
[ sighs ]

20
00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:32,320
I'm interested in science

21
00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:34,506
the same way I'm interested
in art,

22
00:02:35,320 --> 00:02:37,761
with a sort of childlike
fascination.

23
00:02:42,760 --> 00:02:46,120
I realized very early
in my studies in science

24
00:02:46,120 --> 00:02:49,440
that I wasn't interested
in learning a language.

25
00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:52,709
I was really interested
in inventing languages.

26
00:02:54,405 --> 00:02:58,760
I figured out that art would be
the perfect place for me

27
00:02:58,760 --> 00:03:02,356
because what's encouraged
is the invention of languages.

28
00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,160
Even when I was a kid
and was making drawing,

29
00:03:09,160 --> 00:03:12,760
what I found fascinating
is that I was able

30
00:03:12,760 --> 00:03:18,320
to make whatever I want
exist in this world

31
00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,986
and have people react to it.

32
00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:34,960
I've always felt different,
I mean, for many reasons.

33
00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:37,440
My father comes
from eastern Europe,

34
00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,160
I'm Jewish, and I'm gay.

35
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:41,720
But when you're young
and you realize

36
00:03:41,720 --> 00:03:43,800
that you have an ease
at something

37
00:03:43,800 --> 00:03:45,800
or a talent for something,

38
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:47,515
it gives you confidence.

39
00:03:57,296 --> 00:03:59,720
It's minty.
It smells like mint.

40
00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:01,760
It's true, because they use–
that's what they use

41
00:04:01,760 --> 00:04:04,960
at the dentist to take
the imprint of your–

42
00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:06,534
It's not toxic, you know?

43
00:05:32,297 --> 00:05:33,365
[ exhales ]

44
00:05:43,320 --> 00:05:47,062
When I make a sculpture,
I deal with the material first.

45
00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:52,640
Then I try to inject
my sensibility in it.

46
00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:56,737
I try to give a certain flavor
to the sculpture.

47
00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,320
That's how I make color choices,
for example.

48
00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,440
I see the importance
of the choice of colors

49
00:06:04,440 --> 00:06:07,419
as changing everything
inside the sculpture.

50
00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,360
I'm extremely attracted
to pastel colors,

51
00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:16,994
but they have to be
dirty in some way.

52
00:06:18,080 --> 00:06:21,720
I like the combination
of lavender and pink

53
00:06:21,720 --> 00:06:23,440
and maybe mint green,

54
00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:24,520
but then there has to be

55
00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,292
some kind of dirty brown
green in it...

56
00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,777
Just to kind of infect
the prettiness.

57
00:06:35,840 --> 00:06:39,898
Then I feel like I've found
exactly the right balance.

58
00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:49,160
I don't want the sculpture
that I make

59
00:06:49,160 --> 00:06:51,317
to be a mere illustration.

60
00:06:52,010 --> 00:06:54,480
I try to build an object

61
00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:59,720
that's gonna become complex
enough, have enough layers,

62
00:06:59,720 --> 00:07:02,880
have enough references
and energy

63
00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:05,740
to start feeling
like it's alive...

64
00:07:08,748 --> 00:07:10,920
That it's developing
the capacity

65
00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,349
of generating its own meaning.

66
00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:17,087
And then I can look at it
from a distance

67
00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:19,520
and learn from it,

68
00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:25,040
because I can almost see it say
or hear it say

69
00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:26,809
things that I never thought.

70
00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:45,400
These are meant
to resemble bees.

71
00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:46,360
Actually, in that piece,

72
00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:48,480
what I'm gonna try
to be doing is

73
00:07:50,480 --> 00:07:54,800
accumulate a lot
of small elements

74
00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,640
that are sort of referential,
figurative elements–

75
00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,840
bees, insects, needles–

76
00:08:02,840 --> 00:08:04,880
and accumulate them to the point

77
00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:08,120
where that swarm
that I'm going to create

78
00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:10,800
is going to become
a sort of abstract shape.

79
00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:11,920
So I want to start

80
00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:17,000
by figurative, recognizable,
small, detailed elements

81
00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:21,160
and combine them to make
something that becomes abstract.

82
00:08:21,160 --> 00:08:23,200
Very often,
it's the other way around.

83
00:08:23,200 --> 00:08:26,320
The more you zoom in,
the more abstract it becomes.

84
00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:30,600
In that case, I want to start
with a large abstract shape,

85
00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:31,600
and when you zoom in,

86
00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,534
you actually start recognizing
things more and more.

87
00:09:02,501 --> 00:09:16,239
[train rumbling on tracks]

88
00:10:10,636 --> 00:10:13,621
[ saw buzzing ]

89
00:10:16,079 --> 00:10:21,502
[ saw buzzing ]

90
00:10:30,438 --> 00:10:34,360
When I make sculpture,
what I'm trying to do is

91
00:10:34,360 --> 00:10:39,055
make an object that's going
to feel like it's alive.

92
00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:44,168
I'm not interested
in re-presenting life.

93
00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,200
I'm more interested
in making objects

94
00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,600
that sort of function
like living things,

95
00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,283
so they'll feel
like they're alive.

96
00:10:56,070 --> 00:11:00,200
When I put my hands on it
or when I make holes in it

97
00:11:00,200 --> 00:11:03,120
and drag plaster
through that hole,

98
00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,600
it's really to inject
an energy in it.

99
00:11:06,600 --> 00:11:09,240
So I kind of like that contrast

100
00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:13,280
between the fact
that a hole through the chest

101
00:11:13,280 --> 00:11:17,240
might be interpreted
as meaning death,

102
00:11:17,240 --> 00:11:20,840
but in my mind,
it's actually the opposite

103
00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,440
it should not even,
like, be flush.

104
00:11:42,440 --> 00:11:43,920
it should be lower,

105
00:11:43,920 --> 00:11:45,920
Because, if you can imagine,

106
00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:51,960
if I put plaster on it
and it's flush with the surface,

107
00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:55,360
then I–that means there will be
such a thin layer of plaster

108
00:11:55,360 --> 00:11:57,180
that, like, just that
is gonna make it crack.

109
00:11:57,180 --> 00:11:57,740
- Yeah.

110
00:11:57,740 --> 00:12:00,302
- Take it down, like,
at least 1/8 inch.

111
00:12:00,302 --> 00:12:01,646
- All right.
- Right?

112
00:12:01,646 --> 00:12:02,873
- Yeah.
- Thanks.

113
00:12:04,633 --> 00:12:06,864
[ scraping sounds ]

114
00:12:08,878 --> 00:12:11,902
[scraping sounds]

115
00:12:12,920 --> 00:12:16,040
This one is part of a series
that I started a year ago

116
00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:17,767
called "The Watchers."

117
00:12:18,273 --> 00:12:21,206
[ saw buzzing ]


118
00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:28,880
"The Watchers" are some kind
of angel figures.

119
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:32,080
they're not necessarily
winged figure,

120
00:12:32,080 --> 00:12:33,560
like the cliche of the angel,

121
00:12:33,560 --> 00:12:37,186
but the ears have something
a little bit winglike.

122
00:12:37,186 --> 00:12:40,050
[ saw buzzing ]

123
00:12:42,388 --> 00:12:46,800
I'm also interested
in openings, orifices.

124
00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:50,760
a body that would be filled
with orifices

125
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:54,080
that usually have the purpose
of hearing sound

126
00:12:54,080 --> 00:12:55,880
was interesting as well.

127
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:57,581
The idea of senses.

128
00:12:58,440 --> 00:13:00,800
Sometimes their bodies
are covered in hands;

129
00:13:00,800 --> 00:13:02,520
that's the idea of the touch.

130
00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:03,960
And if they're covered in ears,

131
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:05,520
I like the idea that they're–

132
00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:10,067
become like a body that would be
ultrasensitive with sound.

133
00:13:11,356 --> 00:13:13,000
[sighs]

134
00:13:17,680 --> 00:13:20,314
I think faster than I can speak.

135
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:27,480
My brain is not the best when it
comes to verbal language.

136
00:13:27,480 --> 00:13:29,560
but it seems like
I'm very comfortable

137
00:13:29,560 --> 00:13:31,760
using matter and placing things.

138
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,595
It feels like my brain
is totally in sync.

139
00:13:44,233 --> 00:13:47,043
Sometimes I feel like
there's brains in my hands.

140
00:14:45,320 --> 00:14:50,600
"The Vessel," there's something
almost religious about it,

141
00:14:50,600 --> 00:14:53,680
and it's really making a very
strong reference to the body

142
00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:55,491
in its symmetrical shape.

143
00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:07,610
The way it's radiating feels
almost Catholic in some way.

144
00:15:08,605 --> 00:15:11,040
I can see it going
in that direction,

145
00:15:11,040 --> 00:15:14,280
the idea of a center of energy

146
00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:18,040
and radiation of that energy
and the body,

147
00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:22,290
something that wasn't
as clear before in my work.

148
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:09,800
Because of the fact
that it's not symmetrical,

149
00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:13,000
I feel like the swarm
becomes more like a landscape

150
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:14,480
and less like a body.

151
00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:24,520
That shape floating in space
is very soft.

152
00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,485
That almost looks like
a cloud somehow.

153
00:16:29,113 --> 00:16:31,720
But they're, at the same time,
aggressive.

154
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:36,000
Every element in that swarm
has the potential to sting you.

155
00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:39,240
I found that combination

156
00:16:39,240 --> 00:16:42,734
of the softness
of that abstract cloud shape

157
00:16:42,734 --> 00:16:47,143
and that aggressive potential
to be really nice, that balance.

158
00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:53,320
The vessel and the swarm
are big enough

159
00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,880
to be considered
like laboratories

160
00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,680
inside of which I try things,
I combine materials in new ways,

161
00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,471
I make mistakes,
I come up with new ideas.

162
00:17:04,919 --> 00:17:08,600
The work has developed
enough complexity and layers

163
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:10,680
and intelligence
and independence

164
00:17:10,680 --> 00:17:15,502
that it's able to generate
itself and transform itself.

165
00:17:35,270 --> 00:17:38,389
[ ANNOUNCER ] To learn more about 
"Art in the Twenty-First Century"

166
00:17:38,389 --> 00:17:40,649
and its educational resources,

167
00:17:40,649 --> 00:17:45,590
please visit us online at: 
PBS.org/Art21

168
00:17:48,676 --> 00:17:52,650
“Art in the Twenty-First Century” is available on DVD.

169
00:17:52,650 --> 00:17:55,421
The companion book is also available.

170
00:17:55,421 --> 00:17:59,320
To order, visit us online at: shopPBS.org

171
00:17:59,320 --> 00:18:04,135
or call PBS Home Video at: 
1-800-PLAY-PBS