Barry McGee: Retrospective | "Exclusive" | Art21

[BARRY MCGEE: RETROSPECTIVE]

It is a retrospective of sorts,

so obviously I'm honored with the invitation to do it.

But it's... I'm really uncomfortable in the situation.

Not one person needs this much concrete and space.

I was aware that they were going to find some old work that I wasn't happy with.

There's, like, areas that I don't even want to visit anymore in my life.

So, it's... I know it had to be here,

but I just let other people hang it, and it looked okay.

A lot of the vitrines are some of my friends'--

the artwork that I like.

If I could curate a good show, it would always have all of my friends

and my favorite artists would be in here, also.

Oh. Yeah, these all have my favorite things in them.

This is a guy in Bolinas, this guy Chad.

He passed away, but he used to do these paintings on wood

of his favorite things. His favorite thing was Budweiser.

He painted what he loved, [LAUGHS]

and he signed it 'Chad'.

My wife Clare made that.

She made these three little canvases.

She was really proud when she brought her classes up here,

she was like, "I have paintings in here too, guys, okay?"

"I have paintings in here."

This is my ideal way to hang the artwork, too,

just with like what I would call a more serious attempt at art,

and then just something that a friend made on a Xerox machine right next to it--

that's just as serious to me.

These are boards.

These are from thrift stores.

I don't know what they are, but I keep on coming across them.

I made these.

These are ballpoint pen drawings, also.

I just took a cue from what my father was doing.

My dad, he passed away three years ago;

But he always drew on napkins.

Yeah, there's like thousands of these,

and he would iron them with wax paper

and he would always sign them, obviously: 'John C. McGee'.

I tried to bring as many people as I could in here

that deserve attention.

There's so many more interesting things going on, I feel like.

To me, it would be better as a massive group show--

like, three hundred different people.

Some kids in San Francisco did these.

They're like in their early 20s.

I was just kind of curious what they're...

Like a twenty year-old kid that's into graffiti,

what they're into.

I think the generation is so far away from me now,

I don't even know what they're doing anymore.

I think it's so natural for them to be here, though.

It'd be doing a big disservice for the Bay Area if this stuff wasn't here.

This is where my work is going in the future--something like that.

I'm very happy with that piece.

Am I talking too much about my artwork now?

I feel like I'm talking too much my artwork.

[MAN OFF CAMERA] No, this is exactly what you're supposed to be doing.

[MCGEE] Really?

[MAN OFF CAMERA] Yeah.

[MCGEE] I'm completely happy with this part.

It was the hardest part to do for some reason.