Problem Creation Over Problem Solving

December 30, 2021 ☼ Art

“So my advice to young artists is definitely flavored by what I like about working the way I work and my generation tended to work, and that’s by sort of purging your work of references to other people and putting yourself into a position. See, I think our whole society is much too problem-solving oriented. It is far more interesting to [participate in] “problem creation”—it’s more interesting than problem solving. You know, ask yourself an interesting enough question and your attempt to find a tailor-made solution to that question will push you to a place where, pretty soon, you’ll find yourself all by your lonesome—which I think is a more interesting place to be.”

Chuck Close, interviewed by Joe Fig, in his book Inside the Painter’s Studio