Schnabel bodied
JULIAN SCHNABEL is back for his first major exhibition in Scotland since the late 80s. Should we be celebrating or weeping? v 2; Paul Dale
ttlian nexer rang. Not that it mattered reall_\. \Yhat \xax
he going to x;i}‘.’ That he \\ax looking loruard to
eoming baek to lidinburgh alter all thexe xearx. lk‘L‘tHhL‘ hL‘ ltt\ Cd the light lllL‘l'L‘ ttlltl th' xlttll \\ L‘l'L‘ ~ltlxl labuloux'.’ l’t‘obabl). but ma}be not. \l;t)bt‘ he \\ottld ha\e alluded [U hix onee pl‘t‘t‘oetottx talent and ttll the t‘iL‘ltex il brottght him. liither ha}. a \ague reputation ax a xlightl} dil‘lieult. boaxtl‘ul inter\ ieuee doexn‘t make him a partieularl} eherixhable propoxition.
'l‘here ix a xeene in Selmabel'x debut mo\ie. Bust/mm. in \xhieh (‘hrixtopher \Yalken tpla_\ing an intruxi\ e journalixtl. axkx Baxquiat t.lellre.\ \Yrighti xtllllL‘ ‘hard' quextionx about eolour. eelebrit). the north ol‘ hix. or an_\one'x. art. He \xantx to knoxx the depth ol' Baxquiat'x talentx tax he elearl} belie\ ex thix .xupreme xpeeti‘al artixt \\ ax iuxt another ol‘ \Yarliol‘x llunkiexl. The [no don‘t xpeak the xame language. Baxquait anxxxerx in mumblex and mutationx. hix lear ol' either being rexealed ax a hand. or ax a geniux. ix almoxt palpable . . . \\ hieh bringx ttx baek to Seltnabel.
Julian Schnabel \xax born in Brooklyt. New York in NS] and b} the mid-Sllx. he had earned himxell that mueh trampled-on moniker. ‘enl‘ant terrible‘. .-\ mixture ot' genuine talent and an undeniable gilt lor xelllpromotion had got him to that plaee. Yet. looking baek at the xheer prolilie bod} ol' Selmabel‘x paint and print work. it ix dillieult not to be imprexxed b} thix moxt ealeulating ol' artixtx, But to reall_\ lllltlL‘l‘Slttlltl hix \\t)l'lx \\ C ltaxe [0 go back It) lllL‘ \CL‘HL‘ 0|~ \Ulllk' original art erimex.
Depending on \xhieh Selmabel biogt‘aplt} )ou read. hix xtor_\ di\idex into truth and untruth l'rom the \er} beginning. So let‘x juxt ehooxe one \erxion ol the truth and xtiek with it. Although he \xax born in Brookl}n. Schnabel mm ed \xith hix l'amil} to \\ ext ‘l'e\ax \xhen xtill )otmg. ln W73. alter xltld} ing art lot‘ three _\earx at the l'ni\erxit_\ ol llouxton. he xent in an applieation l'or an independent xtud} programme at the
\Yhitne} .\luxeum in .\'Y('. The applieation ineluded xlidex ol'
hix \\ork xanduiehed between l\\o pieeex ol' bread. and the bo_\ \xax dul} aeeepted.
But nothing had prepared him for the harxhnexx til we ax a xll‘tlgglitlg at'lixl. Betxx een 1973 and [979 he look xe\ et‘ttl ltm paid jobx juxt to xur\i\e. When he \xaxn't milking on hix art he \xould hang around .\la\‘x Kanxax (it). the renoxxned muxie and united} elub in (ireenxxieh Village. And then a lad} ealled .\lar_\ Boone ga\ e him a break.
lloone outted her ll\\ll prextigioux galler} in Sollo and deeided to throxx thix dog a bone. Selmabel had alread} had medium xi/ed exhibitionx at the .\luxeum ol~ (‘ontemporar_\ .-\rt in llouxton and the December (itlllL‘l') in l)tixxeldorl. btit he xure ax hell \\;ixii't xhilting an) unitx and. among the Nut York art eognoxeenti. he \xax xtill a no tnark. 'l‘he xhtm mix the making ol him. Suddenl} he \xax being xpoken ol‘ in the xame breath ax artixtx he dearl} admired: (ieorg Baxelit/. Sigmar l’olke and l‘raneexeo ('lemente. Along With |)a\id Salle and Suxan Rothenberg. .lulian realixed he \xax pan ol a \er_\ xtrong .v\meriean neti-exprexxionixm moxement.
.«\mong other earl} pieeex. it \\ ax Sehnabel'x remarkable D
Excessively large Polaroids of his family are at the centre of Schnabel‘s new work for Scotland
THE LIST FESTIVAL GUIDE 81