Marsden Hartley: The First Great American Modernist Painter | Louisiana Channel

“He knows the world is full of variety.” Seven acclaimed painters - David Hockney, Dana Schutz, Sam McKinniss, Tal R, Shara Hughes, David Salle and Mamma Andersson - offer their thoughts on “America’s first great modern painter of the 20th century,” Marsden Hartley (1877-1943).
The painters talk about their initial fascination with Hartley, his personality, his contemporary times, his landscapes, male attraction, style and legacy. “I think painting for him was a struggle. I think he was always struggling with those basic problems of being alive,” American painter Sam McKinniss (b. 1985) says of Hartley, whom he believes was simultaneously convinced of his genius: “And that’s enough to keep a person going.” Swedish painter Mamma Andersson (b. 1962) explains how the more she tries to grasp Hartley, the more she becomes aware of his stubbornness, and American painter Shara Hughes (b. 1981) agrees with this feeling of tenacity: “I feel like he’s probably confident and stubborn within his own studio and within the paintings, but maybe not so much in the real world.”
American painter Dana Schutz (b. 1976) feels that there is a certain tenderness in Hartley’s male figures in spite of their muscular physique, which English painter David Hockney (b. 1937) describe as “big, hunky guys” as well as “a little fantasy.” American painter David Salle (b. 1952) follows up on this by pointing out how these men are highly idealized: “There’s a heroic core to the build-up of these male bodies.” Speaking of Hartley’s style, Danish painter Tal R (b. 1967) finds that he with time became “worse and worse in a good way,” and refers to one of Hartley’s painting, which he feels is “the most ridiculous idea, but it’s also one of the most beautiful paintings I’ve ever seen.” Andersson considers Hartley a true naïve painter: “A naïve painter thinks he’s a realist, and that is clearly the case with him,” and McKinniss adds that Hartley is “not trying to finesse reality, I think he’s trying to beat reality out of the thing that he’s looking at.”
Marsden Hartley (1877-1943) was an American painter, poet and essayist, who has been hailed as “America’s first great modern painter of the 20th century.” The work of Hartley, who lived most of his life nomadically between Europe and the USA, can be regarded as a bridge between European and American modernism. His first critical success came with an exhibition at the photographer and gallerist Alfred Stieglitz’ 291 Gallery in New York in 1909. Financed by Stieglitz, he went to Europe in 1912, spending much of his time in Germany, where he met Franz Mark, Wassily Kandinsky and other members of the innovative group of painters Der Blaue Reiter group with whom he exhibited at the famous Erster Deutscher Herbstsalon in Berlin in 1913. Despite his central position on the art scene of the time, Hartley has largely remained a neglected name in the USA and an unknown figure in Europe, perhaps because of the many-faceted character of his oeuvre, which has made it difficult to place him in the history of art.
All artists were interviewed by Marc-Christoph Wagner and Mathias Ussing Seeberg in spring 2019 in connection with the retrospective exhibition ‘Marsden Hartley - The Earth is All I Know of Wonder’ at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Humlebæk, Denmark. The retrospective is the first major exhibition of his work in Europe since 1960.
Camera: Jakob Solbakken
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner and Mathias Ussing Seeberg
Edited by: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen
Cover photo: Marsden Hartley (1943) by © George Platt Lynes
All photos of Marsden Hartley in the film: © George Platt Lynes and ©Man Ray
A complete list of works shown in the film can be found in the end credits
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2019
Supported by Nordea-fonden
#MarsdenHartley #DavidHockney #DanaSchutz
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[@constancewalsh3646]

"It's not like he becomes a good painter.... he becomes worse and worse, but in a good way" - I am discovering Tal R. His words are by far the most most most original, creative, moving the soul with rarely spoken truths.

[@brenttaylordotus]

“They say about van Gough he was a miserable person and things like that. He wasn’t when he was painting.“ superb

[@casteretpollux]

I too have been trying to persuade my art teachers that it's the thing they think is 'wrong' in my painting that is the best thing about it.

[@MsLoila]

Hey, luckily with my mentor i was encouraged to pursue what is "wrong" in art. I was asked to seek what i could through my own understanding of art.

[@stephaningleby2352]

You dont need teachers

[@laz5590]

​@@stephaningleby2352if you not gonna have teachers, try and fail could take rest of your life, and maybe you die before you succeed ? Your art should withstand a critic , even if that critic is your teacher as long as your art represents you , not just "trendy or fake" , right ?

[@andreaandrea6716]

I did not know the work of Marsden Hartley and this was the most wonderful way to be introduced, through the eyes of 7 Artists who speak so well, so beautifully, with great insight, I thought. I can talk about almost anything... except Art. I am hopeless/speechless when it comes to THIS, my great passion. So, I am always excited and happy when people don't speak absolute shit about Art (there is a LOT of that out there)... but with such sensitivity and imagination. This format is so intelligent! And beautifully edited. Thank you so very much!!!

[@stefanstern3542]

What shockingly intelligent interwiees, and how much I love what Marsden Hartley has done, for all of us!!!

[@jeffroysdon]

This guy Sam McKinniss is so smart, and the way he talks is cool. He'll pose a new question to himself at the beginning of a paragraph and by the end he'll have answered it. Insightfully.

[@HelenElliottArt]

Thank you all for this film. This feels very much at home for my feeling towards my painting. Refreshing to have this approach intellectualised and this painter celebrated.

[@studiokazuyo]

I did not know him but he is a good painter. My art school (SFAI)did not teach about him. He unites with everything, that shows he is open(guard less). He immerse in. A poet he is.

[@suzannedesylva3805]

A priceless production. I am so grateful that we have a language beyond the verbal.

[@studiokazuyo]

When I saw a track runner wore German flag the time of victory, and was strikingly beautiful. I bet he felt that in his lover.

[@revrevreviews]

As someone that struggles to find an interesting way to describe Art in my reviews, it is wonderful to see these artists trying.

[@andreaandrea6716]

... and succeeding.

[@brycenew]

Brilliant format! And interviewees. What a fantastic way to discover the work of an artist. Thank you!

[@andreaandrea6716]

Yes, yes, yes! Brilliant comment. I feel the same!

[@ronagoodwell2709]

In my view many of Marsden Hartley's best paintings look like excavations in difficult terrain. He has to shore up one side of the painting as he shovels his way deeper on another side. At the end every part of the painting props up every other part and we see despite the odds a sort of perfection has been achieved. His landscapes and seascapes are simply analogs of the earth and sea and sky. His still lifes can take their place among any of the rough furniture of Hartley's life. When people enter the frame they are immediately put to work anchoring other elements, preventing clouds from drifting too far, amplifying the great silence of slow being, turning viewers into children.

[@nancywalter7555]

Fabulous. Thank you for your great content!

[@bebop54]

thank you for this great upload....

[@creativeartbyluvensky]

Thanks for share great contents.

[@evelynramos445]

Gorgeous seascapes

[@beatsbyblu6374]

A great listen

[@evelynramos445]

Thank you

[@pamzavada5269]

Wonderful! I enjoyed the entire production/film, all of it.

[@lovepeace3041]

wonderful + insightful. and still so much more needs to be said about Hartley.

[@evelynramos445]

Amzing description of artists works

[@donaldgibson4459]

That was really great. Thx :)

[@studiokazuyo]

We nail down what we want on the canvas hence it is an action of possess.

[@evelynramos445]

Good analysis of verse the timing of 1900's. Way more

[@evelynramos445]

Has Benton aspect and even further amazing artist. Adds "volume" with expressionist brushwork!

[@junkettarp8942]

Marsden Hartley is a great artist.

[@junkettarp8942]

I notice very very clean color.

[@robertdavenport6705]

Being from the Canadian Maritimes I am most fond of Hartley's 'Nova Scotia Fishermen ( Last Supper )' . But it is a great painting in any light. This overview of many works was brilliant and revealing. He seems to me somewhere between Maude Lewis and Rene Magritte. But both Lewis and Magritte stayed home. One Maude Lewis could be her only painting ; one Magritte could be his only painting. Hartley never allows finishing emotionally or technically to interrupt his journey. He probably couldn't.

[@jennyhughes4474]

Thank you for this: I didn't know about this man and his wonderful work and you created a really good mix of pictures of his art (including close-ups) and the people speaking about him = well done. I also hadn't heard of Tal R and really loved how he spoke about the art and more, I also liked Karin Mamma Andersson's words, thanks for the english translation. And finally thanks to Mr Hockney for reminding me that my paintings aren't a pointless waste of time!

[@luc7937]

love

[@futurafairmont1811]

A very masculine painter in the way a brick mason or stonecutter builds beautiful buildings. A journeyman painter whose art exceeds the expected result.

[@Sclafani_art_studio]

Relatable artist, for me atleast

[@FREEAGAIN432]

Interesting video! Loved learning about this unique artist. Who did the music throughout the video?

[@veronicadragnef827]

❤❤❤

[@erlendwiggenbliksrud6588]

where is the music from?

[@pprehn5268]

thanks for this - I've always admired his unique visual perspective as a gay man

[@evelynramos445]

Lonely venture

[@lamodernista]

David Salle has some big-ass ears!

[@harperwelch5147]

Sad to see Hockney smoking. We’ll miss him.

[@randygeyer7673]

It seems easy to qualify someone else's art.

[@evelynramos445]

Inward out

[@laurinioperdomo7683]

these people dont know Bárbaro Rivas...

[@itkapatanka]

9:51 I like Hockney but sometimes he is such an arrogant rich twit, according to his mistress and children Picasso didn't work every day and I'm sure Hartley didn't either. Hockney has only ever known success.

[@fantastichound]

You are overblowing Hockney, both Picasso and Hockney can't be in same paragraph.

[@harperwelch5147]

That a bold statement to say “America’s First Great Modernist Painter”. I’m not sure many would agree. It’s primitive, sort of ‘outsider’ but not truly inventive or influential. Not clear what artistic door he may have opened.

[@OldDave750]

Everyone was struggling to put into words something good about a bad artist

[@evelynramos445]

"Independent"

[@karllieck9064]

I'm sorry guys, but you can blah, blah, blah about this artist, but I find his work very bad. Just, bad paintings. Don't they have a museum that displays really bad art? His paintings would definitely find a home there.

[@evelynramos445]

UnTracking work yet

[@DaveRCollins1]

Is it just me, or does it seem like they would rather be talking about and doing anything else than what they're talking about? :'D

[@KpxUrz5745]

Marsden Hartley just wasn't that good, and neither are any of these artists in the video.

[@judeirwin2222]

Boy. As a writer, I am amazed at how incoherent many of the artists are.

[@zakariwa4437]

The first ten minutes here should be deleted. Too much speculation of artist life or his motives instead of his actual works. I guess modern artists and art is basically a refusal of reality and taking pride in that refusal by too many intangible words

[@ronwalker4849]

modern art ain´t quite so beautiful marsden

[@geolloyd1351]

mostly dopey stuff , and no genuine insight evinced re th artist in question

[@SoopSoopa]

thank god for Tal R, yikes the artists before him are so mindless

[@ginomazzei1076]

Meh….

[@tuduloo7799]

none of these people can paint. how ironic.

[@ssatx57]

WTF is Hockney doing smoking cigarettes.. he must be very weak willed.