The Blazing World

Anton Tish (interview from Tutti Fruity, “Just Checking In,” April 24, 1999)

Anton Tish’s first show, The History of Western Art, made a splash at the Clark Gallery in New York City when it opened in September, announcing an edgy new voice in the art world. A twenty-four-year-old bad-boy geek with a mystical underside, he got people talking. Toby Bruner met up with the artist in his studio in Red Hook, Brooklyn, to get the dope on where he’s going from here.

TB: So what does a guy do after he’s become such a hot property?

AT: I’m thinking about photography. You know, a post-Warhol take on the icon. But not with icons, if you see what I mean, just regular people. There’s another twist to it that I’m still working on. I got interested in Mannerism. Bronzino is my favorite, and I keep thinking there’s something in his work that will help me frame my new direction.

TB: Cool. And the story boxes? I heard you can’t make them fast enough.

AT: I might make a couple more. I don’t know. The show was kind of a one-time thing, I guess. Cleared my system of the past, you know, and now I’m ready for a new conceptual path. It could take some time figuring it out, but that’s okay with me. Once the concept is really tight in my mind, I can move forward. I’ve been doing a lot of reading, thinking…

TB: What are you reading, man?

AT: This book called Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness. It’s really wild, man. I mean, these guys say that the way you look at something creates what you’re seeing. That’s quantum, and it links up to the brain and consciousness. They call it spooky, and it is. It weirds me out, actually. I keep looking at things and wondering what I’m seeing.

TB: Heavy stuff, but then, that’s what got you where you are, right?

AT: Yeah, that’s what they tell me.

Stay tuned for the next spooky installment of Anton Tish, art world phenom gone quantum!