Interview with Thomas Baumann

Jorge J. Lindo

Interview with the painter Thomas Baumann

[Me] So, you are a painting major and thats it, no other majors?

[Thomas] Yeah, I focus on painting and abstract.

[Me] Just abstract? How long have you been painting for? And what would you say was your inspiration to start painting?

[Thomas] Just like five years. Well, I mean, I painted dinosaurs and reptiles when I was a little kid. My entire life Ive just been drawing, and at a certain time I stopped and then realized again that I wanted to go to college, you know, go to art school. So I did a lot of illustration and painting a lot during school.

[Me] From what I see so far, I see medium sized and large sized works.  Do you prefer that size for your paintings?

[Thomas] I actually, have some small sized works such as drawings and paintings. I mean, the small ones are really just studies of things. I would never show them except for a couple.

[Me] How much time do you give each painting, regardless of the size?

[Thomas] I don’t know, until it is finished.  I still have paintings that aren't finished from years ago.  But the ones for class I do get them done in a couple of days.

[Me] Would you then say that you do not like to say that any of your paintings can be finished in only a couple of days? Or do they vary? And are they part of your personal projects or school ones?

[Thomas] No, I also have a lot of things that are done within two minutes, three seconds.  I had one series of twelve pieces where each of them took me about five minutes, so not very much time at all.

[Me] From what I see in your paintings, there is a lot of grays and muted colors in your paintings, why do you think that is?

[Thomas] Well, the one right there has bright red on it. And that painting is four paintings stacked up.  I was working on something and then changed my mind and washed over it, scraped stuff out and added more until I finally added the giant red blob.

[Me] Aside from the brush, what other tools do you use to create a painting?

[Thomas]I don’t use the brush, I start using it but then stop.

[Me] so what other tools then? Maybe your own hands?

[Thomas] well I would have to say I use myself, my body… My face.  Wait let me take that back, sometimes I would find the flattest, sharpest thing I can find and just squeegee off an observational painting; sometimes.  That’s not all I do, though.

[Me] I see, so this is a personal opinion but when I create my photographs, I see them not as part of myself but products since I use a machine to capture what I want, I do not give output.  What do you consider your paintings to be, considering that you have control over your medium, paint, and tools, and you have full contact with your canvas? Are they perhaps your interpretations of ideas going on inside you? Have you ever considered that your paintings are your thoughts materialized?

[Thomas] That’s pretty cool and yeah, that’s pretty much a way to put it.

[Me] Have you ever tried to step outside your comfort zone?

[Thomas]  Yes, I’ve taken a multitude of classes.  I especially like making paper, and I like making books.  Occasionally I’ve made books. I’ve tried everything. And I like to try everything that does not involve a computer.  I have a certain amount of patience.  Not because I’m against technology but I feel weird about it.

[Me] Now, we talked about your paintings and methods and the times it takes you to produce them and your themes. But what do you consider a painting? The first piece I saw, what do you consider that?

[Thomas] I think that’s a painting. There’s not much paint on it but that is kind of what I’ve been doing lately… is referring to the history and ideology of painting.  It’s just referring to the argument of what is considered a painting, testing it, exploration.  I guess I’d say it’s a painting because it is a rectangle on the wall that you are viewing… it’s one plane with somewhat of a relief.

[Me] Yes, that is what I was thinking, because to me it looks like a mix between paint and sculpture.

[Thomas] I guess you can say it’s a bit of mixed media, but I like to think that most people would think of it as a painting.

[Me] Talking about shapes, have you ever considered using a canvas that is not a square shape, maybe like an oval or an irregular shaped one?

[Thomas] I’ve always wanted to do that but I don’t really like it usually.

[Me] Is it because it’s not traditional, against your conventions?

[Thomas]  No, I just don’t like the shape.

[Me] I’m really curious, because I myself cannot paint and wish I could paint.  I find it very inspirational and amazing to paint. But again, since I can’t I just use a machine to convey my messages. Whenever you start a painting, what kind of mindset do you find yourself in most of the time?

[Thomas] I usually start really lazy at first and have no coherent idea on what I want to do and I’m just sitting there.  But when I do decide I want to start going I can’t stop, like some mad animal.  I’ll be in the back of the studio with a knife or a chisel or I’d be just punching or ripping and tearing at some cardboard while everyone’s having a conversation in the class and having fun. And once I’m done, I don’t usually come back.  I know I contradicted myself because I do have paintings that are still...sincerely it’s hard to know when I’m done.

[Me] Another thing, which paintings do you like best? The ones you make on your personal time or the ones that are made with the standards of the school or class?

[Thomas] It is fun whenever I get to do work that I want to do and the professor in school is supporting it and giving me inspiration. So I really like being with an instructor.

[Me] But which ones do you think are more successful at conveying your concepts, ideas or thoughts? Is it the ones you make in your own time or the school projects?

[Thomas] Definitely the ones I show at school because I’m showing them as school.  I work hard on all of them though.  But since I get to talk about the ones I do in school I tend to like them more because I can offer some explanation about them. 

[Me] I keep going back to the same questions sort of but which paintings do you think tell more about yourself?

[Thomas] well the painting classes now are limitless, you can pretty much paint what you want.  You have a set up a plan and the professor will help you get there. I guess there are some requirements but they are always cool and stimulatory.

[Me] have you ever felt constricted by teachers or by the teachings of the school?

[Thomas] Not in my painting classes, really.  But I guess in other classes.

[Me] How do you think your paintings have changed from your high school times to college?

[Thomas] Well, when I was a kid and in high school too I used to draw animals mostly.

[Me] so do you feel like the changes you’ve made are more mature? The transition from going as a small child with an untouched mindset to joining this big school with a specific curriculum. And are you happy with the changes you’ve gone through?

[Thomas] well, I’ve definitely joined an art club, a club where people talk about art endlessly, look at art endlessly and think art all the time. And yes, I’ve definitely matured. And I’m happy.

[Me] So you would not go back to painting dinosaurs, animals and reptiles?

[Thomas] I mean, I still paint some animals from time to time but I wouldn’t want to show them except to friends.

[Me] Do you think that it would not be taken seriously because they are rather private or is it because Rutgers University has taught you that Abstract painting is more important?

[Thomas] No I think I just got inspired into other things.  I still think there dinosaurs are cool but I’d rather paint the way I paint now. Obviously, if I really wanted to paint dinosaurs I would be doing it right now.

[Me] I’ve seen a few of them in your work.

[Thomas] I still like to paint and draw stuff for people bands.  I love to draw… people, animals, plants.

[Me] So is your painting only reserved for abstract?

[Thomas] i do draw all the time, for example the painting with the red blob has an observational drawing underneath that and then I just get pissed off at it because I can’t get it right, I feel like I can’t get it how I want it.  I cant control it well enough so it just turns into a painting and then I end up liking it better because it is the end result, it shows the history.  I can see the path that it took to get there.  One can say that it looks like a red blob with some green underneath. You can say “oh, I can do that” but how would you get there? You wouldn’t get there. That [piece] is cool! That was a total “frustration, bad conversation, horrible” incident that ended up looking pretty rad, I thought. There was a lot of stuff going on and there is a lot of stuff if you look for it.

If you see here, there is a yellow square, with the red that leads to another square forming almost a cube.  This painting has oils and a whole other weird stuff I put in there.

            There is this other piece that I put a lot of work into.  I like to use layers of paper, cut into them or burn into them.  What I did was I went through the whole thing and thought it was lame in the end so I just flied the canvas around and it just showed the book that was just basically duck taped in the back.

[Me] It’s a completely different experience.  Seeing this piece from the back is completely different. The paint no longer becomes a component, and if it does, it only exists in mistakes that went through the back of the frame of the canvas, something that is not even shown traditionally.  The fact that you are showing the back of the canvas revealing some wood and the duck taped book turns this piece into a polar opposite of what you intended to show.

[Thomas] Yeah, and it’s cool.  This book appears also to be proportional to the size of the canvas.  This was all accidental, and look how much happened. Every single thing. 

[Me] do you think you emphasize more on emotion than technique in your paintings? Do you draw or sketch before you paint?

[Thomas] yes, in a sense. I don’t sit on a chair and draw with a little brush.  Nevertheless, I do draw. I love to draw.

[Me] I’ve noticed that when you draw, you put more thought into symbolism and the figures you portray.

[Thomas] yeah, yeah definitely. I like to do all that stuff, it is so much fun.  When I get out of school I will probably try and deal with bands that want DLY illustrations, logos for their bands, paintings, or drawings. 

[Me] Music is a big influence to you.  Do you always have music when you paint?

[Thomas] yes it is, but I don’t have music when I do art.  I was just recently gifted an iPod from my girlfriend and it was pretty awesome.  I painted with it  at the end of the semester last year and a little bit during the summer.  But I can totally paint by myself because I have music going on in my head 24/7.  I like to listen to a bunch music in the morning and keep it in my head for the day and just rock out to that.  Or listen in to other people’s conversations and be a creepy lurker.

[Me] You have to be a little bit crazy to do art I guess.  I myself definitely need music to do my art. Most of my work is tedious sometimes, standing in front of a computer for hours, or dealing with chemicals and papers. It gets quiet.

[Thomas] I think a lot of people are like that. Most people listen to an iPod all the time for sure.  But I can’t really concentrate as much when I listen to music because I can’t help but completely concentrate on the music.

[Me] Sounds like your head has a lot of going on.  Your mind is spread out all over your day.

[Thomas] Music is a really important thing for me. I originally wanted to go to music school and follow jazz.  But in the end I decided to go for art.

[Me] Aside from music, what else influences you?

[Thomas] lookin at paint, looking at goopy things really makes me look at it and go use that goop and put it on something flat.  You can tell I’m really into experimenting with different foils and weird stuff.  It’s a fun thing that I do, I always have fun with it.  That is why I’m moving away from observational stuff and tedious drawing. It’s not as fun.  It’s satisfying in the end but I don’t really have the patience for it.  I just like everything really quick and weird and fun and whacky, I don’t really like to sit in front of the canvas anymore.  I’m into immediate gratification. I’ve kind of built this crazy momentum.  It gets too crazy and sometimes I have to stop and leave mason gross and come back later and say ”nice!”

[Me] Have you ever used anything out of the ordinary in your paints? A friend of mine uses bugs as paint sometimes.

[Thomas] I don’t really use bugs, I don’t like killing things.  I just like finding nasty goop and mixing it with acrylic and matte medium to hold everything down and give it a base.  To give it a clear, matte finish. How they react to the acrylic and how it tears or burns away, that’s the cool part of it. Last year, a professor told me how horribly wrong I’d been using all these things that I find but you know, I like how untraditionally I’m using paints and stuff. 

[Me] Sounds like very whacky stuff.

[Thomas]  Lots of whacky stuff, I have baby teeth on some paintings. They are not mine but I can’t tell whose it is.

[Me] Lastly, have you ever done commissions for people, such as portraits and things like that? And how does that make you feel?  Do you think you will continue to do that in years to come?

[Thomas] yeah, I painted people a bunch of times.  And it’s fun.  Im not always in the mood but when I am it’s always fun. I’ll always observationally paint and draw because it’s a good thing, like meditation.

    During my interview i learned many things about this artist named Thomas.  I learned that despite knowing the importance on technique, some people's works are successful based purely on raw emotion and experiences.  I, for one, am glad to have found this out and will definitely think of how to apply it to my own field, my own medium.  Thomas's abstract pieces are rather intense yet simultaneously muted, in my opinion.  And it is this combination that stands out to the viewer without so much as spoon feeding it to them.  I think his works are very successful in portraying the kind of person who he is, an eclectic individual with potential in many fields of the fine arts while still performing rituals that sustain the never ending amazing childhood-like inspiration, in terms of purity and not lacking in concept, that propels him to continue his pieces of work.