Robert Longo talks to Ben Luke about his influences—from writers to musicians, film-makers and, of course, other artists—and the cultural experiences that have shaped his life and work.
Protest for Alexei Navalny, 2024. Graphite on paper
© Robert Longo Studio, courtesy the artist and Pace Gallery
Born in 1953 in Brooklyn, Longo was a key figure in what was called the Pictures generation of artists, which emerged in New York in the late 1970s. After that initial burst of attention is translations of everything from reportage photographs to historic paintings into vast charcoal drawings have since been met with wide acclaim.
By rendering the images in this way, he reinforces the impact of the original sources and yet prompts questions about the meaning and the power structures within and around them. By expanding their scale, he also transforms them. Up close—as we are overwhelmed by the analogue artisanship involved in the drawing—these dramatic images are abstracted.
Installation View, Men in the Cities, Triptych. “The Pictures Generation, 1974 – 1984” Great Hall, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY 2009 Photographer: Eileen Travell. © Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Longo talks about why he favours the term “collision” over “collage” and reflects on the concern with violence in his work. He discusses being, as he puts it, “an abstract artist working representationally”. He explains the process behind his responses to major works of art by everyone from Jackson Pollock to Rembrandt and Manet, and talks about the influence of Gretchen Bender on his newest Combine pieces. And he details the breadth of inspirations for his 1980s Men in the Cities series, from James Chance, frontman of the Contortions, to Rainer Werner Fassbender’s An American Soldier.
Plus, he gives insight into studio habits and rituals and answers our usual questions, including, “What is art for?”
Untitled (Pilgrim), 2024. Mixed Media, 5 parts
Courtesy Thaddaeus Ropac gallery, London · Paris · Salzburg · Seoul © Robert Longo / ARS, New York 2024
- Robert Longo: Searchers, Thaddaeus Ropac, London, 8 October-20 November; Pace, London, 9 October-9 November; Robert Longo, Albertina Museum, Vienna, until 26 January; Robert Longo: The Acceleration of History, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, 25 October-23 February 2025.
This podcast is sponsored by Bloomberg Connect, the arts and culture app.
The free app offers access to a vast range of international cultural organisations through a single download, with new guides being added regularly. They include numerous US museums and cultural spaces in which Robert Longo has had solo shows, from The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, to The Kitchen and Brooklyn Museum in New York. If you download Bloomberg Connects, you’ll discover that the guide to the Brooklyn Museum includes in-depth audio content on a wealth of works in the museum’s collection, including Judy Chicago’s hugely influential installation, The Dinner Party, as well as a kids and families guide, and features on exhibitions past and present.
