Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1225776
A PETER SAUL PRIMER — AND THE ROLE DALLAS PLAYED IN THE POP/FUNK PAINTER'S NO-HOLDS-BARRED CAREER. BY CHRIS BYRNE Peter Saul's Icebox, 1960, at the New Museum, New York. Harkey Family Collection, Dallas. SEASON OF I n dual shows this spring — at Manhattan's prestigious New Museum and a traveling European museum retrospective — painter Peter Saul has been rediscovered by a new generation of art acolytes. And after knowing Saul for a quarter of a century, it felt like the right time to talk with him about the pivotal canvases in the New Museum survey, all of which have one thing in common: The works are owned by Dallas collectors. In February, "Peter Saul: Crime and Punishment" opened at the New culture — from the Disney of his childhood to Mad magazine. Images of Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, Superman, and the villains of Dick Tracy began to populate his canvases, emerging from the dripping brushy strokes so stylish at the time. In the 65 years since, Saul has created drawings and paintings with images of war, psychology, politics, executions, and the history of art itself, the undulating cartoonish forms impeccably rendered in luminous acrylic. Although he could initially be dismissed by the mainstream art world, Peter Saul now rightfully appears as one of the major artists of our time. Saul also has strong local roots. He was a beloved painting instructor at The University of Texas from 1981 to 2000, fostering and shepherding the early work of many students; Erik Parker and Chris Ware are among the most prominent. I've been fortunate to associate with Saul for more than 25 years: placing paintings with Dallas collectors, helping the artist organize his 1997 survey at Artpace in San Antonio, and facilitating loans for his U.S. and European retrospectives in France and Germany. When we recently caught up, Saul was characteristically kind enough to share his latest thoughts about the loans from Dallas collections, which comprise 10 percent of the New Museum show. Peter's direct responses are consistent with his unpretentious approach to every aspect of his life and art-making. Icebox, 1960, the Harkey Family Collection, Dallas. Peter Saul: This was the picture in my first show — in New York, 1962 — that most resembled the then recently coined term "Pop Art." I think, in retrospect, that was because it had household objects, recognizable as such, even if I had taken some liberties. When I painted it, I hadn't heard of Pop Art, which turned out to be an official, important art movement that had a lot of stupid rules attached to it — like copying commercial art, no imagination, etc. Bathroom Sex Murder, 1961, collection of Mrs. Marilyn Lenox, Dallas. PS: This is a case where the title — I got the idea from seeing the movie Psycho in Paris, dubbed in French — is way ahead of the painting. I felt the need for maximum sensationalism, but the picture is stream of consciousness, abstract expressionism, not coming close to its title, although I like it anyway. Chris Byrne is co-founder of the Dallas Art Fair and owner of the Elaine de Kooning House. The interview continues at papercitymag.com. SAUL Museum, and I was there — along with David Byrne, Brian Donnelly aka KAWS, Carroll Dunham, Jeff Koons, John Waters, and Cindy Sherman — for the artist's reception. The largest survey of Saul's paintings in New York to date, the exhibition has just over 60 works. Many of the artist's earliest paintings in this exhibition were conceived and created in Europe over half a century ago when Saul lived as an expatriate in Holland, Paris, and Rome from 1956 through 1964. From these distant vantage points, Saul was able to mine American popular