Leon Golub

Mercenaries IV, 1980

I studied with Leon Golub in the mid-80s. He was a mystery before I met him...I only "knew" him through his work...very large paintings with a dark perspective.
In reality, he was very thoughtful, generous, gentle, and funny. He pushed young artists to read art criticism and write about their work and the cultural/political moment...to become aware of the assumptions and speculation that surrounds artmaking, and the art object...to become familiar with the players, other than the artists, that actually shape, promote and often misdirect the life of an art object.

Leon was from Chicago, it was subtle, but growing up with a family from Milwaukee, I always felt there was something familiar in his physical gestures and speech; a "son of an immigrant" toughness that existed in the upper mid-west, a crucible for labor unions and social activism.

The clips below were lifted from Golub/Spero, a documentary produced by Kartemquin Films.






Later, his work did change from the iconic canvasses of the 70s and 80s. In 2001 he described his new work:

"my work these days is sort of political, sort of metaphysical, and sort of smart-ass."

He was a funny guy who consistently worked just beyond the art world's approval.



















Stop Rushing Me!, 2003

American art museums are still slow to embrace Golub's overtly political work...given this decade's revelations of government sanctioned torture and covert operations...why does this body of work remain "controversial?"

Ridiculous.