Joe Bussell has maintained his professional contemporary art practice for over 40 years. The development of Joe's visual language took on new heights while living in London, Boston, Los Angeles and various cities in the Midwest. Most vividly he worked in an AIDS hospice for five years. These experiences play a significant role in his ongoing quest to expand his queer abstract visual language. Joe's artwork will be on display at the Blue Valley branch until April 21, 2024.
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What comes first – the medium or the message? Tell me a little about the work that will be on view.
The story I tell has pretty much been the same since I worked in an AIDS hospice from 1985-1990. How I tell it however changes drastically from series to series. At some point of the making process content and materials must find a hand in glove relationship. I began life as a figure painter as a young undergrad at KU and worked with the excellent figurative artist Tom Klaverkamp. I received a BFA in painting in 1979. From that time to the present I've lived in Boston, Los Angeles, Tucson, St Louis, and London, worked in a variety of art related jobs, and went to graduate school at Washington University in St Louis. I have two MFAs, one in painting the other in ceramics and taught art at Wash U and JCCC. The work that is being exhibited now is from the Pink Scrape Series. Employing the color pink, the buildup of paint and the act of scraping paint back to the ground of the canvas resonates with the discovery of my personal history and my love of the basic formal elements of painting.
Did your changing vision influence the abstraction of your paintings?
Abstraction allows me to break free of social and artistic norms and explore my political, philosophical and intellectual desires more adequately. Dovetailing my queer narrative into my abstract language has produced a deeper connectivity and authenticity to my work.
What’s the most challenging thing about your creative process?
The challenges in my art making practice are purely physical. My desire to paint larger is dependent on studio size. Over the years I have had to paint outside. My new studio on 5529 Troost will enable me to achieve this year-round.
What do you feel is your role as an artist?
The artist's goal has often been considered to reflect society. This is a noble and commendable goal but as I've gotten older, I have embraced my role to make the best 2D and 3D work I can, period.
What is your most important artist tool? Is there something you can’t live without in your studio?
My best tools are my hands.
Please list 5-10 books, movies and/or music that currently inspire you.
Best movies are Boys in the Band (the original), Brokeback Mountain, Moonlight, Weekend and God's Country. Best books are On Earth We Are Briefly Gorgeous, Giovanni's Room, Maurice, The Swimming-Pool Library and The Hours.
