"... the benefit of the doubt"

A total of 60 pieces of art by young artists from Los Angeles have been exhibited at the Salzburg Hangar-7 since September 20. From their own perspective, each one of them created personal instructions for a visit to ‘LA Potential’. This time Jacob Tillmann takes us through the exhibition.

What three things, characteristics or frame of mind should we approach the exhibition ‘L.A. Potential’ with in order to come out of the viewing enriched?

Any art show or other activity in life should be approached with openness so that you come out of the experience enriched. For this to happen it’s not even necessary that you like the experiences you have. Practicing being open to continued growth and change through my life and all the way up to the very moment of my death is, to a large degree, why I continue to paint. I’d like my whole life to be an adventure … Please join me.

Reading a book or going to the movies is not a big deal. But visiting a gallery for some takes a lot of overcoming. How does one get over that?

I guess this comes down people being slaves to capitalism. Why should a person truncate his or her life experience just to save face by not entering a place of business with no intention of making a purchase? I can’t imagine any reason a person would have to fear entering a gallery that doesn’t originate from some fear of being judged. Consider the fear of being judged that the artist has to overcome when having a show! No significant accomplishments can be achieved in life without putting oneself in a position to be judged by others, so this is a good thing to practice doing at every opportunity.

Let’s say we’ve overcome our fear of entering. Should we first get an overall perspective from Hangar-7? Should we follow a system? If yes, which one? Or is it simply about walking up to the first picture that stands out the most and take it from there?

I’m sorry I won’t be there to hold your hand while you look at my art show. You can do this!

Let’s saunter over to your own pictures. Is there something you want to tell us before we take our first look at them?

I and my pictures are giving you the benefit of the doubt.

Please help us to find access to your pictures. Perhaps with a bit of background information about your work. Or maybe if you could give us a feeling for how to best receive the messages you want to relay.

The messages I want to relay are about the mysterious qualities of life … They are rhetorical questions. My paintings are about wondering, and not about knowing.

Please choose one of your exhibited works and give us a few details about how it was created.

My picture titled ‘self portrait with painting career’ was done after I was accepted to grad school at UCLA, a program that has a very good reputation and is very competitive to join. I was a senior in college at the California College of the Arts at the time, and as word spread that I’d be going to UCLA people started coming to me and congratulating me on my future success as a famous artist. It was a surreal time because of course not everyone who goes to UCLA becomes a rich and famous artist. The picture is of a mountain of paint beneath an ominous sky. At the very bottom of the composition there’s a very small self portrait beneath a mound of thick paint. It was my humorous way of representing the unsure feelings I was having about producing the results my friends and colleagues were congratulating me for.

During the creation of your art, how much do you think about the people who will look at them? How much does it serve as a mode of communication between you and those in Hangar-7, and what message should the observer receive?

I’m trying to make something for myself and for my audience to experience that doesn’t require education or any specific prior experience to enjoy. If a child is tickled by my painting, I like that.

And finally, please give us the opportunity to show off in front of art-lovers: Is there any specific meaningful detail in your work that’s only visible on a second viewing?

It would take the viewer’s life experience to recognize this. My paintings are narratives, but more importantly they are a catalyst for a narrative that is personal between the viewer and the image they see. I prefer to have very limited control over those personal narratives.