Virtual Memories Show 606:
Dmitry Samarov
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“I start the book out with the statement that somebody else should be writing and publishing this thing, but nobody did, so I had to do it.”
Artist Dmitry Samarov returns to the show to bail me out after a stressful couple of weeks and to explore his fantastic new book, MAKING PICTURES IS HOW I TALK TO THE WORLD, a survey of his art from the ’80s to today. We talk about the process of selecting pieces for the book, what artistic legacy means to him, finding roots of his work in his childhood, and why the notion of ‘progression’ doesn’t apply to his work. We get into the transformative experience of working at Tangible Books and how it’s inspiring his new ‘zine project, why he’s culling a lot of his library and how he’s deciding which books to keep, how his bookshelf paintings started to open him to abstraction, and why literary folks like Magritte but painters don’t. We also discuss our monastic devotion to art and Antonio López García’s devotion to painting his quince tree, why artistic memoirs tend to be no good but why not-great artists can be good critics, what it means to see his own books in thrift stores, how moving some furniture can change one’s perspective, why he’s against starting art with An Idea, and a lot more. Give it a listen! And go get Making Pictures Is How I Talk To The World!
“There’s change, but progression implies you start at the bottom and head to the top. There may be that in my work, but it’s not my place to judge.”
“I’ve been trying to reconcile the visual art with the verbal art, but I’ve been drifting back to the visual.”
“My life is laser-focused on getting me to do this work. Everything else is noise and chores.”
“If you lead a life of endless repetition, what you start noticing is these subtle differences.”
Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!
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About our Guest
Dmitry Samarov is a painter and writer living in Chicago, IL.
Follow Dmitry through his newsletter and his podcasts, HU U NO and THAT HORRORCAST, and go listen to our previous conversations: 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, lockdown, 2021, and 2022.
Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded remotely via Zencastr. I used a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photo of Dmitry by someone else. It’s on my instagram.