Virtual Memories Show 600:
Joe Coleman
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“I don’t step back that often when I’m in there, because I’m inside this tiny bit of the universe. For me, that’s what living things are: endless world within world within world within world.”
For my 600th episode, the great artist Joe Coleman joins the show to celebrate his phenomenal new career-spanning retrospective book, A DOORWAY TO JOE: The Art of Joe Coleman (Fantagraphics). We talk about art, mortality, mythography, history, the corruption of the flesh, the nature of evil, his Odditorium & the power of relics, Dr. Mombooze-o‘s send-off for his dead parents, playing Whac-A-Mole with T-cell lymphoma, getting arrested for being an Infernal Machine, taxi-driving in NYC’s Travis Bickle era, the inspiration of the Hubble telescope, the pagan Celtic roots in Irish Catholicism, what it’s like to work on one square-inch of a painting for 8 hours at a time, our respective appearances on the Uncle Floyd Show, playing in the Steel Tips with Patrick McDonnell & Karen O’Connell, and how he found his love and muse in Whitney Ward. (Also, this one’s got an interminable intro, so jump to the 15:45 mark to start the conversation.) Give it a listen! And go lose yourself in A DOORWAY TO JOE!
“Even when my paintings are based on a historical subject, I still approach it like a self-portrait.”
“An afterlife? You gotta concentrate on this life, that’s what I need to do. I’ll find out about the other stuff when I need to.”
“I work on wood, not canvas, because I want the surface as smooth as glass. Any texture would prevent the information I could uncover.”
“It’s the corruption of the flesh that makes us all one, and it is holy as well.”
Enjoy the conversation! Then check out the archives for more great episodes!
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About our Guest
Joe Coleman is a world-renowned painter, writer, and performer who has exhibited for five decades in major museums throughout the world including one-man exhibitions at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, the Kunst-Werke Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Barbican Centre in London, and Tilton Gallery and Dickinson Gallery in New York. His collectors have included Iggy Pop, Jim Jarmusch, Anthony Bourdain, Leonardo DiCaprio, and H.R. Giger. He was the subject of an award-winning feature length documentary, Rest in Pieces: A Portrait of Joe Coleman (1997) and lives with his wife Whitney Ward in upstate New York.
Follow Joe on Instagram.
Credits: This episode’s music is Fella by Hal Mayforth, used with permission from the artist. The conversation was recorded at Joe & Whitney’s home on a pair of Blue enCORE 200 microphones feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4 digital recorder & interface. I recorded the intro and outro on a Heil PR-40 Dynamic Studio Recording Microphone feeding into a Zoom PodTrak P4. All processing and editing done in Adobe Audition CC. Photos of me, Joe & Whitney by me. It’s on my instagram.
(Ilex/Harper). And for God’s sake, 
feeding into a 
digital recorder. I recorded the intro and outro on a 
feeding into a 
. Photos of Ms. Campbell by me.
– Michael Chabon – I’m planning to read this for a Secondhand Loves podcast with one of my old college pals. I detested it the first time I tried it, complaining, “If you write a novel about comic-book history, Jews in eastern Europe, escape artistry and the golem-myth and you lose me, you’ve seriously fucked up.” We’ll see if I’m still as uninto it. It cost me $2.62, plus shipping
– David Gilmour – It’s the biography of Giuseppe Di Lampedusa, who wrote 
, one of my favorite novels. Cost $6.75
– Harold Bloom – I’m sure I’ll spend a little time with it. $8.31
for $12.74. Amy lent hers out, and I’m hoping to interview the author soon for the podcast, so I picked that up. Still, $12.74 is kinda high for a used paperback. I balanced things out by finding a backup hardcover of 
for $2.
for $4, so I picked that up.
– Flannery O’Connor – I read it in the big ol’ Library of America collected works last year, but figured it wouldn’t hurt to have a portable copy. $7.95
– James Wood – I generally like his literary criticism and book reviews. $7.95
– Nick Flynn – My pal Elayne loved this one, and implored me to give it a shot. $7.50
– Zachary Mason – Praised in a 
– John Waters – I’ve always liked John Waters in theory much more than in practice, so I’m hoping the printed page works better for me than the movie/TV screen. $7.95