Summary of Cecily Brown Interview: Take No Prisoners

00:00:00 - 00:15:00

In this interview, Cecily Brown discusses her early influences, her current work, and the importance of taking no prisoners when it comes to art. She describes how she balances figurative painting with abstraction, and how important it is for paintings to be in flux. She also discusses the use of crowds of women in her recent paintings, and how the faces of the women are painted differently and often comical.

• 00:00:00 Cecily Brown discusses her early experiences with art and how they influenced her current work. She describes how she balances figurative painting with abstraction, and how important it is for paintings to be in flux.
• 00:05:00 Cecily Brown discusses how Bacon's observation of the detail in Degas' "The Combing of Hair" inspired her to start painting crowds of people in more complex and abstract ways. She cites the young Spartans in particular as a source of inspiration, likening their expressions of both arrogance and nervousness to her own experiences as an adolescent.
• 00:10:00 Cecily Brown discusses the importance of chance in her artwork, emphasizing that it is important to contradict oneself in order to keep the artwork interesting. She discusses the use of crowds of women in her recent paintings as a breakthrough, and how the faces of the women are painted differently and often comical.
• 00:15:00 Cecily Brown discusses the importance of taking no prisoners when it comes to completing projects. She notes that sometimes it is easier to give up when things get tough, but that it is important to have a "take-no-prisoners" attitude in order to achieve success.