Artist Conversation: Stephen Kaltenbach with Francesca Wilmott

 

In the room where college lectures about art happen, one renowned of the artists that we learn about and see on the screen was inside himself. In this talk, he engaged with students and gave an insight into his story, mindset and genesis of his most famous work.

Stephen Kaltenbach is a legendary artist representing the Northern California region. He is recognized as a conceptual artist who has dabbled in conceptual art, through paintings, sculpture, text, graffiti, advertisements, performance, and even teaching. A professor for over 30 years, he had a unique approach to teaching, which he viewed in itself as an "ongoing art experiment."

Throughout Kaltenbach's career, his art focused on many themes: authorship, concealment, fate, death, and the question of what art itself can be. His work has been featured in countless exhibitions throughout the United States and Europe. An exceptional artist in his time, what can we learn from Kaltenbach today?

Wilmott: Your career has very distinct phases, where you focused on different, evolving themes throughout the years. Do you think about your career in this episodic way and how does teach art philosophy play into that?

Kaltenbach: Phases of art all attempt to contain aspects. The earliest art was 4 things: cave paintings, just messages intended for survival, which provided the foundation for art today. In my experience of art, I am not exactly the boss. In doing the portrait of my father, I had an original intention that changed when I received a photo of my sister of my father unshaved. I let my life circumstances dictate what I will do.

Wilmott: How is teaching a conceptual art involvement? 

Kaltenbach: Making art is communication. A classroom is in it of itself a great audience! I shared my artistic experiences with them, wanting my students to see the problems and possibilities I encoutnter. Since I can’t show them how to do it, I can show them how I’m doing it.

Wilmott: Comparing the Portrait of my Father to The Window, in which the subject matter is clear in one and the subject is gone in the other one, how do both pieces relate to each other? Are they like both sides on the same coin?

Kaltenbach: In it’s effectiveness. Though both of these works look different, they perform the same thing. In both of my works, students were involved in the process, spectating and assisting in the artwork in my barn 40 miles away from Sacramento.

Wilmott: What was it like working in a studio at a barn, somewhere that literally has no address? K: I liked it a lot. I had an amazing amount of visitors out there. I also didn’t have a bathroom, because I had privacy in my 640 acres. It was a lifestyle for me that was very useful because Portrait of my Father did take a long time. There were times where I really didn’t know what to do next, so I would span months sitting in the back of my studio just to stare at it. These processes become very challenging, but I love the challenge and trust it. I literally couldn’t see me reaching the end. I had no time schedule, no restraints—I had all the time in the world.

Wilmott: This idea of time, relating to your time capsule works, what is your concept of time? Kronos is linear time, and Kairos is the spiritual time. Both of these works underwent a spiritual transformation as well. How did your spirituality reflect in your work?

Kaltenbach: I am Christian. When starting Portrait of my Father I was buddhist. I never really had an interest for religion, but one time I had an experience. It seemed to be impossible. My family tends to have supernatural experience, seeing/hearing visions. These were very deep-seated emotional things that I got to witness and experience myself, and I am grateful for that ability. I went to my brother’s house once, where I had a personal encounter with God. I was staring at a wall for hours at 3AM and began to see it cave in, where I saw hyperrealistic vision and heard my father’s voice speaking to me. After that, I thought about it and it became obvious to me that my father wanted me to change my way of living. This reflected in how I changed my studio—I got rid all of my previous collections and completely moved to the barn. I realized what was good enough for me and immediately I began painting the portrait of my father.

Stephen Kaltenbach, Portrait of my Father, 1972-79

Portrait of my Father at the Crocker, Sacramento

This conversation not only illuminated Kaltenbach's artistic journey but also showcased the profound connection between life experiences and creative expression. Through his transformation from Buddhism to Christianity and his innovative teaching methods, Kaltenbach demonstrated that art transcends mere creation, influencing and reflecting personal growth and philosophical shifts. His distinct artistic phases, especially evident in works like "Portrait of my Father" and "The Window," reveal a deep exploration of presence, absence, and time, engaging students and audiences alike in a rich dialogue about the nature and possibilities of art.