Chuck Close: Contemporary Art Rock Star

A Wheelchair Hasn't Slowed The Famed Portrait Painter

(CBS) 
Today you can find Chuck Close painting in his Bridgehampton, Long Island studio or at a second studio in New York City. His ability to walk has all but vanished. A brace supports his arm. His brushes are held by a strap on his hand. And he now paints with his entire arm, not just his wrist and fingers. There are also other adjustments. He has a device that moves the easel up and down so he is always at the right height.

Despite all the changes, Close said his work hasn't suffered, but it has changed.

"What's changed is perhaps a slightly brighter palate," he said. "A more celebratory nature to the work. Because I was just so happy to be able to get back to work, and to find a way to work again. The other thing is that there are so many other things that I used to love to do, that I put a lot of time and energy in doing. I used to mow the lawn, I cut the brush, and dug holes and chopped down trees and walked on the beach and roughhoused with my kids — all of this stuff that I can't do any more. Thankfully, if I'm only gonna be able to still do something that I used to do, I'm pretty lucky that it turned out to be painting."

His family is the center of his life — and he likes to paint them: His wife Leslie, his daughters Georgia and Maggie. He also paints his friends, including many other artists. Close says his paintings have evolved, moving away from super realism to focus more on abstract elements in the face. Close said almost always, people are not happy with how their portraits turned out.

"Almost everybody hates the way they look," he said. "Some people immediately change the way they look: Grow a beard if they didn't have one. Or shave it off if they did. But I would say. 'Just wait another 10 or 15 years and you won't mind. You won't hate it so much.'"

Which may be why Close remains his own favorite subject.

"I never thought of them as a body of work until recently there was a retrospective of all my self portraits. And then I though, 'Oh my God! How narcissistic! How incredibly-self involved!! And egotistical!! And even I'm tired of me.' I don't want to see another image of myself."

In recent years, close has begun to focus on photography. He uses the earliest form of capturing an image: daguerreotypes.

"In my opinion photography never got better that at the very beginning," Close said.

And the bigger the better. Last fall, corporate giant United Technologies displayed an assortment of Close's images in a New York park.

Close's works sells for hundreds of thousands of dollars and are shown all over the world. Twenty years after he almost died, he says he's one of the happiest artists you'll ever meet.

"There is no artist alive, working today, who gets more pleasure day in and day out, year in and year out, than I do. Period. None," Close said. "I know there is no man or woman who gets more pleasure than I do."

[bmsbms29]

It's interesting to see his art. He appears to be drawing / painting the same type as Seurat.
(you learn more than you think in Art Appreciation!)

Arkansas

[hcchilitoo]

I enjoy watching Sunday Morning and try to every week. Was very interested in story about Chuck Close for two reasons. My father was an artist and loved to paint until he had a spinal stroke. I noticed that Mr Close also had such a stroke. Many people have not heard of this malady. I was wondering if anyone has any more info about these strokes . If only my father had seen this man's work before he died then he may have been inspired to paint again.

[djmc13]

I love photoghraphy. I was in awe of this artist ability to transform a photo into such facinating paintings.I never heard of this artist but his work is beautiful.You can see the love in his potraits of his family.I hope i can see it on display somewhere soon.

[juliebuck-2009]

Sigh.

I am thoroughly disgusted with your use of the phrase "confined to a wheelchair" in your story about Chuck Close. Not only did you use it in the televised version, you continue using it in your web story!

Why didn't you do your homework to learn that the disability community really despises that phrase? Why "confined?" Is he handcuffed to the chair? Duct-taped?? Stapled??

No, he simply uses the wheelchair to aid mobility. Besides, you show him walking on his own -- slow and probably for short distances, but ambulatory.

In his introductions, Charles Osgood also used the word "courage." Again, another over-used word as far as disability goes. You missed "inspirational." Using two out of three of the most despised words in the disability community -- sad.

This has really affected my opinion of your program. "Sunday Morning" is supposed to be an enlightened program -- you blew it with this story.

Watching this story....disability is a pretty minor aspect, isn't it? Successful artist before -- successful artist after. Same technique -- just a few adjustments. Really, you missed the point of Mr. Close's story: his disability HASN'T turned his life upside down.

Again, your show is supposed to be more enlightened than this.

Respectfully,
Julianne Buck
Illinois