We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Keith Long. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Keith below.

Keith, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I started taking art classes at the Junior School of the Art Institute in Chicago when I was seven years old. I remember, somewhat later, when a friend of my parents asked me what school I was going to go to, and when I replied that I was planning on going to the Art Institute, he looked puzzled, then said, “That’s a college, isn’t it? No, I meant what high school district are you in?” I was embarrassed because I didn’t know.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

When I was young I was already a good painter, began getting into exhibitions and competitions, and had my first professional show when I was 20. I had gone through school at a time when Abstract Expressionism was in the air, but soon after was very influenced by the Minimalist philosophy, and my work began to become simpler and simpler. No longer satisfied with the “window” implication involved when a rectangular canvas is used for the artwork, the pieces became three-dimensional objects, first graduating into groups of simple forms that took up large spaces, then into optical wall pieces that reflected the environment back to the viewer, filled with spectral arrays.

This work was beautiful, and attracted some notice, but it began to feel cold and devoid of emotion to me. I went through a long period of reexamining my motives for making art, what I expected my artwork to contain, and what I would like my viewers to experience from the work.

What finally emerged was a direction based in the natural world, objects that are textured and shaped by natural forces as well as by myself. Emotional content and the past history of the object itself are factors, as well as a sense of continuity in the materials themselves – a kind of second life or regeneration of objects that no longer function in their original usage. Who hasn’t walked on a beach or path, picked up a small natural object, and wondered about its life – the wound which caused it to reform and regroup, the lean and fat years of its existence, the innate biological logic that dictated its form? It is precisely that sympathy, that empathy both physically and emotionally on the part of the viewer which I attempt to reach with my work. Just as music strikes sympathic chords and vibrations within the human body, I work towards achieving visual, tactile, and emotional liasons with my viewers on a very basic level.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I have always felt extremely lucky to have been able to pursue my ambition to make art throughout my life – but, to be honest here, I’ve had a second career as a college professor which I’ve counted on to pay the bills. Not asking my artwork to correspond in any way to the demands, wishes, or fads of the moment means that I can make what I want and feel at will, and at my own pace. This is satisfying stuff with my hand, mind, and eye being the sole criteria and determiner of the result. If someone else likes my work, so much the better, but that is not really necessary for me to feel fulfilled.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

It was not untiI was 35 that I came to the direction and philosophy which has sustained me to the present. Before that time, I was drawn in one direction or another by the influence of my teachers, the art movements of the moment, and popular current intellectual directions and movements. Stepping away from the desire to be a cutting edge artist was a tremendous relief for me, but also a tremendous burden – it is I who am completely responsible for the content , the look, and the feel of my artwork. This stuff represents me – it cannot hide behind the skirts of the current milieu or of history.

Contact Info:

• Website: keithlong.com