Ep521: The Raymond Pettibon Interview

The Vinyl Guide Interview - For Record Collectors & Music Nerds

In an extraordinarily rare interview, artist Raymond Pettibon discusses his journey, from early punk rock works to present day artistic themes, technique and rhythms, the Getty archives and more.

Topics Include:

• Raymond Pettibon has been drawing constantly since childhood, "always with a pen in hand"
• Started with crayons, pastels, pencil - India ink came later as too messy
• Early influences included Albrecht Dürer, etchings, and comic book art equally
• Self-taught artist who learned through trial and error, never attended art school
• Studied economics in college, bringing analytical thinking to his art practice
• Approaches work as fine art, not commercial art, values creative freedom
• Rarely takes commissions - the more constraints, the less he likes it
• Band artwork usually selected from existing drawings rather than commissioned pieces
• Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" images came from his "Captive Chains" book
• Artwork inspired by "Blackboard Jungle" film - students destroying teacher's jazz records
• Has experience teaching, can identify with teacher-student conflicts from that period
• Left SST Records in 1985-86 due to oppressive environment
• Describes certain subjects he returns to repeatedly over the decades
• Works on multiple drawings simultaneously, some remaining unfinished for years
• Enters a meditative "fugue state" when drawing or writing
• Never experiences artist's block - blank paper doesn't intimidate him
• Believes he can write about any subject with natural fluency
• Doesn't plan series - they develop organically through returning to themes
• Sometimes works directly on gallery walls during exhibitions for coherence
• Used to work all day and night when deeply engaged
• Dislikes deadlines - they make work harder, not easier for him
• Sees deadlines as triggering psychological rebellion despite wanting to please collectors
• Hates when people suggest ideas - it "breaks the spell"
• Admits he's not the greatest draftsman but learned on the job
• Recently donated personal archive to Getty Research Institute for scholarly access
• Participated in Getty's research scholar program, one artist among academics
• Program reconnected him with economics after years away from the discipline
• Still has unfinished drawings in studio, some over 30 years old
• Currently creating less due to frustrations with art world dynamics
• Values complete artistic freedom - no curator has ever asked him to change

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Photo by John Newsom

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