George Segal Interview

In collaboration with fellow camera operator Alan Gerberg, Freed visits George Segal at his North Brunswick, N.J studio in October 1972. While preparing a model Segal discusses Hebrew mystic spirituality in relation to abstract painting and defends his position as a long term figurative artist. He suggests that his work is an ongoing search for spirituality and while describing his influences, Segal muses on the use of form in art to propose that a deep, intimate feeling should preside over aesthetic judgements in the creation of art works. Freed captures Segal covering his seated subject in plaster bandages as a cast is built up during the course of the interview. Freed questions his transition from painting to sculptural work and in response, the artist reveals his perspective on and relation to the pop art movement of the time as well as the work of Edward Hopper. Upon Freed’s prompting, Segal contemplates the orchestration of his figures in an exhibition space, emphasizing his consideration of shapes in relation to an audience’s experience of the work. Finally the artist removes his cast from the model in an intricate and lengthy process while reflecting on the success of this particular stage of the work. Segal moves on to discuss his light-based work, suggesting how this engages with perspective to give the illusion of a deep space consolidated into a flat representation. Freed’s interview and evidence of the artistic process here reveal ongoing investigations into form, spirituality, and spatiality across Segal’s diverse body of work.