ARTHUR: When I began painting the objects in bright colors, it brought them to life. When you’re working with certain
kinds of textures and decay, color brings out all of those details. At that time color was not so easy to work with. Color
films were very slow, so I had to use a tripod, and often the exposures were two to three minutes.
ANDREA: I came across these images at AIPAD, and when I looked at them I thought they were very enigmatic, yet
you think they’re very straightforward?
ARTHUR: The photographic technique is very straightforward. There’s no manipulation afterwards in the darkroom
or anything else. One of my great lifetime inspirations is the early paintings of de Chirico, the surrealist painter. His
paintings are full of a mysterious violence, and a certain level of anxiety. I think the mood of this hospital series is very
mysterious in the sense that these are like objects from another civilization.
Arthur Tress, Throne of Bacchus, 1986.
27