Karl Wirsum is an art star. The low-key member of the Hairy Who—the 1960s art group nestled inside the Chicago Imagists movement—would probably balk at this characterization, and the art market may not have rewarded him as such, but he is one of our homegrown treasures.
Wirsum spoke over the phone recently about his encounters with Howlin’ Wolf in Chicago, Maxwell Street memories, and what inspires his art today.
The blues seems to be important to you.
Not too much. I really have minimalized. If I go [shopping], it’s once a year to the flea market near downtown on Randolph Street, and I go there with my daughter. We visit a few [dealers] who have things that are done in Mexico. There is a group of family members who paint on metal, mass figures that appear in wrestling, things of that nature.
When do you know when you are ready to paint?
Search and see what is important to you, and go with that. Don’t be persuaded by the thing of the day, so to speak. Be more directed to yourself and your own inclination to produce an image, whether it be abstract or referential. I try to do that every day. v
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