A reader asks why Matt does not title his paintings, but gives them alphanumeric codes. “What’s the gimmick?” the reader asks.
Matt responds:
Well, the gimmick is: The paintings are all lined up, about to jump into the sea, and if they wind up floating back to us, we can find out which one is which!
The reality is, it’s a code that tells me where the painting was finished, was it the first or the 80th that I did that year, and then what year was it done...
I don’t name them because I think it’s presumptuous to name it any given thing. When I look at it years later, its meaning has changed. I invite the people and museums that own the paintings, to name them. I think my job is to make the painting. What I make them for is discussion, argument, examination of ourselves, and how we relate to what’s going on around us. The paintings are a universal language. One culture might see one thing and another will see another thing.
Some people might think, “The creator of the painting should dictatie what it’s called!”
But this creator is a little goofy. I think people should have their own idea about what a painting is, what peace is, and hope and understanding and love—and then we should discuss it. If people have different ideas and cultures, then we get into education and acceptance and civilation, where we don’t have to kill each other just because we’re thinking different things—and eventually, if enough people start thinking this way, then maybe peace will break out.
Does it all start out with me not naming my paintings? It’s one little scratch on the elephant’s butt. My umbrella is sitting on top of his trunk, and off we go to change the world!
Matt