“What you want is an experience of making something that you haven’t seen before.” —Philip Guston
Philip Guston was born on June 27, 1913, in Montreal, Canada, and died on June 7, 1980, in Woodstock, NY. Originally working in the style of abstract expressionism, he famously (or infamously, if you asked New York Times art critic Hilton Kramer, or Time’s Robert Hughes at the time) shifted to a more representational style after a move to the hippie-haven and artists community of Woodstock, NY in 1967. It was only later that the impact of his stylistic shift on late 20th–century art would be recognized and more fully understood.
Shortly after his death, arts documentarian Michael Blackwood released the outstanding biopic Philip Guston: A Life Lived (1981) – here is the recently re-released trailer including interview excerpts with Guston and a peek in the studio. You can rent the whole hour-long movie on Amazon or Kanopy.