Artist Michael Craig-Martin’s cultural influences may surprise you…
One of the most influential artists of his generation, Michael Craig-Martin was born in Ireland in 1941. After studying at Yale School of Art, he moved to London in the 1960s and became known for using bold colours and clean lines to transform familiar objects in paintings that fused pop art and minimalism.
As a teacher at Goldsmith’s College London, he has inspired numerous artists, including Sarah Lucas, Damien Hirst and Gary Hume. He curated the 2015 Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts and has published articles, essays and the book On Being An Artist. In 2016, he was knighted for his services to art. From now until December 10, the RA will host the largest retrospective of his work ever to be held in the UK. royalacademy.org.uk
The first record I loved was Earth Angel by The Penguins. I was about 14. It became an anthem among my circle of friends and was played at the end of every party – a last chance for snogging.
My all-time favourite piece of music is Bach’s Goldberg Variations played by Glenn Gould. No one has ever done it as stunningly as him. It sounds new every time I hear it.
The book that influenced how I thought about art, my work and life was Silence by John Cage. I was particularly affected by the way he structured his lectures as if they were musical scores. For years, I read the Lecture on Nothing aloud to my students.
My favourite film is Citizen Kane. Aged just 25, Orson Welles directed, co-wrote, starred in and produced this complex and great film, his first. He used every device he could think of with the bravado of the over-ambitious young, too inexperienced to have any sense of their own limitations.
The greatest television series of all time is The Larry Sanders Show. This brilliantly written 80s show used real actors playing versions of themselves in the making of a TV chat show to reveal the backstabbing behind the scenes in hilarious contrast to the pretence of camaraderie on camera. The first and best example of television eating itself.
The painting I’ve always been fascinated by is Georges Seurat’s Bathers at Asnières. Often, the things one loved as a child seem ridiculous or embarrassing when one grows up, but not this. I never go to the National Gallery without stopping by to look at it.
My favourite restaurant is Arlington (née Le Caprice). In the 80s it was the first truly modern, New York style restaurant in London – combining sophistication with informality – thanks to Chris Corbin and Jeremy King. Now it has happily been reborn as the Arlington, uncannily like Le Caprice nearly 40 years ago. Truly a legend.
I love everything about the River Cafe, especially Sunday lunch on the sunny terrace with Ruthie [Rogers] going from table to table. I have had several of the greatest meals ever there.
The place I love more than anywhere else is my apartment in Venice. It is the piano nobile in a 15th-century palazzo. I’ll never get over the simple but special pleasure of going home by boat after an evening out.
My favourite building is Kunsthaus Bregenz, a gallery by the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. He’s a perfectionist, and the building is perfect in every detail.
This year, I’m looking forward to the retrospective exhibition of my art at the Royal Academy. I am exceptionally fortunate to have the opportunity to bring my life’s work to such a large audience.
