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Dec. 6th, 1968

Dear Irwin:
Here is the statement. This plus a paragraph more came in "Arts International" plus a reproduction of the poet Michael Benedikt, after my last show at the Graham. The Arts International is dated May 15th, 1968;

Statement

I try to paint the scene. A human comedy like Balzac - the past, present, and the future interlaced with the levels of society like Proust. It's terrible to think that life happens and just goes, disappears. I paint my time using the people as evidence. Like Gogol's Chickikov I am a collector of [[strikethrough]] soulds [[/strikethrough]] souls. For me people are the first premise and my work is a monument to them.

How can it be that everything is important and people are not. Also it is absurd to think that figure painting cannot be as good as any other kind of painting, and even include all the formal values. 

I believe in art as history. The swirl of the era is what you're in and what you paint. I love, pity, hate and fear all at once and try to keep a record.