The Story of the Paint Chips

White Was a Real Experience THE STORY OF THE PAINT CHIPS

SARA VANDERBEEK Sarah was incredibly committed; she just couldn’t do anything that she wasn’t wholly committed to. She couldn’t do anything half-assed.

LOUISE LAWLER … there is something consistent with her intense and open involvement with the everyday, her attentive friendships, well-nurtured family, fabulous garden, and her well-considered work. Her engagement with all aspects of its production and reception was fierce. Pushing our sometimes-shared printer or mounter for more perfection, I was glad they also had to deal with Sarah.13

SARAH When I made the white-on-white prints, I had to hand-touch the prints. If there was a speck of dust, I had to go in and burn it out with retouch bleach and re-clean it and re-archive it. Things are always in process.

LAURIE SIMMONS She had about 20 different shades of white paint chips taped to the walls. It took her months to decide what color white to paint the wall. She made Monet look like a real hack, because she would wait to watch the sun go across the room. We finally just said, “Can you paint the damn walls already?” White was a real experience—it was really a color for her. I found her deliberations obsessive and told her to just get the job done, but afterward I relied on her for advice about all things white. Master printers at photo labs have told me that Sarah’s fixation on the “right white” was “memorable” and among the most challenging artist projects they had undertaken.

GINA NANNI She purchased this house with garish colors in every room—marigold in one room, turquoise in another—and wanted us to look at her paint colors.

GLENN O’BRIEN She called us. “Can you guys come over and look at some paint swatches?” We went over a bunch of times. We’d have dinner and drinks and stuff, and then we’d go on for a long while about the paint swatches. All the colors that she showed us were whitish gray. She would show us two chips and I’d be like, “Are those different?”

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Bowls and plates in Falls Village.

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