Rita Ackermann is a Hungarian-American artist currently based in New York City. Her depictions of New York’s downtown culture in the mid-1990s first brought attention to her work. Ackermann’s paintings, drawings, and collages combine Neo-Expressionist and figurative elements. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, Florida; Ludwig Museum, Budapest; Triennale di Milano; and Swiss Institute, New York.
Harmony Korine is a film director, screenwriter, and artist who rose to prominence after penning the film Kids (1995). In the years since, he has created critically acclaimed cult classics, including Gummo (1997), Mister Lonely (2007), and Spring Breakers (2012), as well as the lauded street-art documentary Beautiful Losers (2008). Korine’s creative practice extends to photography, drawing, and figurative and abstract painting.
Rita AckermannAre your bears modeled after the Michelin guy?
Harmony KorineNo, but I like the connection. They have a similar body type. Like a busted bag of donuts.
RAThey’ve got those tire-like muscles for arms.
HKYes. I’m a fan of competitive arm wrestling. My favorite arm wrestler of all time was Cleve Dean. I based the body and style of the teddy bear paintings on Cleve’s vibe. He was from Georgia and could palm a baby sheep in one hand. He was known as the “arm breaker,” but all who knew him loved him. He was a teddy bear.
RAI used to love the Michelin guy when I was a kid.
HKYeah. The Michelin guy was a eunuch and a gas-huffer.
RADid you like trucks, gas stations, and the smell of gas when you were a kid? I got high on the smell of fresh gas . . . and nauseated right away.
HKYes, in the ’80s at a monster truck camp I went to in Daytona, I huffed a bag full of white-out and gas and it made me pass out.
RAWhen is the best time for you to catch ideas?
HKMostly while fishing or on the gun range.
RADo you paint while fishing?
HKNo, I can’t do both at once. But last year I caught a small teddy bear while fishing next to Fisher Island. I hooked its leg real good. That’s how I got the idea to paint it. It was so cute and it kept floating. You can’t kill those little bastards. They are eternal.
Your teddy bear paintings go deep . . . They are Van Goghian, worshiping the light and the sun.
Rita Ackermann
Harmony Korine, Huffy Bear, 2021, acrylic, house paint, and oil stick on canvas, 37 × 32 inches (94 × 81.3 cm)
RAWhat is your favorite color?
HKI love yellow. And neon yellow is the best. Lights up the world.
RAMy favorite color is yellow too! Your teddy bear paintings go deep, deeper than any other paintings I see . . . They are Van Goghian, worshiping the light and the sun.
Do you find that buttons can be elemental in a painting?
these teddy bear paintings couldn’t exist without buttons. Buttons are the punctuation marks of clothing.
Harmony Korine
HKYeah, these teddy bear paintings couldn’t exist without buttons. Buttons are the punctuation marks of clothing. The term “cute as a button” was popularized by Shirley Temple. I once saw a picture of Shirley Temple drinking a Shirley Temple; it was amazing to witness.
RAThere is no good painting without buttons, I think . . .
HKAgreed.
RAAre your teddies radiating?
HKYes, I try to make them radiate. I wish there was a way to insert actual radiation into the paint.
RACan we consider the teddy bear paintings a new chapter after the president paintings?
HKYes, a new chapter in comedy art. I’ve actually been thinking about having teddy bears playing golf.
Harmony Korine, 37, 2019–21, oil on canvas, 73 × 61 inches (185.4 × 154.9 cm)
RAWhat are the connections between the presidents and the bears?
HK I wanted to paint presidents playing golf because I couldn’t believe how every president just keeps playing golf—no matter what happens in life, they play golf. It’s the most significant pastime for a president. I began to investigate why many golfers also begin sleeping with teddy bears later in life. I know a famous caddy from Delaware who claims that all the local golf pros sleep with teddy bears. There is a crossover at work, something most people are unaware of.
RAAre these teddies friendly golems to protect us from propaganda?
HKI think they’re mostly happy. They have never read a newspaper. They reject the metaverse. They don’t use human growth hormones. They seem religious. Mostly sweet.
RADamn, our conversation makes me love these teddies even more!
No wonder we get along so well with paintings . . . Send me back quick those paintings we are working on together and don’t forget to put some teddies in there with hook arms.
Artwork © Harmony Korine
