Tracey Emin interview:
Art, artist and media coverage (2002)
A Q&A with the "bad girl" of British art.
Tracey Emin : art, artist and media coverage 3/6
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Tracey Emin. There’s alot of money in chairs, (1994). Appliqued armchair, 69 x 53.5 x 49.5 cm.
R.J. Preece: Do you think fame helps or hurts your work?
Tracey Emin: On a personal level, the distracting thing is that I’m really busy. I’m busy doing other things when I should be doing my art. Where it maybe hurts is if a museum has the choice of buying a piece of work that is really boring and really liberal by a very profoundly serious artist “with integrity,” who’d never write a column for a men’s magazine for example or buying mine, the museum will go for them every fucking day. Because if a museum buys my work, they have to justify what they’re doing. The art world establishment doesn’t take me very seriously.
R.J. Preece: So, are you an “outsider” in the art world?
Tracey Emin: No, I’m not. If you’re talking politically, socially, I couldn’t be more central. Gary Hume is my studio partner. My boyfriend is Mat Collishaw. My best friends are Abigail Lane, Gillian Wearing, and Sarah Lucas. My gallerist Jay Jopling and his wife, Sam Taylor-Wood, are my friends. There aren’t many big art events that I don’t get invitations to.
R.J. Preece: Are there certain things with your fame that you didn’t expect?
Tracey Emin: I don’t think I’m famous. I think I’m notorious, I’m known for being that artist. If I’m on the street, they’ll go “Look, it’s Tracey Emin, that artist.” It’s not like I’m Britney f***in’ Spears. I don’t have a limousine driver waiting outside for me. I don’t have a bodyguard, and I don’t have staff [mimicking an upper class accent]. I don’t have four houses, and I’m not a serial killer.
The reason why I’m popular as an artist in this country is because it suits the psyche of the nation at this time. Ten years ago, my work wouldn’t have had any currency, any popularity at all. Before in this country, you had to be accepted. You had to be part of the group. Now it’s probably more trendy to have a problem.
R.J. Preece: I pulled some quotes out of your press clippings. I can show them to you if you’d like.
Tracey Emin: You could cheat and make some up to see if I remember them.
R.J. Preece: (Laughs.) Miranda Sawyer quotes you and writes: “I know people went to laugh at my bed and to jeer at it. Still,” sniffs Tracey, “at least they actually went to see it.”
Tracey Emin interview : Art, artist and media coverage - 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 - the unmade bed | 5 | 6 - the tent
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