Lucy Liu talks to Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis about acting and painting

Who is the most legendary artist?
It’s hard to say because it’s always a compilation of different artists that creates an inspiration. The most important thing is when art can inspire me to see things in a different way. A few of my favourite artists are Giacometti, Lucian Freud is amazing, Louise Bourgeois and Kiki Smith.

Are you more vulnerable as a painter or an actress?
I have to find that fragility in both.

What would you like to be remembered as, a great painter or a great actress?
In general, an artist because I would like to be able to continue flowing through any channelled expression and I don’t think you can label that. As long as I can consistently express myself, that is what will keep me alive and useful essentially.

Where do you draw inspiration from?
I draw upon all different kinds of inspiration. I try to take everything in, even architecture. When somebody is moving out of their apartment in New York City they pile things outside their house in the street and in huge great bins. Racks and shelves and all sorts of things, and the way they are thrown in almost looks choreographed.

Is passion an essential tool or something you need to transcend when painting?
I don’t think that you can ever transcend passion. I would say that passion is bulletproof but sometimes you also have to incur discipline.

Describe a perfect day.
A perfect day would be to start painting and then realise it’s four o’clock in the morning and you started painting at noon and you haven’t eaten all day because you’ve been so involved and time becomes so condensed – just like when you go to sleep at night and time condenses into a moment.

As an actress you often play very athletic and physically powerful woman. Does your painting involve a lot of physical labour?
For my last show I made many paintings that were two metres by three metres and putting something up that is that large keeps me flowing through the piece and pushes me to work in very broad strokes. The size is what keeps it interesting to me because when you work in different media, in art or in acting, you want to focus on the details and sometimes you want to eliminate the detail to make something that is much more haphazard and natural. You want it to come across as something that’s been thrown in and not “put together” and that’s what makes the performance charged and exciting, so that it seems so much part of that person. I want to find that in my art and be able to capture that and make it seem effortless.

Acting and painting are two very different art forms. How do they go together?
I think they go together very well. I couldn’t do one without the other. A lot of people ask me about my preference, and I don’t have one. I think they are both creative forms of expression and if you try to block one, it’s kind of like the Dead Sea – it’s dead because there is no channel for it to release itself. You can’t really separate one from the other. Whether you are a writer or an artist, it’s very common for people to do more than one thing. To me it makes sense; there is no disconnect.

-Interview with Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis

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