“If You Sit at the Table Long Enough, They Have to Bring You the Chips”: Meet the 86-Year-Old Artist Who Is Finally Getting His Due
Robert Earl Paige began as a textile designer… now, he’s finally getting his due with a new, must see Salon 94 Design solo show...
Many of you know that I’m passionate about fashion.
But did you know I’m equally passionate about art?
Didn’t think so.
I don’t get to see as many art exhibitions as I’d like to — life tends to get in the way — but I did see something recently that I simply can’t get out of my mind.
Nigerian-born, British fashion designer Duro Olowu curated an exhibition that opened on Thursday night in New York.
The Salon 94 Design show features the spellbinding work of Robert Earl Paige.
Robert E. Paige in his studio at Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, 2022. Photography courtesy of Tom Van Eynde.
He’s 86 years old and it’s his first solo show.
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
Paige began working as a textile designer in the 1960s and called himself a “ghost artist” because his work largely wasn’t credited.
That’s what happens when you design sheets, pillowcases, and ready-made drapes.
But Paige is so much more than a “textile designer” … he’s a fine artist with a point of view finally getting the recognition he deserves.
I sat down with Paige on the day after the show opened to hear about his life and his work.
A DOODLER, A DABBLER, A TINKERER
ALINA CHO: Tell me how you first got interested in art.
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: From a very young age, I've always collected things, put them in my drawer. My mom said, "You can't keep picking up stuff off the ground, Bobby, and putting them in this drawer."
ALINA CHO: Was that about always seeing the beauty in things?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I'm in pursuit of beauty. I'm interested in turning ugliness into beauty.
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
And so, I look for it. People say beauty is in the eyes of the beholder, but if you're not trying to see beauty, then you're going to miss it.
ALINA CHO: But how did you start?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: One of my first memories of art was in elementary school. I started drawing, but I kind-of [stopped] when I got into basketball. So, it was only later that I started doodling. I'm a doodler, a dabbler, and a tinkerer. If you're doodling, then you don't worry about a constructive effort because your subconscious is taking over and it's in charge of it. You can be doodling unconsciously, then you see something that you kind-of recognize as a shape, then that subconscious goes into consciousness.
ALINA CHO: You're a doodler, and that's where it all starts, always?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: Always.
ALINA CHO: Every piece, even the ceramics?
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: Like, the ceramics, was a doodle on a surface.
ALINA CHO: Got it.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: But it’s important to understand that you have to open your eyes. Listen to the hummingbirds, be conscious that the sunflower opens during the day and closes at night, and all those things are reminders because color is the skin of the world. And if you're not cognizant of that, you're missing a whole life of wonder.
POWER TO THE PEOPLE
ALINA CHO: Your show that just opened is called Power to the People, and it's really based on this iconic image that you created in the 1960s.
Installation view, Robert Earl Paige: Power to the People, Curated by Duro Olowu, 2022. Image courtesy of the artist and Salon 94 Design. Photo: Elisabeth Bernstein.
Tell me about it.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: It's an homage to people, to humanity, that we're all connected. The “R” word does not apply to me, because we're all connected.
ALINA CHO: You mean race?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: Yeah. They always say the big “R” word, which is “race”, but that doesn't apply to me. I don't see it that way. I've never run into a person of any race [who] did not help me or send me somewhere to get some help.
ALINA CHO: But what inspired you to create that image, because it is so emblematic of your work now?
Robert Earl Paige’s Power to the People iconography, Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I don't have a clue. It just rolled out of me.
Robert Earl Paige’s Power to the People iconography, Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ALINA CHO: Started as a doodle, probably.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: It started as a doodle, a circle. And I just started repeating the pattern.
ALINA CHO: So, that was when you were working only in textiles. How did that morph into the fine art that you're creating now?
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I have been thinking that I am a textile designer, but I finally said, "No, I'm an artist and my medium has been textiles.” That's why I’ve been gravitating toward ceramics. It has given me a whole new view of how I should approach the craft of fine art, so that's where I am now.
“PLEASED AS PUNCH”
ALINA CHO: Now, the world is starting to see you as a fine artist.
Image courtesy of the artist and Salon 94 Design
How does that feel?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I have this saying, "If you sit at the table long enough, they have to bring you the chips."
ALINA CHO: I always say, "Slow but steady wins the race."
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I say, “Slowly is the fastest way to get where you're going."
ALINA CHO: There you go.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: And I stick by that.
ALINA CHO: But really, how do you feel?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I’m pleased as punch. Tickled pink.
ALINA CHO: And why?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: Because I've found a home here. I found a collective of people that appreciate my work, see the value and the worthiness in what I've done over the years.
Photo courtesy: Alina Cho
ALINA CHO: It must be inspiring.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I just want to be able to continue this path and stick to my vision, no matter what. Get rid of the shame, get rid of the guilt, and get rid of the fear. And then, you can make it.
ALINA CHO: And to somebody who is an aspiring artist, who wants to do what you're doing, what would you say to them?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: I would tell them, like I tell most, "Creativity takes courage."
ALINA CHO: You're right, because, when you're putting a piece of art together, how do you know if it's right? You have to have courage.
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: You have to have courage, and don't worry. I never worry about what’s going to happen. I just keep following the work.
ALINA CHO: And it speaks to you?
ROBERT EARL PAIGE: It says, "If you're true to your work, your work will be true to you."