Julian Opie - ACE142.3

Opie says that one sculpture evolved from the idea of signing a work on the front but brought in more and more ideas. Opie beside another work. Opie says he’s always drawn things so perhaps his success is not quite over night. He’s sure he’ll do different work in the future so is pleased that these pieces are being shown now. He says that his pre-art school work is recognisably his, though then he "didn’t know what he was doing". He believes that art schools often teach people to work in ways that "other people think is art" and that "it took a couple of years to shake that off". He found his teacher, Craig Martin, very helpful, explaining that he sometimes needed encouragement to go with a particular idea that seemed "very small". Opie says he thinks he has been influenced by Roy Lichtenstein’ sculptures, the painting style of Frans Hals, Hergé (Georges Rémi) – he says that the idea of this book piece comes from of The Seven Crystal Balls – Bill Woodrow, and others, but feels that he has to "carry on with [his] own position". Details of sculpture.