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Renowned Artist Schnabel Reflects on Mortality and Creative Legacy
30 Oct
Summary
- Filmmaker Julian Schnabel discusses themes of art and the creative process
- Argues artists create to confront fear of death, with their work as a way to "transgress death"
- Acknowledges his own mortality, saying "I'm not going to be around here for very long"
On October 28, 2025, renowned artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel participated in a post-screening Q&A, where he discussed themes of art and the creative process. Schnabel, known for his distinctive artist smock and fedora, argued that artists create as a way to confront their fear of death.
"Whether you're an actor or you're a painter, you're using yourself as a guinea pig and the tool, and you make this thing and the thing becomes the thing that lasts. It's a way of transgressing death," Schnabel insisted. He then added, "I'm not going to be around here for very long. I might be here for a few more years." Even if he lived to be 100 years old, Schnabel emphasized that "the thing is the work, becoming the poem is the thing."
During the Q&A, Schnabel also discussed the influence of his wife, Louise Kugelberg, on his latest film, "In the Hand of Dante," which is adapted from Nick Tosches' 2002 novel of the same name. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, stars Oscar Isaac as both the medieval poet Dante Alighieri and a modern-day author drawn into a dangerous quest.
