Speaking on the idea of the image in isolation in 1960 Philip Guston makes clear his thoughts on the disingenuousness of abstract art. He says that abstraction is a fallacy and one that distracts us from the questions that art should ask. He also says that we should be image makers and it is only by doing so that we will discover the truth about painting. This is only possible through the depiction of forms and images and it is by their application that we will experience genuine feelings of freedom and sublimity:
‘There is something ridiculous and miserly in the myth that we inherit from abstract art: That painting is autonomous, pure and for itself, and therefore we habitually analyze its ingredients and define its limits. But painting is “impure.” It is the adjustment of impurities which forces painting’s continuity. We are image makers and image-ridden. There are no “wiggly lines or straight lines” or any other elements. You work until they vanish. The picture isn’t finished if they are seen.