| Heartsurge: |
Hi man! Congratulations on being the featured artist for Exhibit E: Inertia! Now, to kick off this interview, can you tell me a bit about Juan Carlos? Where did you hail from? What upbringing did you have? What cartoons did you watch? |
| Juan Carlos |
Hi! Thank you very much for choosing me. I was born in Mexico City in 1994, where I lived until the age of three. Then I moved to the city of Guadalajara, where I lived in the outskirts of the city. It was a beautiful place; my house was surrounded by nature and as a child I had a lot of freedom. I entered Kindergarten in a German school, so I started learning German since I was small. Already at that age, I loved painting, and I remember my teacher, an old lady, praising the things I drew in class. I think my parents had a great deal of influence in that aspect: my mother used to talk to me about great painters and my father, who is an artist in many ways, painted with me and taught me his techniques painting with oils and watercolors. In 2003, when I was nine, I moved back to Mexico City, and at first the contrast with my old life was quite difficult to handle for many reasons, one of them being the fact that Mexico City is the epitome of a huge, chaotic city. Here I entered a Swiss school, where I continued my education and I also learned English and French. I'm currently studying my last year of high school there. Oh, and I used to watch the Looney Tunes and Spongebob. They're awesome. |
| Heartsurge |
Indeed they are awesome and it's quite cool to hear that you've had an upbringing in art. You should consider yourself blessed on that one! Now; the theme for this exhibition was Inertia. How did you interpret the theme and what were the things flying through your mind when you first learned of the theme? |
| Juan Carlos |
At first I was a little unsure about the theme: I thought it would be difficult to achieve a sense of inertia in a static image, but then I realized that it has a wide range of possibilities and I thought: "ok, what is a subject matter than involves inertia or motion?" And a ballerina came to my mind. That is how the piece Fly with me started; the woman in the painting has the pose of a ballerina because I believe it captures a sense of motion. However, I still felt that the theme needed to be pushed even more, so I used ribbons and sea waves in the background to give the composition more dynamism. It was a challenging piece because I don't often paint anatomy or waves, but I learned a lot. Stilll, the theme Inertia is not only present in the elements I mentioned, but also in the concept of the piece: I wanted to depict a sense of letting go, to symbolically 'move' into a state of freedom. My other piece, Cataclysm, was much more experimental. It began as an alien wasteland and at some point I thought of including meteors, which became the most important thing of the piece. |
| Heartsurge |
Both pieces are really incredible, if I may say. A ballerine really represents fluid motion and subtlety and you pulled it off so well despite the initial vagueness of the theme in your head. What research did you do in the theme, if any? Were there any definitions of said theme that were used in the process of building Fly With Me or Cataclysm? |
| Juan Carlos |
Thanks! Well, when I first heard of the theme, I did consider the explanation of the concept that I knew from Physics class at school, but to be honest the exact, scientific definition -the property of matter by which it remains in its state of rest or motion unless it is affected by an external force- didn't give me many ideas, at least not right away. I would say that this definition had more influence in Cataclysm than in my other piece, though, since meteors can be easily related to it. However, I found more inspiration when I approached the theme from a simpler point of view, and here the word 'motion' was the key: anything involving some kind of motion can in some way or another be related to Inertia, and for some reason this thought gave me much more to play around with.
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| Heartsurge |
That's a great stepping off point, simplifying things when they look too complicated seems logical but it actually takes a lot thinking. Now, aside from your own pieces; what is your favorite piece in the exhibition?
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| Juan Carlos |
That's a tough question, I think many of us did a great job but there are a few pieces that really caught my attention. In my opinion Human Inertia, by Martin Grohs, is outstanding. The seamless blending between elements and the choice of colors give this piece a very special, surreal atmosphere. I also find Inception by Benny Brand really eye-catching. The title is very well suited -I loved that movie- and the fact that it is an analogue photograph only makes it better; it is an original shot and I think it can be interpreted in different ways. But if I had to choose an absolute favorite from the release I think it would be Home by Policarp Quarme. I just adore the sense of high velocity that the piece conveys and the use of water to create shapes is fantastic.
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| Heartsurge |
Indeed, Home does convey the concept of inertia to the extremes. Three splendid choices I'd say. This is the second exhibition that you are involved in. Did you feel it was easier to anticipate what everyone would like more and less? Did it stop you from incorporating some elements or did you think of any new elements to incorporate based on opinions?
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| Juan Carlos |
I try not to focus on what the rest of the group or the viewers in general will like from the moment I start a piece; I just focus on what seems aesthetic to me and try to work with it. However, I think critique inside the group is an incredibly valuable thing and indeed it influenced some of my choices. Although I got opinions and suggestions from the group's members for both pieces, they were more relevant for the piece Fly with me because I showed it to the other Heartsurge members already at an early WIP stage. That allowed them to participate more in the process and influence it with new ideas; for example, I remember that they pointed that there were some anatomy problems in the aforementioned piece that I had not noticed myself. I believe it is important to show your work to others before calling it finished; in many cases, an artist stares so long at his or her own piece during the process of creating it that the errors no longer stand out. A fresh and objective perspective from different viewers can help tons, and this undoubtedly helped me improve both of my pieces in the exhibition.
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| Heartsurge |
Exactly what I thought. The critique offered by so many different views and interpretations of a piece can improve it so much! Thank you so much for this insightful story of your life, your way of working and some deep, philosophical ranting! Do you have any last words to say to the community? |
| Juan Carlos |
I would just like to add that I really appreciate the support and it's been a pleasure to be part of this family. I hope everyone enjoys the release!
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| Heartsurge |
We are happy to have you mate! Thanks again!
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