Biomythography
Investigating biomythography as an interdisciplinary visual arts practice.
STATEMENT
Empowerment can come in many forms and from unlikely sources. Being the eldest of four, the son of immigrant parents, raised in a lower-working class household, and struggling to articulate my ideas through language, has only empowered me. As the first in my family to attend college, I dealt with what it meant to be an “example,” leading me to always desire more. Utilized as a powerful form of communication, art has always been a means of expressing my need to delve further into conceptual realms. This discovery process has allowed for true self-expression as these types of conversations could not be expressed to my elders. Santa Ana, California has created my diverse identity and opened up a space to discover the beauty and poignancy of my harsh realities. Santa Ana has been my inspiration. I create work that has social relevance and continues the dialogue regarding how we coexist. Concurrently I also deal with the challenges to create work that is current and relevant. This can be seen in much of my work, such as Half-Ass Donkey, a part of Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art Collection.
Now, as a father of four hungry-for-life daughters, and as a professional in a non-profit, I find myself at a crossroad because of my financial obligations as a father and husband. Economically, my family has never been in want for anything but I believe art can be an opportunity to create without the monetary sacrifices associated with exercising one’s right for expression.
Society, academia, and institutions have steered me to create a type of art that has felt inorganic or conforming, often asking me to drop the paintbrush and create sculpture, installations or performance-based works. While I have ventured in a variety of artistic mediums, painting has always given me an outlet that I have felt most sincere and true to who I am as an artist. My current project, while it would mean much for the exploration of ideas, represents my journey as an artist, continuing to grow, explore, and share my knowledge.