Tell us how you became an artist.

My earliest memories are of sitting with a stack of paper and drawing. They’d tell me I had such concentration, that it was funny to see a child working like that for hours. Later, I was exposed to graffiti through my friend's older brother. It went hand in hand with the skateboarding we were into at the time. The boldness and stylization of the forms made a lasting impact on me. Even after I stepped away from that scene in college, it still informed the aesthetic of my work to a significant degree. So, that's the result of being a primarily self-taught artist, or should I say “street-taught” artist. Someone recently said my style is “vicious.” I thought that was an interesting way of describing it.

"Vicious" is definitely an interesting way to describe your art, what do you think they meant by that?

I think what they meant is that I distort anatomy, bigger heads, bigger hands, and a lot of impossible anatomical poses. It's part of the visual language of graffiti to make things extremely distorted and stylized. It's what we would call bringing "flavor." Later, while studying artists from the Upper Río Grande from 150 to 200 years ago, I saw they had their own way of bringing the flavor. Today, I would describe it with terms like abstraction and deconstructing the forms. They worked quickly and stylized their subject matter at every opportunity, which reminded me of the graffiti artist's approach. And this is work being made 100 years before Picasso would be famous for abstraction and deconstructing images.
 

Can you elaborate on what you’ve learned while studying the history of Upper Río Grande art and santeros?

“Santero” is a term created by Americans in the early 1900s to describe the makers of saint imagery found in the Upper Río Grande. This art form had almost vanished by the late 1800s when Archbishop Lamy became Archbishop of Santa Fe. He didn’t really like the local style and wanted everything to look more European. Although this art form basically died, there was a revival in the early 1900s with an emphasis on understanding the techniques of these santeros, which has led to the creation of the Traditional Spanish Market held in Santa Fe each year, where you can see the legacy of these artists carried on by contemporary makers.
 

We’re hoping to tell some of that history through your paintings in De la Tierra; can you describe your inspiration for the paintings in the exhibition?

The piece featured here, entitled Penance, draws inspiration from Chimayó, a significant pilgrimage site in New Mexico. The background echoes the work of Molleno, who painted the central altar there. Throughout the painting I incorporated traditional motifs found in the work of the old santeros. Some might think the imagery is disturbing, but the bloodiness isn’t exaggerated from what you find in the classic imagery of santeros like José Rafael Aragón, even the blue-gray flesh of Christ is a citation from his work.

We’re honored to have you as part of De la Tierra. To finish, can you tell us why exhibitions like this one are important?

Exhibitions like this help create an awareness of the rich and unique visual language of the santeros. Unfortunately, these works are often hidden in museum vaults. I think when people see this type of work it can be an inspiring experience leading them to seek out more of it, and reconnect to their cultural roots. It’s also hugely important in giving the community a sense of pride that their heritage is being celebrated in a major institution such as the History Colorado Center.