Latino Hispanic Culture, Art and Film at Bullfighter’s Cafe

Maria Diaz is an artist exploring, expressing and defining her voice through different mediums, which is not a difficult task for Maria. Having exhibited her work as far as Europe to Mexico to Cost Rica and New York, Maria finds a medium that provokes people into action and to reach real people she takes unique approaches. Now residing in LA, Maria tells us how her multi-cultured perspective has shaped her art.
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I was born in the beautiful country of Guatemala ~ I grew up there and graduated from college in 1994 until 2001 when I moved to USA. Guatemala is my birth country and I loved growing up there. Our people are passionate, loving and there is strong attention on the family. The culture is friendly. . we love music and good food, laughing and dancing.  It is a bit sad and it has become a little dangerous place to live because of the current government administration.

I grew up on what you would call a “farm”.  My dad built our house and it was a 2 acre piece of land. When I say. . .  built. . . I mean he really built it!  He designed and actually helped with the construction of it. My dad has always been a creative man. I have a good family and they are very much into the culture of our people. My dad came from a family of artists; two of his brothers are artists; one is a well known painter (Luis Diaz) and the other is an actor.

I can say that my dad is a frustrated artist just because he never could admit to being one of us. My family always supported my artistic ability. I remember when  I was 8 years old and my mother signed me up in the art school. I won my first award and it was amazing! Ever since then I have always being involved in the arts.

I was a creative kid and my parents let me experiment. They let me paint the walls in my room and it actually turned out to be a painted  mural.  I remember thinking that is was cool to be 13 years old and they let me paint my walls. It was cool to let your kid do what they want because that increased my passion to do more creative art.  Since I was 14, I actually worked with my dad in his business and he hired me to do simple signs and decorate for the Christmas season. I was doing graphic design without even knowing much of what it was.

I came to LA for the first time, after I graduated from high school in 1990, to visit my sister for 1 year as a sort of vacation and also to think about what I wanted to study in college. Visiting the USA at a young age was a good experience and honestly, there were many things that I did not like.

I thought that it was the coldest place on earth. I though that the people where very selfish and I didn’t understand the culture. After a year, I went back to Guatemala to study Graphic Design.

In 2001, 10 years later, and with almost 10 years of experience in the Graphic Design and art, I returned and I decided to stay. I suppose, looking back now, my country didn’t have enough to offer me or I was just looking for a big adventure.

I think that I have always been an artist and I realized it when I was studying and working as a graphic designer. My first job was as a paste up artist in one of the best graphic design studios in Guatemala. I had a part time then a full time job.  I was in college going from school to work and I spent long nights learning Photoshop, Freehand and other software programs.

I wanted to create and learn as much as I could. After 4 years, I became an Art Director for “Arteria”, an Art Magazine.  It was a cutting edge magazine about art and Guatemalan artists and while getting involved on this project, I realized what I wanted to be an artist and yet I didn’t know what kind of artist.

My parents always supported me. I remember a couple of times I got in an argument with my mother about some of my artwork.  I exposed my body naked in a performance art and it wasn’t a big deal for my parents because they always respected my spirit.  I was already independent and opinionated and I left my house at the age of 19.

I am so glad my parents understood my personality and my dad was a “macho” man so I couldn’t go out or do much when I was living with them. I decided to move out and become independent at a young age and it was the best thing that ever happened in my life as an artist.  My experience built my personality and I will always be grateful to my parents that they actually supported my dream.

I am still young, lol…
I started to admire well known artist specially women like Frida Khalo, Ana Mendieta, Marina Abramovic, Louise Bourgeois and Doris Salcedo.

I think what I learned in college or art history class didn’t really show the contemporary art world, but I have always been interested in that and I read and research a lot.

I went to art school for a couple of years when I was 8 years old.  I still remember the teacher and the pathetic system we had.

There is only one Art School in Guatemala and it is under government administration which means that it will never be developed into real opportunities or artistic careers for artists.

I do not have formal training. I have just the passion to create art and communicate messages with meaning to society.

I was more influenced by international artists, but must of my work was influenced by my country of Guatemala. There is a great deal of material to create art it and it has the perfect scenarios to perform and show art.

My first art show was in a collective show in Guatemala City. I was invited by a group of artists “to do something”.  My first piece was an installation art. This piece was created as a response to a very abusive action.

I was communicating my inconformity of the act of touching women in the streets.   I went thru this often when I was in school and I didn’t accepted the fact that a man had the right to touch a women on her private parts just because she was wearing a skirt.

My installation consisted of 4 light boxes with 4 different types of underwear surrounded with barbed wire around it. My idea was to denounce the action of touching women without permission, so the barbed wire and the spot light were symbols to represent protection.

I think that my themes are embedded in me as an artist. I can’t create a piece unless I am using part of the reality and reality for me represents the space and time in which I am living.

Politics is a never ending story.

I grew up in a patriarchal society and that concept has marked me forever. . especially because I am a woman.  Being a women and an artist is not an easy job when you live in a country where men “rule”. They point at you as “evil” and it really makes me mad. It gives me reasons to continue to do art that touches part of that reality even in a surrealistic way.

I think that as a Latina I created my own way of art.  I believe that art is universal and shouldn’t be criticized by its’ origin.

I will say that as a Guatemalan artist, I proudly represent my country in recognized art festivals or biennales. It is a challenge to compete with different global “ideologies” – not so much as competition but as an expression and interpretation of how cultures view the work.

I think that having shown my work in different countries gives me confidence of and it gives me the green light to keep working in something that has a universal meaning.

Showing my work in my country is a special occasion. I still miss my country, the people and the skepticism of what art means for Guatemalans, I like the challenge of showing in a place where you see death on the streets and when you put it in galleries they don’t recognized it as art. Showing in Guatemala is important because I gets more opportunities as a Guatemalan artist than just an “artist”.

This year is the XVI art biennale in Guatemala and it is the first time I was invited to participate as a special artist.  It feels good to be part of a biennale that represents 80% of the Guatemalan artist and the other 20% from around the world.

Living in LA has changed my life and, of course, my life goes along with the tonality of my work. Since I have been living in LA, my art has taken me to explore other subjects:  important subjects such as immigration, identity, women’s rights. . . etc.

I have been exploring myself with my art; living in exile gives me the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.  I will say that some of the most powerful pieces I have done . .  ..have been produced here in LA.

I think that I am exploring other worlds. I want to create artwork and shows the pain of the world and also the beauty of it, I will like to be able to educate people and provoke them to action through art.

Since my first work, I documented it with slides and film, and after 10 years the media brought me new ideas and a whole new world in which to experiment   In the future, I see my work not so much in art galleries but on the streets as a virtual performance to portray the values, thoughts and unspoken words of the real people.

As a Latina artist, I will say that we need to be proud of where we come from and be passionate of what we do and who we are. Each artist has their own voice. My advice is to keep being who you are and never give up, that will give you work for a while.

www.mariadeladiaz.com

[repost] 06/08pm