18.05.2006
CUAUHTEMOC ESCARCEGA, Mexico ❧
"SERIES: HOMAGE TO THE YOUNG, THE NEW & THE EXCEPTIONAL CREATIVE TALENTS AROUND THE WORLD"
READ THIS FIRST: All images here are COPYRIGHT PROTECTED. You are advised to contact the artist direct for permission to re-produce any of his/her images. Contact details are available at the end of this article, or in absence thereof, please contact the Editor at Blue Mango TV.
"Inner Waking"Mexico.
The country for me evokes the image of the Incas, Aztecs ... their
incredible engineering and architectural feats, their intelligence,
their sacrifices and blood-letting rituals, and fabulous works of art
... and of course, the magnificent Freida Kahlo, her enduring and
compelling art, a mix of surrealism and heavy symbolism.
Now,
from Mexico again comes a fascinating and completely original young
artist who will not surprise me if he made an incredible impact and
gained eventually, the attention and admiration of the global world.
Cuauhtemoc Escarcega or Temoc.
And as exotic as his name comes the exotic visuals that somehow tend to have quite an unusual effect on me.
Cuauhtemoc Escarcega or Temoc.
And as exotic as his name comes the exotic visuals that somehow tend to have quite an unusual effect on me.
"Never Forget Me, Never Forgive Me"
It
started with this intense and rather difficult picture to take in right
away of a semi-burnt lamb's heart. Although of course, the first visual
impression without courtesy of the explanation and inspiration behind
the image had its desired effect. It's not that much of a shock impact,
but more of a lingering contemplation that doesn't end after you take
in the image, it stays with you for quite some time replaying itself in
your mind's eye in conscious or sub-conscious state.
Now with this image, initially, I'm thinking ... that's a heart. Or is it? Why is it that colour, what's that chain doing about it? And now I see nails hammered into it, and screws ... then there's the stitchings ... and slowly the texture, the composition, all that draws my eye again and again into studying the image further as it continues to reveal detail after detail.
Temoc entitles this work, "Never Forgive Me, Never Forget Me", and it was inspired by the following plaintive prose Temoc wrote which I have taken as an excerpt to explain the visual and how it delivers meaning to feeling and words of pain and recovery:
It was just another day, but, this one was different, almost perfect...Temoc aims to shock and draw attention, but that's not all. He reveals much of an art form that's not often brought up easily for discussion.
Suddenly you looked at me, you placed your hand in my face, I thought you were going to kiss me, so I closed my eyes...
But you stabbed me in the chest.
I was lying on the floor, crawling, trying to reach you; You just smiled and you walked away leaving me behind.
You didn't need a knife to do harm, you only used your words, even now I can't get those words out of my mind; All my senses can't define my feeling...
I remained lying there for 4 days, finally, I had the strength to stand up, I looked around and there it was, broken in 3 pieces, but it was still moving, very slowly but moving, it was suffering.
With tears in my eyes I started the needlework, the pain was leaving with every stitch, the hate was fading.
All those pieces were together again, I looked at it and it wasn't pretty anymore but it was stronger, wiser.
Maybe in the future It will break again, but I will have to work less, the pieces will be smaller...
You didn't succed, I didn't die, I'm here, standing alone, your words will never hurt me, ever again..
Shock effect, and art that "shock".
Alright, here is where I personally and honestly have to explain where I draw a line and I will have to digress and bring up this bit of information I came across years back as I don't want it mistaken that I'm not for art, and art of all form and expresssion, irregardless of composition, medium and the type of element and formats used. Actually, I'm not. I'm not only because of a statement Picasso once said of a piece of shit work he put up which he knew himself was obvious rubbish, however to drive a certain point through, much as he knew it was rubbish, he had said that if he called that rubbish "Art" the world would not care any less if it was rubbish so long as he, the great Picasso, declared it a work of art. The world would accept the work as art. Picasso was being cynical of course. But these days, anything with Picasso's name, and proven it's genuine would be an art - of significant financial gains.
"Ph.Im.Ab.Ex.O1"I, fortunately or unfortunately, don't believe in appreciating any art unless I understand something about the work - that it draws me naturally and compels me to look again and more. I would then want to know something about the artist and the message and inspiration behind the work, and then I would want to know the artist. But then that's me. I believe in a certain "truth", but I'm willing to see someone else's point of view, particularly that of the artist himself. I'm really into "essence" and into feeling my way with the real spirit and motivation of the artist and whether he or she has that special gift and is doing everything to nurture, grow and channel his creative energies out and direct it through its natural course of complicated development.
Now, on this shock value and calling anything an artist thinks is art - Art, I have something more to say. I did not have the opportunity to return to the Venice Biennale some years ago, but I did read of some artist who dabbled in displaying human excretion, and one who inserted his own blood into a sculpture and did it through periodic removal of his own blood with a syringe.
"Sleeping Awake"I agree, art can take different forms, but I have to explain the way I appreciate art and it really is through the understanding that the artist or the creative person is someone special in a way in that he has to grapple with a gift that seizes him like a malevolent spirit and possesses him to create and deliver.
Create and deliver. Create, and deliver to who?
To the world - an audience, someone.
That is my interpretation of what drives and enables a creative soul to "live". They breathe art, and they live for it. They literally bleed, sweat and cry over their work. Blood, sweet and tears - and I don't mean the band.
So when I'm asked to appreciate human excretion and blood injected into a sculpture - I really don't have to be told what it is unless the artist was able to create a Rodin miniature out of his excretion and the blood somewhat was really necessary in the sculpture. If for effect, I'd have to be the judge of that for myself, if for some demented reason, I'd like to know why. I can appreciate an artist agonizing over his work, but there really is limit and unless it's for personal pleasure - it's really something an artist has to be mindful of, the limit and the sense of appreciation he's trying to gain, consciously or otherwise from a public "audience" or an impassive viewer.
With Temoc's art, there is a lot of, not only "dark element" as that's where he finds himself able to express himself well, but intensity and the need to deliver visuals he renders with so much work you can feel his effort as they seem to carry with them an "aura" of their own and in some ways, they become alive ... you see them repeatedly in your dreams and not really nightmare, but dreams where they seem to try to make sense and deliver a personal message of what tormented or fascinated the artist. And you're drawn again and again to review further his work to understand him better - and thus understand his Art.
I see it for what it is - self-expression, but within the works themselves there is exploding talent and imploding, driving passion to create more and more.
I asked Temoc some questions to obtain the inner thoughts direct from the artist himself is important for the rest of us to know. They will shed insight into the "deeper meaning" of his art.
Do you tend to have more dreams or more nightmares?It's unusual to come across original work with stories to every creation such as what I've seen in Temoc's portfolio of works. It's unbelievable, terrifying genius.
Temoc: I don't really know how to say this but I frequently dream that I am getting killed, and while being in a great amount of pain, I feel relaxed. I think it is some sort of nightmare, and of course it freaked me out in the beginning, but now, I have accepted it.
When you create your art, are there messages you wish to convey or do you just flow with the inspiration?
Temoc: I first think of a concept, and then I try to add elements to combine with the work, or if I have to do something quickly, I try to have my basic touch and adapt it to the things I'm doing - such as my photojournalistic work. I don't have much of that material online though.
You like to express yourself in what is known as the "dark" art, who were the influences in your life for channeling your work that way?
Temoc: I've always felt attracted to it even though I wasn't the "emo/punk/gothic" teen. I felt connected to that type of "things". It was only when I discovered deviantART that I started feeling the curiosity of how that type of imagery was done, and until I came across a small tutorial put out by Anwar Vazquez, (who is also from Mexico). That was where I learnt how to use my main tool, Photoshop, to achieve my goals in digital manipulation, and that is why I think I call Anwar my teacher.
But also, there is a wider aspect, I always have in mind that I want to portray beauty in darkness, or in the "ugly things" that are around us. Sadly, dark art is very stereotyped and over-rated.
What media are you most comfortable with in expressing your art?
Temoc: Right now digital, I've done analog/traditional media and I just suck at it. Digital gives me the opportunity to correct my mistakes and in the future, when the time is right, I'll focus on doing more analog/traditional works as I believe it has a deeper meaning for me because you have to be "close to perfect" to do it properly.
Your work is highly creative and original, what do you feel about other artists imitating your style?
Temoc: We all learn by imitating something, that's why I don't feel bad about it if they might feel inspired and stuff like that. It's like an honour - but it gets bad when they do it pointlessly without a meaning for themselves, after all, art is about self-expression or giving art a meaning not just to state something like, "oh yeah, I can make cool images".
As a Mexican and an artist, do you feel there is much from your country and history that can inspire original concepts from you?
Temoc: Artist is such a big word for me, I think I don't deserve it. I feel I need to have the proper education to feel that I've earned it, but yes, the culture, the people inspire me a lot, even old Aztec stories. I want to make a series about that, I'm still planning them. I might do it in the future when my style is more mature.
I am more attracted to the Aztecs and other Mexican civilisations, but not generally to Mexican history.
What are your visions for your art form in the future, what do you see yourself doing?
Temoc: Artwise, I think I will try to reach darker levels of imagery and I'm always trying to improve myself and my techniques and sharing what I know with people interested in the art field, making more projects with my friends, learning more from them, things like that. I like to share with people but not with everyone, just with the people who are interested.
This Mexican artist deserves a global audience for being unique and outstanding.
"Sonoro Silencio"==> CUAUHTEMOC ESCARCEGA @www.temoc.ws
editor@bluemango.tv