TAOB: Where were you born and what do you remember most about your childhood ?
Mauricio: I am proud to say I was born in Matamoros even though I have to admit this has turned a little bit contradictory since living in the area can be extremely asphixiating due to the limited opportunities for a visual artist and the lack of support and vision for the arts. I'd have to say that what I remember the most about my childhood was being the new kid in school and having to make new friends since my family had to constantly move cities ranging from Matamoros to Cuautla, back to Matamoros, then to Guadalajara (unforgettable experience), back to Matamoros, then back to Guadalajara, then to Saltillo, back to Matamoros, then finally to Brownsville (culture schock at first, then big surprise when I realized it was the same city just divided by a river). Being the new kid at school was tough, I think that's what shaped me as the shy, introvert kid I was, with many fears. I miss never having the childhood I always desired since I always lost good friendships and had to look for new ones. I remember how tough was moving from one city to the other even though I learned life was always full of new beginnings and still realizing a new day is sometimes a new beginning. I have been a traveler since I was a little kid and think I'll keep being one for the rest of my life, now turning this from a negative to a rewarding, positive aspect in my life.
TAOB:Describe your art ?
Mauricio: What I do is always perceived in my mind as an idea that is constantly banging my head and is anxious to being transformed into something tangible. My work is just a consequence of something that I want to scream out and is more succesfully delivered if I conceive it visually and not verbally, since I've never been a man of too many words. I feel magnetically drawn to human behavior and how stupid we act sometimes making of our rationality something we hardly use. That's what I intend transmitting through my work: a reflection of today's society and how we are considered to be "rational" and "superior" beings yet we are vulnerable, thoughtless pigs sometimes. In these artworks I portray myself and everyone else. It is an irreverent social commentary with a surrealist touch.
TAOB: Why do you think art is important and how do you feel your art contributes to that purpose ?
Mauricio: Art is extremely relevant if it seen as way to deliver an idea that can have a positive effect on who's viewing it. I believe art is an alternative language, and as a means of communication its purpose is always going to be to tell and inform people. Throughout history art has served the important objective of recording human presence and their acts more succesfully even than probably writing itself since human beings have proven to learn faster and be more attracted to visuals than words. I feel the power of art has always been underestimated and it has lately been used in more superficial ways and its true meaning has been distorted. Art is stimulating and thought-provoking; for this reason I believe the importance of art is high in times where we make use of everything but our minds.
TAOB: As an artist where do you think success comes from ?
Mauricio: Success first comes when you find pleasure on what you're doing; when you strongly believe it will be meaningful not only to you but to someone else, and will thus create an impact on the viewers. It then comes when feel your work is appreciated and the effort, thought, and time you have put into it finds rewards on people giving you feedback and aligning their thoughts with yours as an artist. With this a bridge to dialogue will open and then this will finally accomplish the goal of employing art as a means of communication. With all these already achieved, an artist will see his effort and message reflected in shows outside his city as a consequence of firmly believing in his work and its quality; but no more than on the impact it can cause.
TAOB: What is one of the struggles you think an artist faces on a daily basis ?
Mauricio: Finding inspiration and motivation to keep on working on a profession that can be extremely rewarding yet having its ups and downs at times. Inspiration is not something you wake up with but when it's there it can be a powerful driving force that leads to mental expansion and brings meaning to your life. Another struggle than artist faces, for example in my case as an emerging one is to find dissapointment in so many doors closing in front you, talking about curators and galleries not even considering your work, when you feel your work is worth the exposure in front of varied audiences, but lacks the preference of the previously mentioned.
TAOB: What is your favorite type of music and what type of character would you say describes you ?
Mauricio: I am an extremely sensitive and vulnerable person. I am also a person that is commited, passionate, and fully immersed in his profession as an artist; yet I have to admit I am one who finds delight in loneliness, keep to myself, and don't like talking if there's nothing relevant to be said. I believe the power to speak is a privilige we don't make good use of. However, I can be easy-going, laid back, and enjoy having conversations with people I can learn something from but can be easily upset when I find something unfair. My mind does not function normally sometimes and find myself doing a lot of things that I usually regret, though I always find a lesson to learn from these abnormalities in my life. I tend to always follow my own instinct and not the one perceived to be normal for a person my age and condition. I can be a bizarre man sometimes, really bizarre despite the concept people have about me. I don't think telling what my favorite type of music is relevant to I what I just said but I love listening to music that can mentally transport me out of the place I find myself physically in.
TAOB: As an artist what can you say you are afraid of ?
Mauricio: I'm afraid of at some point of my life not reaching the goals I've set for my short and long-term future. Also, losing the desire and pleasure I find in doing what I do.
TAOB:Tell us your view on any particular political issue local, state or federal, that is of importance to you?
Mauricio: I think the abuse of power of some of our leaders, either presidents, governors, mayors, or any kind of leader, is something that can potentially harm us and think is one the biggest examples of injustice we face today. I'm specifically worried about how the drug lords and industry is taking over a country like Mexico and how this is worsening the corruption that has always existed there.
TAOB:Do you believe in a community of artist to be beneficial, why or why not ?
Mauricio: I think this will always be beneficial since it ill create a bigger artistic movement and will open more and bigger doors. I have always believed in how something will work better if it's done as a team effort and not individually. However, I also feel not all people are interested in doing something like this since every individual has his own interests and will always try to benefit himself before others. I also think people can be really apathetic in trying to help others succeed and only helping a few ones.
TAOB:Besides family and art what else is important to you ?
Mauricio: Life and anything that can bring pleasure and satisfaction to it. Finding that your life has a meaning and becoming that person you desire to be. It is also important to find beauty in everything you do and realizing that life is a gift that was granted to you and that you're giving something back in the way you act and treat other people, and what you're leaving behind will only try to make this world a little bit better. Knowing that you lived life to its fullest and that you took advantage of everything around you to have made of this experience in earth the best it could have been. Thanking God for all this.
Many thanks of your time and reponses on this TAOB Blog Artist Interview....
Mauricio: I am proud to say I was born in Matamoros even though I have to admit this has turned a little bit contradictory since living in the area can be extremely asphixiating due to the limited opportunities for a visual artist and the lack of support and vision for the arts. I'd have to say that what I remember the most about my childhood was being the new kid in school and having to make new friends since my family had to constantly move cities ranging from Matamoros to Cuautla, back to Matamoros, then to Guadalajara (unforgettable experience), back to Matamoros, then back to Guadalajara, then to Saltillo, back to Matamoros, then finally to Brownsville (culture schock at first, then big surprise when I realized it was the same city just divided by a river). Being the new kid at school was tough, I think that's what shaped me as the shy, introvert kid I was, with many fears. I miss never having the childhood I always desired since I always lost good friendships and had to look for new ones. I remember how tough was moving from one city to the other even though I learned life was always full of new beginnings and still realizing a new day is sometimes a new beginning. I have been a traveler since I was a little kid and think I'll keep being one for the rest of my life, now turning this from a negative to a rewarding, positive aspect in my life.
TAOB:Describe your art ?
Mauricio: What I do is always perceived in my mind as an idea that is constantly banging my head and is anxious to being transformed into something tangible. My work is just a consequence of something that I want to scream out and is more succesfully delivered if I conceive it visually and not verbally, since I've never been a man of too many words. I feel magnetically drawn to human behavior and how stupid we act sometimes making of our rationality something we hardly use. That's what I intend transmitting through my work: a reflection of today's society and how we are considered to be "rational" and "superior" beings yet we are vulnerable, thoughtless pigs sometimes. In these artworks I portray myself and everyone else. It is an irreverent social commentary with a surrealist touch.
TAOB: Why do you think art is important and how do you feel your art contributes to that purpose ?
Mauricio: Art is extremely relevant if it seen as way to deliver an idea that can have a positive effect on who's viewing it. I believe art is an alternative language, and as a means of communication its purpose is always going to be to tell and inform people. Throughout history art has served the important objective of recording human presence and their acts more succesfully even than probably writing itself since human beings have proven to learn faster and be more attracted to visuals than words. I feel the power of art has always been underestimated and it has lately been used in more superficial ways and its true meaning has been distorted. Art is stimulating and thought-provoking; for this reason I believe the importance of art is high in times where we make use of everything but our minds.
TAOB: As an artist where do you think success comes from ?
Mauricio: Success first comes when you find pleasure on what you're doing; when you strongly believe it will be meaningful not only to you but to someone else, and will thus create an impact on the viewers. It then comes when feel your work is appreciated and the effort, thought, and time you have put into it finds rewards on people giving you feedback and aligning their thoughts with yours as an artist. With this a bridge to dialogue will open and then this will finally accomplish the goal of employing art as a means of communication. With all these already achieved, an artist will see his effort and message reflected in shows outside his city as a consequence of firmly believing in his work and its quality; but no more than on the impact it can cause.
TAOB: What is one of the struggles you think an artist faces on a daily basis ?
Mauricio: Finding inspiration and motivation to keep on working on a profession that can be extremely rewarding yet having its ups and downs at times. Inspiration is not something you wake up with but when it's there it can be a powerful driving force that leads to mental expansion and brings meaning to your life. Another struggle than artist faces, for example in my case as an emerging one is to find dissapointment in so many doors closing in front you, talking about curators and galleries not even considering your work, when you feel your work is worth the exposure in front of varied audiences, but lacks the preference of the previously mentioned.
TAOB: What is your favorite type of music and what type of character would you say describes you ?
Mauricio: I am an extremely sensitive and vulnerable person. I am also a person that is commited, passionate, and fully immersed in his profession as an artist; yet I have to admit I am one who finds delight in loneliness, keep to myself, and don't like talking if there's nothing relevant to be said. I believe the power to speak is a privilige we don't make good use of. However, I can be easy-going, laid back, and enjoy having conversations with people I can learn something from but can be easily upset when I find something unfair. My mind does not function normally sometimes and find myself doing a lot of things that I usually regret, though I always find a lesson to learn from these abnormalities in my life. I tend to always follow my own instinct and not the one perceived to be normal for a person my age and condition. I can be a bizarre man sometimes, really bizarre despite the concept people have about me. I don't think telling what my favorite type of music is relevant to I what I just said but I love listening to music that can mentally transport me out of the place I find myself physically in.
TAOB: As an artist what can you say you are afraid of ?
Mauricio: I'm afraid of at some point of my life not reaching the goals I've set for my short and long-term future. Also, losing the desire and pleasure I find in doing what I do.
TAOB:Tell us your view on any particular political issue local, state or federal, that is of importance to you?
Mauricio: I think the abuse of power of some of our leaders, either presidents, governors, mayors, or any kind of leader, is something that can potentially harm us and think is one the biggest examples of injustice we face today. I'm specifically worried about how the drug lords and industry is taking over a country like Mexico and how this is worsening the corruption that has always existed there.
TAOB:Do you believe in a community of artist to be beneficial, why or why not ?
Mauricio: I think this will always be beneficial since it ill create a bigger artistic movement and will open more and bigger doors. I have always believed in how something will work better if it's done as a team effort and not individually. However, I also feel not all people are interested in doing something like this since every individual has his own interests and will always try to benefit himself before others. I also think people can be really apathetic in trying to help others succeed and only helping a few ones.
TAOB:Besides family and art what else is important to you ?
Mauricio: Life and anything that can bring pleasure and satisfaction to it. Finding that your life has a meaning and becoming that person you desire to be. It is also important to find beauty in everything you do and realizing that life is a gift that was granted to you and that you're giving something back in the way you act and treat other people, and what you're leaving behind will only try to make this world a little bit better. Knowing that you lived life to its fullest and that you took advantage of everything around you to have made of this experience in earth the best it could have been. Thanking God for all this.
Many thanks of your time and reponses on this TAOB Blog Artist Interview....
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