In Magu’s, In Studio interview you hear him ask the question, “What is the function of art?”. It is a good question. It’s definitely appropriate for this month’s featured artists.
First you should know that Angel primarily gets the new artist features and I usually don’t see them until it’s time to upload them. Well, after seeing Glenn’s and The Welfare Poets’ features, I told Angel that I was going to direct all the heated feedback to her (I’m kidding, please don’t, I’ll get a butt whoopin’ for it). After all, it’s said to never talk about religion and politics, but here are two artists that do just that!
Angel and I have talked endlessly on how we should handle controversial material. In fact, we had to figure this out quickly in our first few days of going live with this site. Angel had received a very hard line, pro-Latino interview, while I had an artist refuse to participate in our site for fear of being labeled as a Latino artist. They were very opposing views and we wanted to feature both of them, but we felt we were neither hard line nor a non-ethnic web site. As result, Angel and I decided that our position should remain open to all views and provide an unbiased platform for artists to express themselves. Of course there are professional and aesthetic criteria that help us determine who we feature but for the most part, our aim is to promote Latino art in all it’s magnificent shades of brown.
So what’s the answer to, “What is the function of art?”. Well, since Magu asked the question I’ll give an answer that is implied in his interview. Art is suppose to connect with people’s emotions. For this reason, we showcase artwork, written interviews and videos that let artists tell you the intention of their work. It may be political, cultural, commercial, personal, or perhaps it’s a combination of all four. It may be controversial or casual too.
Now if Glenn Stwart's short film or The Welfare Poets work shock, surprise, anger, disgust, inform or amuse you, then perhaps the artwork served its purpose. After all art is not always about pretty flowers or sunsets over the ocean horizon. Sometimes it’s about getting your attention and being thought provoking!
With gratitude,
Pablo
Art above is described as “functional art” or “art furniture” and is by Joseph Somers
2 comments:
Well let me be the first to comment here! Close your eyes Paul!
Actually, I'm so grateful to be a part of The BullfightersCafe and to have Paul as my partner. We could not be more different. Man/woman, old and cranky/beautiful and sweet...He was raised in the Cali desert and I'm from the metropolis of NYC. We have different political views, artistic tastes and experiences. What we do have in common are a fascination of the Hispanic/Latino culture and an appreciation for artistic expression. This upload, Paul really edited my intro comments and I was MAD! I have a point of view and I wanted to share it. At first I felt Paul took the passion out of my voice but then I realized that it's ok not to scream. You having your own experience with these projects is more important than what I wanted to say anyway. Bullfighterscafe is an organic learning experience for me. I hope to continue to leave behind my preconceived ideas about art and culture and have a brand new experience with what is happening now. For me, major criteria for being featured at the cafe is to be a doer, not just a talker. There are people out there producing and creating with passion and whether I love it or hate it, I still want to know it and show it.
So Paul, I'm sorry but I'm gonna keep finding artist that go against your grain as I'm sure you'll be looking to go against mine!
Angel
OK, I see how it is. We're going to air our laundry in public! So let me tell my side of the story.
First, it is always said that there is the beauty and brains in every parternship and to be truthful, Angel is very resentful that I am the pretty one! It's a shame really, but don't hate me cause I'm beautiful.
Beauty aside, yes, I admit I did edit Angel's commentary on Glenn's and The Welfare Poets introductory paragraphs. I felt the original paragraphs we're too long. I think this blog is where we should post our opinions or experiences on artists that we feature. I think the features should focus on the artists themselves and not contain a book long summary on why we featured them. If I'm wrong then someone other than Angel let me know.
Lastly, Angel thinks that I am scared of presenting controversal art. I'm really not. My position is that I don't want our viewers to think that we only present controversial art just to be shocking. I also want to let our viewers know that we are open to "noncontroversial" art too. Not all people like their coffee strong, some like it with cream and sugar, and that's all I'm saying, that we present art that is sweet as sugar too. Mainly, I just want to present good art in the cafe.
For the veiwers, this gives you a little insight to a debate that Angel and I have about the cafe. Mostly I lose, so when I win, even if it's a small vIctory I make it last. Athough, I'm not really sure I won this round, yes my edits stayed but I have a feeling I'm going to pay for this in the long run. Well, I guess that's the price of beauty!
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