Layers that convey the human condition

February 18, 2016Lifestyle0

Michael Vasquez and his lower layer of art, “Aftermath”. Photo by Emily Wintringham.

Conceptual artist and MHCC student Michael Vasquez, 22, has been developing a new piece with a pending title of “Aftermath.”

His work gives meaning to the use of layers and displays the invisible wounds of trauma on the canvas.

“I was trying to view the inside of people. I like that about people, when you look at people and just wonder what they have underneath,” said Vasquez.

He grew up with artists in his family, he explained. “We have Henna artists, soap makers, crochet, quilting – my grandma won a major, national quilting contest. My dad’s a painter, and a drummer.”

Vasquez, for his part, is a multi-faceted artist who dips into poetry and uses his style for innovation. For instance, he is collaborating with his wife, Decotia Vasquez, to create board games.

“It has to do with, strange enough, a doll house, and the whole point of the game is to pull yourself together (with doll parts) and get yourself out of the house,” he said. Players can ultimately choose from their own parts or other players’ parts, he said.

Vasquez has also created a deck of cards featuring his distinctive style. “My wife says, ‘You draw like you’ve seen melted cheese,’ ” he said, seeing as his work encompasses a lot of distortion.

Looking at “Aftermath” may cause viewers to feel confused or uncomfortable, and Vasquez is okay with that, he said.

“Even if they don’t see something, they still feel something, hopefully… Like, ‘Wow, this is weird; I can’t see anything, but it’s weird and it’s making me feel things,’ ” he said.

What if the audience abhors Michael’s art? Well, that’s okay, too.

“The worst thing that can ever happen is they say, ‘Well, that’s good. I like that.’ If someone says ‘That’s good enough,’ that hurts!” said Vasquez. “I want it to be either completely evocative or I want it to be completely crap.” To him, anything in-between resembles indifference. Obviously, if someone hates the art, there is a reason for that. “That means you felt something that made you hate it,” he reasoned.

Given the context of this particular piece, perhaps “hatred” might even be the most appropriate emotion evoked.

“When I was doing that piece, I was really focusing on the inside – the thing that, at least, I’ve seen in people who’ve experienced traumatic events,” he said.

The first layer of Vasquez’s piece symbolizes the way we see others from the outside, while the inside is the chaos that comes from the damage within. “Kind of like they wear everything to protect them. You know, there’s that armor outside,” he explained.

“I don’t know, maybe that’s too much ‘Pink Floyd,’ ” he said, chuckling.

Vasquez art is conceptual, and while he admires the work of realism, he brings something new to the table in terms of technique.

“Sometimes, when I do the bigger things, I like to have a sketch book, and kind of, ironically, have a skeleton of what I want to do. In this case, it really is a skeleton,” he said – amused by the thought – “and then I just layer it.”

As it is for many artists, Vasquez’s art is a reflection of the life he has lived.

“A lot of times when artists express what they feel inside, it (art) gets that stuff out,” he said. Whatever he has witnessed from his life or those of people he knows, he processes by “throwing it on a canvas,” he said.

“I’ve moved more times than I can count, almost 27 now. I’m gonna move again, but (am) in the area now, so, you know, that’s a little less stressful.”

“There have been interesting people in my life. They’ve messed with some stuff and I’ve actually had some strange things happen around me,” he continued. “Like, I don’t know – have you ever seen a chair move before?”

Vasquez said that paranormal activity was one of the reasons he moved many times, especially throughout his teens. He has seen people become enveloped through darkness, whether spiritual or through alcohol and drugs, he said. Some come out of their suffering and turn around, and he has seen others go down similar paths, he said.

“I’m sure others are like me, where they like to observe people – a lot of times it comes down to a lot of us are focused on ourselves. I’m guilty of this, too,” he said.

Vasquez said he hopes his art helps people to become more aware, instead of just passing a face by because it looks ordinary. There are a lot of non-ordinary things within someone’s true self that are not validated or appreciated. Instead of taking to the root cause of individual suffering, people “blame the macro,” he said.

“The reason why I draw these fractured kind of people is because when you see the outside, there’s boundaries – it has rules, structure, but when you look underneath, there’s nothing but what the mind makes you out to be.”

In sum, Vasquez’s art not only conveys but also teaches about the hidden effects of oppression on an individual.

“Humans are wired to oppress and you have to fight against it with every fiber of your being,” he concluded.