ABOUT THE ARTIST

What you will find among these pages is a body of work that stems from decades of creative exploration and practices from experimental animation to conceptual performance art.

When it comes to creativity and the artist's life, I make no major distinction between what one might call "high art" and a movie or snapshot. All of these, taken as a whole, reflect an approach to living creatively while utilizing the various genres of filmmaking and photography as a way of self reflection and self growth.

Starting with animation as a young man, it was clear to me that there was an exciting benefit to art making, especially when the artist is in control of all aspects of the practices - from idea to final editing and even acting and design. The films and videos, in particular, are mostly designed, acted, photographed, and in some cases, scored with original music by the artist. What I found is that each aspect of a film, for example, offers a unique angle on the various disciplines. These, one might say, are the languages of creativity and the universal vocabulary in which human beings relate.

My interest in art making coincided with my interest in psychology and spirituality and these culminated in my later years and works with social and cultural inquiry. My interest has less to do with trying to create new genres and rather, use and blend genres with fluidity. Images and stories blend and flow as in Surrealism and dreams.

My work also reflects in many ways the Chicano experience. There are themes and perspectives, unique in what can be termed Chicano Art, that can be found in my own work - connection to nature, resistance to oppression, traditional Mexican/Chicano iconography, regard for the family and for community.

In the end, the final product of this body of work has been my mental health. One can follow the trajectory of my emotional healing and social growth and consciousness through this work. Many of these artworks have been chosen and approached much as one might approach healing through psychodrama and Gestalt therapies. Gestalt - "an organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts" can sum up the meaning of this body of work.