Artists Interview Artists: Marianela de la Hoz

Marianela de la Hoz, a San Diego, CA based artist, participates in the Artists Interview Artists Project. Below Marianela responds to another artist's five questions (A.B. Miner from Washington, D.C.). In order to participate, Marianela had to provide me with five questions for some other artist to answer. The assigning of questions to artists is completely random. If you're an artist and interested in participating, let me know.

Mamá bondad, Papá severidad / Mother kindness, Father severity
Egg tempera on board
3.7" x 3.3"
2004

1. Which comes first for you-the concept or the image?

In my artwork there is always a text integrated into the composition as a very important component of the whole; both, concept and image come usually at the same time. I am used to carrying with me a small notebook in which I write and draw every concept, idea, form, emotion, color, thought, etc., that I see, read, hear, feel or sense. It happens almost immediately: a conceptual phrase appears in my head coupled with an image or vice versa.

2. Do you prefer to maintain your studio in your living space or separately? Why?

I paint very small formats in egg tempera on wood. For that kind of work I need only a small space. I can transform any corner of my house into a complete studio, thus, it is very convenient to stay at home without spending time commuting to and from a studio, saving time and effort. It is also a matter of personality I have always preferred to stay in an “enclosed state”. I sometimes describe myself jokingly as a “cloister nun” obviously without religion.

On a more personal level, I am a mother which thinks it is important for the family to have me stay at home with the children.

3. If you had to change careers and could not choose a profession related to visual art (that's right, no teaching, curating, writing criticism...) what would you do?

I would love to do something related to music; I would have probably studied singing skills. I find music to be a means to express the human soul perhaps in more subtle and refined way that in the visual arts. Besides, this would give me chance to stay immerse within the artworks, choosing other venues to channel my creative needs.

4. Is an artist's statement really important or just something you do out of obligation? What purpose does your statement serve?

If an artist conceives a statement as an instrument to clarify and edify his or her philosophical and aesthetic ideas within his or her work, then I think it becomes a very valuable tool to give the viewers a good platform to be introduced to the artworks. In order to succeed in this task, the artist has to be reliable, sincere and talk about his or her work without ornaments or pompous adjectives. This way a good statement will serve as an introduction that will not only tell others about the artist’s biography but about his or her position in the actual art scene, speaking about his or her own art as directly as possible, without being simplistic, of course.

5. Name one well-known contemporary artist whose work you don't like but whom you still respect?

Marcel Duchamp. He was more than an artist, he was an art philosopher, he tried to recuperate in everyday common objects and things the possibility of transforming them into art works by the artist’s will, transcending the quotidian. This was truly a revolutionary theory: every single object had the possibility of being presented in an original way, making it a true art object. He reasoned that if art is worth as much as an object itself, then the real object can be valued as art. With Duchamp everything was about ideas and only ideas, and as everyone knows ideas don’t have a body and therefore are “beautiful."

I respect his opinion, work and ideas because he was truthful with what he thought and did. The sad part is that his followers have misunderstood him and his concepts, bringing excesses and bluff into art.

Every work of art has a concept, an artist has an idea, he processes it and then carries it out and becomes a finished work. Duchamp praised concepts in every object, now modern artists in my opinion find the concepts more important than the work composition, everything becomes theoretical and lacks sensibility, and appeals more to intelligence and less to the spiritual. Many modern artists misunderstand Duchamp’s statements and are more concerned in trying to achieve fame and fortune as quickly and as easily as possible.

Nunca He Sido Niña, siempre Vieja, Arrugada y fea / I Have never been a Child, always Old, Wrinkled and Ugly
Egg tempera on board
4.7" x 2.3"

Previous Interviews:
Juno Doran (questions by James W. Bailey)
Josh Feldman (questions by Joseph Barbaccia)
Lisa Stephenson (questions by Whitney Lynn)
Joseph Barbaccia (questions by Josh Feldman)
James W. Bailey (questions by Matt Hollis)
Matt Hollis (questions by Juno Doran)
Carol Es (questions by James Leonard)
Alexandra Silverthorne (questions by Ami Lahoff)
Christine Buckton Tillman (questions by Carol Es)
Douglas Witmer (questions by Alexandra Silverthorne)
Sky Pape (questions by Douglas Witmer)
Whitney Lynn (questions by Lisa Stephenson)
Heather Levy (questions by Joanne Greenbaum)
Heather Lowe (questions by Samantha Wolov)
Samantha Wolov (questions by Heather Levy)
Timothy McClellan (questions by Heather Lowe)
James Leonard (questions by Sky Pape)
Joanne Greenbaum (questions by Timothy McClellan)
Richard Kooyman (questions by Robert Walton)
Candy Keegan (questions by Warren Craghead)
Robert Walton (questions by Candy Keegan)
John M. Adams (questions by Richard Kooyman)
Prescott Moore Lassman (questions by Mary Addison Hackett)
Mary Addison Hackett (questions by Prescott Moore Lassman)
Andrew Wodzianski (questions by Nathan Manuel & D.Billy)
Nathan Manuel & D.Billy (questions by Andrew Wodzianski)
Michael Janis (questions by Scott Listfield)
Scott Listfield (questions by Michael Janis)
F. Lennox Campello (questions by Sean Hennessy)
Matt Andrade (questions by Adrian Parsons)
Sean Hennessy (questions by F. Lennox Campello)
George Wayne (questions by Michelle McAuliffe)
Eridanus Sellen (questions by Anabela Jevtovic)
Anabela Jevtovic (questions by Eridanus Sellen)

Comments

[Lennox Campello]

Not surprisingly, I think De La Hoz's works are absolutely incredible!

[AAS]

I agree...and I want to see more in person!