 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
In Tune with Robert Vargas
Bedlam Magazine and bedlammagazine.com publisher Jim Fittipaldi caught up with artist Robert Vargas at Seventh & Grand, a nightclub in Downtown Los Angeles, on a recent Tuesday evening. This particular night Robert was painting to the rhythm of a live jazz band. In effect, Vargas’ painting was integrated into the act and was as much a part of the show as the drummer or guitarist. Between sets Vargas sat down with Fittipaldi for a little Q &A about art and the city:
JF: Let's talk a little about you...
RV: You mean in terms of my work?
JF: In terms of your work, your lifestyle -- I seem to run into you every time I’m out!
RV: No, I went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York.
JF: Tell me about this statement you made to me earlier today about “a connection with the city”?
RV: Well my connection with the city dates back from birth. I was born and raised a mile from here in Boyle Heights, so for me these old buildings -- although some are new again due to the gentrification …
JF: Do you feel you’re part of that gentrification? I know you bought a loft up on 7th Street…
RV: Absolutely! I am definitely part of that canon that is the art community. I feel that downtown Los Angeles is part of the epicenter on the West Coast, I could be anywhere in the world as far as making art like New York, San Francisco or London. But for me, I think that being in Downtown Los Angeles at this point in time is exciting because everything is fresh, although this isn’t the first incarnation of art in downtown, but when you combine the energy of the gentrification, the burgeoning of “Gallery Row,” it’s an exciting place to be and inspires me as an artist.
JF: You mentioned these other big “art cities” do you feel that they overshadow LA?
RV: LA historically has never gotten the respect it deserves and is looked down on sort of as a little brother to other “art cities,” but this time around I actually think we’re blazing the way as far as being a creative center. I think that in other cities where things have come before, here in downtown and going back to my participation in what’s happening in downtown I feel like I’m actually active in pioneering, paving, being a stone on the road that’s bringing Los Angeles on par with these other cities.
JF: You do participate quite a bit, I see you out on gallery row nights, and you’re doing your drawing workshops…
RV: I genuinely enjoy the dialog or the commitment I get by being out in the community. I like the accessibility I have. I show in galleries all the time, almost monthly, however I still enjoy that gear to the street, the flavor I get that can't be replicated in a gallery setting. When you get to see the concept and the execution in real time. As a viewer I think that’s really exciting. I serve as a bit of a conduit for the energy and the people around me and I like to bring the gallery to the street and open up this silent dialog between the artist, the model, and the viewer. We all, collectively in a room, become the art, an art installation.
JF: I have to agree with you, no one ever gets to see the process, I have in the past and it was a real treat. The viewer usually just gets to see the finished work and has no idea what the artist goes through.
RV: I open that up that way to help myself grow as an artist. I like taking those risks in the moment and put myself in a situation where the chaos around me actually calms me. A lot of artists, when they’re insular in their working process -- which is fine and works for them, that works for me sometimes in my studio, I also trade a connection with the people and I really enjoy being out there.
JF: I like the quote you mentioned to me earlier "A dialog with the city."
RV: Being a resident in downtown and also an investor in downtown and having purchased my loft, and being an active part of the art community here in downtown and Los Angeles as a whole, I consider a night like tonight where I come to paint and draw every Tuesday night live with the band here at Seventh & Grand as a continued dialog with the city and specifically, more with downtown. Any given Tuesday night you can show up here and see me work, see the creative process and not have to wait for an art walk or gallery opening.
RV: People that come here to Seventh & Grand might not attend an art walk.
JF: ... you bring the art to the people.
RV: I'm bringing the art walk to people who might not otherwise see it. People visiting here are coming from the greater metropolitan area, some are locals. This is my way of being an ambassador of downtown to invite and expose them to what were doing down here and create some more awareness so they can come on another night and support other galleries and artists as well.
JF: How did you manage to score a gig like this?
RV: It's kind of funny. The bandleader lives in my building -- and again this is part of the dialog within the community. The bandleader has seen me paint live before and thought it would be great to have me sit in with the band.
JF: So you're combining a few different art forms...
RV: Right! And typically I wouldn't want to participate in events where something else is going on, you know, there's a band over here, a fire breather over there, and there's someone juggling monkeys, and there's Robert Vargas over on the corner painting live.... This isn't a gimmick. This is something with the band. There isn't a set song list.
JF: Let me ask you one more thing. "The dialog with the city" -- when did this begin?
RV: This is something that has been ingrained in me for some time. I've drawn since I was young and have been exposed to this Seventh and Broadway for a long, long, long time and that’s where I live now.
JF: Yes, I got the pleasure of being your neighbor fore a short time...
RV: I've always had this romanticism with the city. Going to New York, living in other parts of the world and then finally coming back I decided that this is the place to tie my flag. It feels like a bit of a rebirth, a 360. I'm coming back to a downtown that is not only familiar to me but is also brand new...
