We were lucky to catch up with Alan Diaz-Soto recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alan thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?
I think that anytime someone looks at one of my paintings and they say “good job” or you know, they’ll say “oh that’s really good.” I think anytime that’s being said, I’m being misunderstood and mischaracterized as someone who wants to make something that looks “good.” I want to make something that’s ugly. I want to make something that’s real. I don’t want to make something that’s just “good.” Art as a concept is being completely misunderstood right now. I think it’s really odd that art has dropped to the same kind of entertainment as stand-up comedy. It’s just straight up NASCAR. Sometimes I think that if I moved someplace different, with a completely different culture, I’d escape this pseudo elitist pipe dream that everyone is falling into. But, this cult of content is inescapable. Everyone has agreed that you are no longer going to paint for yourself or a bigger vision, it’s now about social marketing and profit. I see art as one of the most important pillars of the human condition, and for me personally, capitalism and the commoditization of it is tearing it down. It’s completely distorted reality. I blame Warhol.
Alan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My name is Alan Diaz-Soto. I am an abstract expressionist based in Little Rock, Arkansas. I’m influenced by the works of Cy Twombly and 1940s-1950s abstract expressionism. I started painting in 2017 and I work on mainly canvas, wood, and cardstock. I mainly paint with acrylic, oil, house paint, and watercolor. I also use whatever I can, such as, ink, coffee, motor oil, and blood. I think that falls under mixed media right?
While my work itself is a physical medium, I believe that it transcends its canvas. I view every single one of my works as a snapshot of who I was when I was working on it, where I was, and what I was feeling in the moment. I believe that everyone should experience art on an individual basis. If I just spill the beans, then everything is meaningless and pointless. My pontificating on it would deny your ability to experience it for yourself, and then what? I try to capture what we don’t talk about, the feelings we all feel that we suppress. I got a fun little anecdote for this part, it’s relevant. A friend of mine has one of my paintings on their wall, along with several others of mine but she hates this one single painting of mine. I’ve never felt better hearing that, exponentially better than “yeah I like it.” I mean she called it gross and that it made her uncomfortable to look at, it was awesome. That makes me proud I guess, to answer that part. But with all that being said, what separates me from everyone else is that I don’t necessarily believe in selling any of my paintings. I don’t believe in marketing myself. I don’t really even believe in showing people my work. I’m getting tired of going through the motions. But the beautiful thing is that everybody who sees it, is from an organic connection. I’m also proud of the little audience I’ve gathered.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I want to drive the belief that art should be compromising and truthful. I strive to capture the struggle of life, stasis, and the inevitability of death, whether you want it or not.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Absolutely nothing. Despite my work being public, it’s all still deeply personal and every step of the way from buying the canvas to posting it on Instagram just sucks. It’s painful. I dread having to be in public to get what I need. I hate having to translate my thoughts and feelings onto whatever I’m painting on. You’d think it’d be rewarding when you finish one but it’s never rewarding when it’s done. As soon as it’s done, it’s time to release it out to the world and I get caught up in the feeling of wanting to resonate with people. I don’t like the feeling of exposing myself and being vulnerable. But that’s what it takes. I feel like if I don’t feel anything close to that, I’m practicing bad faith. Sort of feels like this ouroboros of self-flagellation that I’m doomed to endure till I die.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alandiazsoto?igsh=MXI3ZnA3Mjd5OXFkOA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@socialcapital-music?si=T10MrontMHvYH5c8
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1uAky48jJ32tRB3EE9PSII?si=Cl66P7U2SXKSgiwzDPQUMA
Image Credits
Shot and Edited by Alan Diaz-Soto