We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ivan Vazquez a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ivan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
I came across a 8th grade graduation picture of my group of friends where my best friend Luis trueuba who was murdered at age 17 was wearing a white angelic suit. I was 30 years old and for 13 years I let his death hold me back. In that moment holding the picture I felt an indescribable warmth fill my body and his presence. Felt him saying it’s not your fault and do this for me! He always cheered me on .Just like turning on a switch I knew my art would be a tribute to him and others who share a similar story. A story of a kid full of life, love and potential who was taken from us too soon. My art became a way to turn something so horrible into something so beautiful . Art therapy to heal and finally grieve.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I am a Chicago born and based latino\indigenous visual artist and designer. I started out in the Chicago art scene as a Bboy at age 8 and did a variety of things from music production to graffiti. I’ve always had a love and desire for design, Aztec and Central American indigenous art. So re imagining traditional Aztec art and hip hop art has been my thing. My process usually is an idea in my head and then painting it on canvas, didn’t realize my paintings had a design aesthetic so naturally started printing tshirts and other apparel from the original paintings. It’s a constant battle to try and keep a balance of design and art in my work so it doesn’t lose its humanistic feel.
I’ve done art for local community to national recognized corporations. It’s been fun taking on challenging projects and learning from them. Realizing the power of just being you. Your perspective is valuable when speaking from the heart. Some of my favorite recent projects are Sade Tropicalia mural at Omarcitos on Fullerton Chicago Il , Latino heritage month w the NFL Carolina panthers and the work with the Simple good a non profit in Chicago that teaches social emotional learning to youth. I’m most proud to give back all the love I have received .
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Reminding my self that social media is just one of the many tools an artist can use has been a big help. Knowing that it’s not real life and just keep learning how to use it. I feel like it’s also helpful to show up in real life and put in work in the real world in order to keep building your audience. A lot of creatives have a portion of followers that are bots/ bought and have been told it’s helpful. I don’t personally more dedicated to building a real community but yes it has been hard. All you can do is be authentic and put your heart in everything you do and it will grow.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
Invest in artists like you do doctors, therapists , personal trainers, nutritionists and other self care related fields. At the end the of day art is good for your health and investing in art or artists is generally good for your mind body and soul . Art enriches the whole community and has lasting effects that positively impact generations to come.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.ivanvazquezart.com
- Instagram: @thechicagolago
