We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Patricia Guzmán a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Patricia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Over the years I have taught watercolor classes to many students, not only from Mexico but from many places in the world. It is common that many of them dream of the possibility of dedicating themselves fully to painting, however, there are all kinds of barriers to doing so. One of the most important barriers is the mental one, someone important in their lives let them know not to do it, and no matter how much pain this caused them, they listened and took their occupations to other lands. I do not invalidate or minimize this situation, but seeing the sadness and frustrations that this has generated, I fervently hope that people become aware that our time is very limited and life passes very quickly: we are beings that are going to die and what better way of life is to do what one feels really passionate about. I am not inciting revolution or drastic changes, what I want is for people to fully believe that the call to create is invaluable, and that we need to see what only they can show us. In this path, there are no guarantees of success of any kind, other than the certainty of knowing that one does not betray oneself and that we will not take more than our experiences to the grave. I want people to take the risk to create, to throw themselves and fly, to believe fervently in themselves, to know they possess such an incredible language that can touch souls despite borders, language and even time.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I grew up in a house filled with painting and sculpture materials and tools of my dad, who is an artist and it was very natural for me to lean towards painting as I saw him working every day on different projects. Art is my family’s inheritance: my grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather were all inclined to painting, sculpture, music and art. In every school vacation, I would be around my dad watching him work and trying to emulate him. After finishing high school, I worked with him for a couple of years and then I went on learning watercolor by myself. I learned from my father the basics -essential work techniques and ethics.

My intention is to give voice to the human condition. My vocabulary is the indigenous root, my passion is different realities and social comments.

I want people to stop and look at the face of an indigenous person in a completely different way, where expression and feeling are revealed through the definition of the marks of life. I want people to feel like they’re looking at themselves, not physically of course, but emotionally.

I look for the connection, the empathy. True connection occurs when vulnerability is allowed and I long for this feeling of openness, of freedom of mind and heart. When I am painting, I become the face and emotion of the person.

The Roots series has the objective of showing people and faces that have been very little represented in figurative painting, or that have been shown from a rather documentary perspective, of idealization or decoration. Our identity resides in our body and in our face and it is there where the personal and political intersect. The representation of the face and the body is never neutral, and it is our responsibility as artists to be aware of this. The conventions, convictions and dynamics of society are shown through the way we decide to represent ourselves. The body is the source of identity, politics and social values. In many publications or magazines, indigenous groups are represented either in a documentary way, or they are shown as the others or as handicrafts or ornaments. They are not only in museums but in our current societies and have historically been the object of discrimination and racism in Mexico and Latin America. My intention is to show them as human beings they are, from a horizontal perspective, sometimes confrontational, directing their gaze directly towards the viewer. And through their faces and looks express feelings and emotions known to all. In this way, the conditions of possibility exist to build a bridge full of empathy towards the viewer: –“I am like you, although physically we may be very different”. I felt the need to see images that represented indigenous groups as the people they are, not from a dreamy or idealized perspective but from a current, human perspective.

I believe that realistic painting, in addition to being a historical testimony, has a great transforming power. Although the postmodern cynical or ironic stance has made us doubt everything, I firmly believe that art can change the consciousness of people and peoples. For me, art is prescriptive, not only contemplative, and an inclusive perspective is needed, one that appeals to equity, to the representation of minorities, a perspective that is different from the patriarchal, misogynistic, and capitalist one. It is necessary to appeal to humanity as a whole, without pamphlets or dark machinations or excessive individualistic positions. It is through the sensations that art communicates, through the senses you can jump to reason and thus achieve a change of consciousness when thinking and questioning the fixed ideas of the mind.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Existence can be complex and difficult and Art in the history of humanity has served as a balm for the soul. I firmly believe that Art has the potential to change, to transform societies, to change paradigms. One of them is the power to change the individualistic view to focus on the good of the community. Paradigm changes have to happen, in economic models, in the way we live, for the good of the planet and the species. We are in a time of transition where we have the possibility to make this world a better one. Painting is a wonderful language that has the great potential to transcend languages, cultures, contexts, borders, time. What are you going to say through the brushes? In the words of Robert Henri, painting “has the potential to say the things the world needs to hear.”

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I paint women, many of them indigenous. Historically, women have been represented as objects and what I intend is to show their humanity, as well as a different perspective to the beauty that has been culturally imposed on us and above all to make indigenous women visible with all their dignity and being, in this classist and racist society in which we are inserted. I decide to paint them for many reasons, from the beauty I find in their faces, their wisdom and knowledge. In Mexico, indigenous groups are the target of the greatest discrimination, and within the social nucleus, indigenous women are the ones who lose everything. So, it is a way to provide visibility, to honor and dignify the roots and especially to indigenous women.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://patriciaguzman.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patriciaguzman/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patriciaguzman

Image Credits
Photos of myself taken by Raul Barajas