Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrea Pérez Bessin.
Andrea, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I really respect people that are able to decide to pursue art as a career early on. In my case I took the slightly longer way. I had already graduated from college with a degree in Biology when I decided to go back to school and study art. I had been carefully steered towards a career in the sciences but did not feel like I had found fulfillment in the work I was doing. It took me thinking that the assignments while studying science that I most enjoyed doing were those that I had turned into art projects. I had never taken any formal art classes aside from an introductory visual arts course in college so I felt like I needed some guidance. Not every artist needs a degree but going to school for art was my way of creating space and carving out time to build new skills and develop a productive work ethic.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
I work primarily in printmaking. I usually start with a very traditional substrate such as a relief print or an etching and use those prints in more elaborate mixed media pieces. A main focus of my work is the magic of my people and the Island. I am Puerto Rican and extremely proud of my roots, as a diaspora Puerto Rican and in light of the humanitarian crisis existing previously to, but further aggravated by Hurricane Maria it is near impossible to separate my identity from my work. My artwork explores gender and representation through religious ornamentation, but most importantly I want to portray the resiliency, dignity, and self-sufficiency of Puerto Ricans. I synthesize deities that merge androgynous figures with the vegetation of the island paying homage to the syncretism, the melding of different cultures, that is omnipresent in the Caribbean experience.
My highest aspiration with my work is that it further builds upon a movement towards visibility of the Latinx community in the visual arts, that the community sees work they can identify with, but I also hope the work resonates with people outside the community in such a way that it creates curiosity and makes room for meaningful conversation. Latin American Art has not been studied as carefully as Western art movements and often times is subjected to labels such as ‘derivative (of Western art movements)’, ‘primitive’, or ‘outsider’ when the truth is that the works of Pre-Columbian Indigenous civilizations and African Art were instrumental to the development of European Early Modernism, without the genius of these civilizations there would not exist the shape language Early Modernists so heavily borrowed from.
Artists rarely, if ever pursue art for the money. Nonetheless, we all have bills and responsibilities and many aspiring artists are discouraged from pursuing art due to financial reasons. Any advice or thoughts you’d like to share with prospective artists?
Nobody really has a great formula for success. I would just recommend finding a job that does not completely drain you at the end of the day. There is a lot of trial and error in finding a job that does not completely drain you physically and mentally when your main focus is artwork. Some people seek jobs in art related fields and funnel that energy into their works, others completely avoid art in their day jobs so they can focus all art related thoughts into their work. I would say that what keeps me motivated is a strict deadline schedule for open calls and grants.
I have to organize my time and production around these events I have chosen to apply for, I have some strict deadlines and some more flexible ones in between as reach goals. I do like to emphasize the importance of having respect for your work as an artist. It has become rather popular to request art in exchange for exposure, exposure as a form of currency has become rather pervasive in the creative fields and very rarely does it actually translate into any tangible financial gain. Don’t work for free, you don’t work for free in your day job, why would you subject the work you put into your art through that? Countless hours were spent honing your craft without even mentioning any student loans. Don’t be afraid to admit that your work has value. You deserve to get paid for your work, in no other line of work would this be a discussion. This is something I constantly grapple with and have to remind myself.
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
My work is currently visible in my website www.andreaperezbessin.com. All the work in the website is available for purchase.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.andreaperezbessin.com
- Instagram: sainthammerpress
Image Credit:
Andrea Pérez Bessin
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